Porto Cervo: In a long and intense second day at the Sailing Champions League, 21 races were held and eight flights are now completed, with the Swiss team from Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen taking control of the provisional leaderboard and Finand’s Esbo Segelförening and the German Onekiel team in second and third places respectively.
The usual daily briefing was held in Piazza Azzurra at 9am this morning. The 29 teams taking part were informed that once again conditions outside of the harbour were not suitable to allow for safe racing. All crews were told to meet on the regatta course set up within Porto Cervo’s marina for a second day of stadium racing.
In eight hours of racing, 21 races were held. Added to yesterday’s 11 races, it brings the fleet to a total of 32 races and eight flights completed.
Variable and gusty winds, blowing at 18 to 22 knots this morning before falling to 12 to 14 knots in the afternoon, made the racing, as well as the reading of the race course, a highly technical exercise for the crews.
The teams at the top of the leaderboard changed throughout the day, and the top four crews are separated by just four points. At the conclusion of the day, the Swiss team from Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen now sits in the lead in the provisional overall classification. The Swiss made up for two difficult races where they placed fifth, with two victories and two second places.
The Finnish sailors on Esbo Segelförening had a challenging day with mixed results (1-2-4-6-1-5) that were, however, sufficient to take second place overall. On equal points and in third place, the German crew of Onekiel racked up two wins along with a third, fourth and fifth place finish.
At the conclusion of the round robins tomorrow, the top four teams in the overall rankings will proceed to the final. All is still to play for, with the Royal Danish Yacht Club currently sitting in fourth place, just one point ahead of Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, and several other clubs vying for a place in the final no more than four points behind.
