Scarlino Italy delivered big on the penultimate day of the 2022 TF35 season, with five races sailed in conditions that the cutting-edge catamarans were designed for: flat water and 9-12 knots resulting in four hours of high-performance foiling.
“It’s perfect here for us,” enthused Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailor Lucien Cujean on the dock. “The race committee did an excellent job getting a full program of five races in. It was a long day but a good day.”
Outstanding again was Realteam for Léman hope, winner of three out of a possible five races, but Spindrift disrupted Realteam’s consistency after they launched into today with back-to-back race wins.
“We had a really good feeling on board today,” explained Spindrift’s grinder, Thibault Julien. “The racing was golden. Hopefully, we will have the same tomorrow so we can attack again in the final.”
The westerly breeze today was a little more south and had a bit more force to it compared to yesterday, which provided opportunities for some of the other teams to make breakthroughs. Most notably, Guy de Picciotto’s Zen Too posted a third in the day’s second race and followed it up with two fourth places.
Tactician Jérémy Bachelin explained: “We managed to stay in the pack so when the opportunity came to break through, we could. Today, we were foiling all day which is more fun, and when we are having fun, the results come easier.”
Team Sailfever’s crew, on the other hand, came ashore with a little more to consider having slipped from third to fourth overall behind Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
“Two or three boats are absolutely unreachable. I mean, really, they are fast and they are smart. It would be nice to finish the season on the podium, but for sure, we will finish with a smile,” admitted helm Loïck Peyron.
“It was super fun to race today, even when you are not leading. But I must improve my starts. That is the key for tomorrow,” he added.
Racing concludes tomorrow with the first warning scheduled for 1200. Follow live on the TF35.org homepage.
Results after nine races with one discard:
- Realteam for Léman hope – 1 1 1 1 5 2 1 1 1 – 9
- Spindrift – 2 2 2 2 1 1 4 2 3 – 15
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing – 4 7 4 3 2 5 2 3 2 – 25
- Team Sailfever – 3 3 3 5 3 4 3 5 6 – 29
- Zen Too – 6 4 6 6 6 3 6 4 4 – 39
- Ylliam XII – Comptoir Immobilier – 5 5 5 4 4 6 5 6 5 – 39
