Cannonball run
After a long wait for wind on the Bay of Naples, Rolex Capri Sailing Week concluded with a windward-leeward/coastal race for the Maxi and Mylius classes.
22 May 2018
Advertisement
The course comprised a weather mark off Capri, a leeward gate directly off the Sorrento Peninsula, before returning to a finish off Capri’s Marina Grande. Ultimately the wind went light and the Race Committee wisely shortened course at the gate.
Among the Maxi Racers, Dario Ferrari’s Pepe Cannonball lead the way round the top mark ahead of Alex Schaerer’s Caol Ila R. While the Italians carried out a conventional bear away set, Caol Ila R gybe set taking them directly away from Capri’s wind shadow. Pepe Cannonball gybed at the same time, but the damage was done and her perfect scoreline received its only blemish of the week.
“We noticed they were going to gybe set, but I thought they would park up at the mark or we could match them. It was my mistake,” admitted Pepe Cannonball tactician Tommaso Chieffi. Pepe Cannonball finished second on corrected but was able to discard this, maintaining their perfect score.
Advertisement
“Capri and the racing have been fantastic,” said Ferrari. “We won four races out of five, so I am very happy. We really enjoyed this week – now we are looking forward to the Worlds in Sardinia.”
Pepe Cannonball has showed superior upwind pace this week, but Ferrari was reserved regarding whether his boat is the new Maxi 72 benchmark: “Momo was not here and we still have to beat her.”
Caol Ila R’s owner Alex Schaerer was delighted to have finally relieved Pepe Cannonball of a bullet: “It would have been too much for them to have won five in a row. But they drop today’s second and still only have wins!”
Once again Peter Dubens’ Spectre led the Maxi Racer Cruiser class. However immediately after rounding the weather mark, their spinnaker exploded causing them to relinquish the lead to Roberto Lacorte’s SuperNikka. “The tack of the spinnaker is zipped together to prevent it opening when you don’t want it to, but if you run the zip all the way to the end and don’t break the zip open, when the sail sets the zip doesn’t release and it tears a hole in the spinnaker in a highly loaded area,” explained tactician Nick Rogers.
This handed victory on the water to arch-rivals, SuperNikka, but ultimately it was Jean-Pierre Barjon’s Marseille-based Swan 601 Lorina 1895 that won the race and their first bullet at Rolex Capri Sailing Week. A second place for SuperNikka today was enough for Robert Lacorte’s team to claim overall victory by a slender point from Lorina 1895.
Lacorte observed: “This week we’ve always been close on corrected time to Lorina and on the water we were very close with Spectre in real time – it was a fun regatta”.
“I am happy because we discovered SuperNikka is fast after all the improvements we made this winter, but mainly because I enjoyed racing with the crew and they were are happy on board.” Lacorte is now looking forward to defending his title in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo in September, but before then has the 151 Miglia to sail as well as organise – since starting it nine years ago it has become Italy’s largest offshore race. Currently it has 212 entries including 21 Maxis.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
