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MedCup Coastal: Kiwis Supreme!
Emirates Team New Zealand took firm control of the Portugal Trophy Cascais regatta today when they convincingly won the 40 miles coastal race. While the team won four of the five 2009 regattas this is the first time they have won a coastal race. Puerto Calero lead the GP42 Series.
After Emirates Team New Zealand took the lead around the most westerly turning mark, off Cabo Raso, they were never challenged, heading the fleet all the way down to the eastern extremity which was at the historic Belem Tower in Lisbon’s River Tajo.
Winning by one and a half minutes, the current champions extended their overall lead to a solid 14 points at the head of the regatta leaderboard as TeamOrigin, slipped from second place overall to fourth after they could only make a frustrating ninth place today.
 Still looking like Champions! ETNZ bowman at the business end, during a fresh-breeze coastal race yesterday. Photo copyright; Nico Martinez/Audi MedCup.
Matador (ARG) steered by Guilermo Parada (ARG) with Francesco Bruni (ITA) calling tactics made their biggest gains on this long run from the Cape and held on to second place all way round to the finish line, helping their climb back up the table to lie sixth overall.
But the frustration for TeamOrigin (GBR) will be to investigate why they slipped progressively down the fleet. They sailed a good race from a tactical point of view and lead early in the race, chasing Emirates Team New Zealand around the westernmost turn. But by the time they passed Cascais again they has already slipped three places, passed on both sides.
A ninth place finish does not do justice to their sailing as a crew today. TeamOrigin’s team director Mike Sanderson (NZL) admitted later ‘we just fell off the planet’ but that they felt they were slow before that turn, on the top of the upwind leg as well as on the long downwind, but they are looking at all options.
Third place across the finish line today elevates the Franco-German Audi A1 powered by All4ONE, skippered by Germany’s Jochen Schuemann, up to second overall but they are only half a point ahead of Sweden’s Aretmis, with TeamOrigin another half point behind them.
Emirates Team New Zealand just need a solid day, a contrast to their opening here last Wednesday, to secure their fifth Audi MedCup Circuit Regatta in a row.
In the GP42 Series Puerto Calero pulled further ahead.
The breeze-on 20-25 knot conditions today were favorable to the Canarias-based Puerto Calero (ESP) team, who now have a 6-point lead over the nearest rival, Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP) after seven races sailed.
Series
Overall – Day 4
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1+1+4+2+1+1,5= 27 Points
2. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4+6+1+5+5+4,5= 41
3. Artemis (SWE), 3+6+7+8+3+7+2+6= 42
4. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2+4+2+1+7+13,5= 42.5
5. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6+3+5+8+3+15= 49
6. Matador (ARG), 7+2+5+9+8+12(DSQ)+6+3= 52
7. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+5+8+2+10+9+8+10,5= 53
Cristabella (GBR), 2+8+3+5+9+6+10+12= 55
9. Luna Rossa (ITA), 5+3+9+10+6+3+9+16,5= 61.5
10. Bribón (ESP), 10+10+10+12(DNC)+7+4+4+7,5= 64.5
11. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+4+11+7+11+10+12(DNF)+9= 75
GP42 Series
Overall – Day 3
1. Puerto Calero (ESP), 1+1+2+1+2+3+1= 11 points
2. Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP), 3+2+3+2+1+4+1= 17
3. Iberdrola (ESP), 2+5+1+3+3+1+5= 20
4. Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), 4+3+4+5+4+5+3= 28
5. AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), 5+4+5+4+6(DNF)+2+4= 30
Following the completion of the Coastal Race, Grant Dalton (NZ), foredeck or mast Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) said;
’We sailed all right. We got outside Origin at the top, then we blew a chute out, which wasn't that flash. It had a little nick in it. But I think we are going reasonably quick. Matador was reaching pretty well, but probably it has surprised us. And I'd say the bigger surprise was for Origin how slow they were reaching. It's the first off-shore race, if we can call it offshore, that we won, in the five regattas last year we had never been better than second so that's good, we sailed quite well.’
‘The first lap we were going really quick and in the first two thirds of the way out to Cape Raso.' said a disapointed, Mike Sanderson (NZL) team director TeamOrigin (GBR). 'It was going great and then we just sort of fell off the planet, to be honest, before we got to the mark, and ETNZ went from where they were right behind us to getting way up inside us and we just assumed that we had some current on, or had just been particularly unlucky with the shift or whatever, but then from that point on it was a very tough race we just seemed to be off the pace.
‘We were just off the pace. We were slow jib reaching and we just shouldn't be. We don’t know if we caught something because the problem is that after you finish you go back as you drop the main, so even if we did have something there you would not know it. If we did not have something there then we are certainly not be going to be looking forward to the coastal races in the future. We just have to work through it.
‘That's why we are here, to build on our team work, on our relationship with our shore crew and designers and we have to work through the issues. Long term you probably need the bad days more than the good. After a good day, it is easy. After the bad days we need to be sure that we are being totally honest with ourselves, and getting the best out of each other. The guys did an awesome job once again Ben started well and Percy and Bart (Andrew Simpson) and Juan Vila the guys are sailing really well. I mean, losing places when jib reaching is unheard of, and so we have to get to the bottom of it!’
Posted by Jim on 16th May, 2010 | Comments | Trackbacks
Tags: MedCup
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