Bermuda’s Great Sound took on yet another character for day three of the RC44 Bermuda Cup - chillier, more overcast and with shifty winds typically in the early 20s that kicked up a short chop. The result was some highly tactical beats and some hang-on for dear life, fast as you can go downwind legs.
Following two wins on day one of fleet racing, Igor Lah’s Team CEEREF continued their winning streak, claiming the day’s first two races. Both were hard fought affairs. In the first race the Slovinian team was mid-fleet around the top mark for the first time, but made gains by gybing early on the first run and was up to second by the time they reached the weather mark for a second time.
In the second race, the Slovenian RC44 had a stronger first beat to round the top mark in second behind John Bassadone’s Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team. On the next lap she pulled ahead coming into the top mark with rights and held her leading position all the way to the finish line to take her second bullet of the day. This left her tied on points with Chris Bake’s Team Aqua going into the final race of the day, just one point astern of the leader, Vladimir Liubomirov’s Bronenosec Sailing Team.
The third and final race of the day saw the 2015 defending fleet racing champion, Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika take the win, her first of this regatta, where she is finding her feet with some new crew.
A fourth place for Team CEEREF’s saw them slip to third overall, two points adrift of Team Aqua and Bronenosec Sailing Team, the joint leaders after seven races, demonstrating just how close the racing is here in the Great Sound.
OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER 7 RACES IN THE GREAT SOUND
21 Team Aqua 21 Bronenosec 23 Team CERREF 26 Peninsula Petroleum 30 Team Nika 34 Artemis Racing 39 Katusha 47 Artemis Racing Youth