Russian adventures in Cascais
Sailing

Russian adventures in Cascais

Fast boats and sudden sharks. How did the RC44 class competition go?
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The second stage of the RC44 regatta was full of events. The Portuguese city of Cascais gave a lot of opportunities for various photo stories and unforgettable experiences. The weather showed all four Portuguese seasons: the fleet threw from heat to cold, from wave to calm.

After working on the water for several days, the participants went to the first joint training day, on Tuesday April 21. Several starts and a training race were given. Although the results of this day did not count, the teams took the competition very seriously. This day is a unique opportunity to get to know the water area better, check your own settings and see how your rival yachts are going. This was followed by a day of one-on-one and four-day racing for the fleet.

The Nika team changed the team and got Terry Hutchinson as a tactic. Terry is known for his inability to lose.

One day during his participation in the «America»'s Cup he refused to give an interview, but the smart journalists were not confused and asked his children.

The kids said: «Our daddy can't lose at all. For example, we play cards until we all lose».

These are the qualities that Vladimir Proshikhin appreciates in the new tactics. With Terry, the team has reached the podium for the first time in the history of RC44. But Hutchinson is not happy. On the penultimate day of the competition Nika was leading and had all chances to breakthrough, but the last 2 races did not set itself up. It was a clear "F***!" Terry echoed the Citadel walls and scared the gulls off the fishing nets.

Nevertheless, Vladimir is very happy to be on the podium: «It was obvious that we could get out of the ass and finish with dignity, as we wanted!»

Vladimir Sokolov was already at the helm of the Katusha team. He's new to sailing, but claims he's «hooked». Vladimir takes his training seriously, he deals with tactician Andy Horton every race. With experience, the results will come. In the meantime, the team took the front page not with victories, but with a small catastrophe that happened on the penultimate day «of the Cup of Cascais».

RC44 jumped on the referee rib and broke through the board. When I saw this gaping hole, I was surprised that the boat hadn't bottomed out and I was glad that none of the participants in the incident were hurt. The yacht was tidied up overnight: it wasn't easy for the coastal team and the next day Team Katusha performed as if nothing had happened, but I think the guys looked around more carefully. Following the results of the regatta Katusha on the tenth place.

Apparently, the Synergy team was trying to give a good result to its owners. Both Valentin Zavadnikov and Leonid Lebedev celebrate their birthdays right after the regatta. In the fleet races the result is satisfactory - fifth place.

But in the match-race «Synergy»seems to have no rivals. They have not lost a single flute and took an honorable place on the podium!

The youth team of Gazprom Youth Saiing Challenge has not yet pleased with their success. That's a pity! There are all the components to success. It remains to gather the will in the fist, catch luck and go.

«This is not the result the team deserves," said Coach Cameron Dunn. Unfortunately, during the whole regatta there were a lot of small mistakes, which generally affected the result. Such unfortunate cases as two torn gennakers cost the team at least 15 points».

In the match race, the guys «were caught» in a crabbatcher. The rope got stuck in a trintape and the legendary match-race between Ekaterina Skudina and Vladimir Lubomirov didn't take place. The Gazprom Youth Sailing Team missed 2 flies. Boat captain Alexander Khaletsky tried to get rid of the crabbage without being afraid of cold water, but still could not do without diving equipment. A lot of time was lost, but the team returned to the fight on the last flute and won it. It's a pity we couldn't catch the crabs.

Bronenosec Russian Sailing team at the stage in Cascais performs with the new tactician Michael Evaldi. Michael surprised me with his calmness. I was but aboard during the fleet races and amazed the team: everyone does their job confidently. Even when the boat hit the 4-meter shark, the crew did not lose composure, although lost a lot in speed.

It's particularly disappointing that it was in this race that the Battleship was in the first three. As a result of "Cascais Cup" the team is in seventh place. It seems that the crew is getting more and more used to the new class. And the podium, and champagne, and the cup are not far off.

Author of the article: Catherine Gilina.

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