Russian «Armadillo» finished the second round of the 52 Super Series in eighth place out of eleven. The competition concluded on March 11 in Miami.
«The Miami stage was a real cold shower for us, and it's probably necessary for any team, because this way we see ourselves from the outside and better understand our mistakes - says the helmsman of «Armadillo» Vladimir Lyubomirov - I'm sure before the start of the responsible third stage of the series the team will be able to pull together and show everything they can».
Unstable results haunted the Russian-flagged team from the first day of competition in Miami on March 7. The top-five and top-three finishes alternated with unsuccessful finishes at the tail end of the fleet. Vladimir Lubomirov's team balanced the first days in the middle of the table.
Britain's Gladiator sustained major damage in a collision with the American team Sled. Fortunately no one was injured and the British were able to use another boat, while Sled returned to racing after repairs. The French Paprec team had already lost their mast on the first day and dropped out of the competition altogether.
A chance to rectify the situation «Armadillo» was given with a change of wind from fresh to light. On March 10 the Saint Petersburg Yacht Club team recorded another trip to the top three and was ready to move up to the top five in the overall standings. But here again, chance intervened: the compensation for the British team's result put them 1.5 points above «Armadillo», returning the blue boat to the sixth line.
Another opportunity to break into the top five was presented to the Russian team on the final day of competition, March 11, when two races were held in perfect weather conditions of fresh wind and flat water. But already in the first race of the day, after an excellent start, the Russian boat unexpectedly stopped - technical difficulties were evident.
«Three minutes after the start, the boat's keel caught the flooded rope, which slowed our speed by more than a knot," says team strategist Michele Ivaldi. "Our bowman Alberto Barovier dove underwater to cut the rope and free the keel».
When «Battleship» picked up speed again, it was unreal to catch up with the rivals - more than half a kilometre behind the fleet already before the first mark. The result: a tenth place finish and a move up to seventh place in the overall standings.
Nevertheless, a return to the top five was realistic even in this situation. Battleship» was only a few points away from closest rivals Gladiator and Sled «. In the final race it was necessary to overtake the British and Americans by several positions. With most of the fleet struggling with tactical rivals in the standings, such a task was doable. Having successfully navigated the first tack «Battleship» came to the mark fourth and kept the tactical rivals behind. However, the team lost their advantage on the full course and finished ninth. The result was an eighth-place overall finish in the Miami standings.
The team of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda justified itself after the unsuccessful start in Key West and ran the stage in Miami very confidently.
Several teams were in contention for the remaining medals and the battle was on until the last finish. «In the end, Germany's Platoon won its second silver of the 2017 season, and the Turkish-flagged team, with America's Cup veteran» Peter Holomberg at the helm, finally converted its potential into a bronze medal.
This came at the expense of ousting the title-winning Quantum Racing, who missed out on a spot in the top three on home water and finished fourth.
In the overall standings of the 2017 52 Super Series, the Italians also lead the two stages that took place; the Germans are second and Quantum is third. The Bronenosec Sailing Team of St. Petersburg Yacht Club retained sixth place. According to the events calendar the next round of the series will be held on May 16-20 in Scarlino resort which is well known to Russian team. This stage has the status of world championship.
