Conditions off Lanzarote’s moonscape south coast took on a different character for day two of racing in the 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote on Friday (19 November) with much improved sailing conditions — albeit with the 8-12 knot wind blowing either along or off the shore.

To make up the schedule, four races were planned at the beginning of the day and four races were delivered. This was made hard as the wind veered through 90 degrees over the course of the afternoon, and that four races could be held was at least in part thanks to the 44Cup’s recently adopted use of MarkSetBots.

These remote-controlled robot sailing marks can — when required, as they were repeatedly today – speed across the seas to realign the course and keep it fair. (Afloat.ie has more on the MarkSetBot HERE.)

For most, the day was one of mixed fortunes, none more so than Pavel Kuznetsov’s Atom Tavatuy on which Evgeny Neugodnikov calls tactics. In the day’s first race the Russian team nailed the right, Lanzarote side of the first beat, which proved a winning move.

The Russian team went on also to claim the third race, but punctuated their otherwise excellent day with seventh and eighth placed finishes.

“It was a tough day,” Neugodnikov said. “We had a great start to the day. In the first race, we expected the right shift and there was more pressure also. It started at 205 degrees, and shifted to 225.

The 44Cup fleet racing against the stark backdrop of Lanzarote | Credit: Martinez Studio/44Cup

“I am not happy with our fourth race because we were fifth or sixth but we made a mistake and missed the layline which left us last at the top mark and at the bottom gate. But our two wins — it is much better than not having two wins!

“In the first we were fighting with Aqua and the second time we were fighting with Ceeref at the top mark… and we won. So, it is not bad, but it should be much better.”

This was similarly the case for Igor Lah’s CEEREF powered by Hrastnik 1860 which, after a long fight with Chris Bake’s Team Aqua, came home first in the day’s second race. On a roll, the Slovenian team followed this with a second in the third race only to bookend these with an eighth and a seventh.

“It was a mixed day,” Lah said. “We missed one shift in the last race. We are trying to climb up. We were surprised to see we are still third. Lanzarote is brilliant — it is warm with nice conditions. We expected more wind, but we will play with what we have got."

44Cup newbie and sole female helm, Valeriya Kovalenko on ARTTUBE — sailing only her second event in the 44Cup — continues to punch above her weight with her crew, many of whom once competed aboard RUS7.

Incredibly, at this halfway stage of the 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote, ARTUBE lies mid-leaderboard, in fifth place overall, ahead of several very much more experienced teams.

But for a second day, the stand-out performance was that of Team Aleph, on which highly experienced Italian owner-driver Alessandro Rombelli is standing in for Hugues Lepic — and whose crew features Dun Laoghaire’s Cian Guilfoyle.

 

Scoring a 2-4-4 in the day’s first three races, they were already top scorer of the day, but they then sealed the deal with a bullet in the final race.

“He has been driving very well and also the guys have been trimming the sails — all the crew work was flawless,” Team Aleph tactician Michele Ivaldi said. On the day’s racing, he added: “We managed to always start in a good position where we could play the first shift and if you are in phase everything gets easier.”

Team Aleph now holds a useful four-point lead over Team Aqua going into this weekend. Chris Bake’s World Champions in turn are six in front of CEEREF — a key situation as Igor Lah’s team represents their main threat for the overall 44Cup title for 2021.

But as Lah puts it, in this fleet “anything can happen. Everything is so close that if you make one mistake then you are behind. But that works in both directions!”

Racing continues this afternoon, with last night’s suggesting the wind will be lighter and once again onshore like Thursday. Follow the live race tracker at www.44cup.org.

 

Ireland's 49er skiffs that will face a final battle for Tokyo Olympic qualification will race two days earlier than scheduled at the Lanzarote International Regatta. Ireland will know if either team has been successful in securing a men's skiff team for the 2021 Olympics by March 26th.

The change in date for the hastily assembled Canaries Island event comes about due to ferry schedules back to mainland Europe.

Hyeres Regatta in France (the venue for the final European Laser qualification where Ireland is also seeking a final Tokyo place) has now updated its schedule with racing starting on April 5th which means 49er crews can compete in both regattas should they so wish.

The Lanzarote race days are now March 21-26, 2021 giving teams a month to arrive and prepare for the regatta, removing some of the uncertainty in Olympic circles caused by COVID-19.

Ireland has to be the top of the unqualified European nations to win the remaining slot. The key contenders are Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia and Russia.

As Afloat reported previously, double Olympian Ryan Seaton teamed with Seafra Guilfoyle and Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are both chasing the elusive Olympic place.

#VOR - Team SCA have been posting some record-breaking times in their training runs off Lanzarote as of late, as the official Volvo Ocean Race website reports.

Most recently the all-female team set a new record from Puerto Calero to La Palma Marina last weekend. This achievement followed their victory in the Round Lanzarote Race last month - their first competitive event sailing together as a team.

"It was a fairly big milestone in our preparations and we were lucky to have great conditions, which enabled us to get the race record," said Vendee Glone veteran Sam Davies, who captains a squad of world-class racing women eager to jump into their next challenge - the Rolex Fastnet Race in August.

Meanwhile, the Volvo Ocean Race is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, and put together the short film above "about the spirit and the people behind sport's ultimate test of character".

The heat is already on for the return of the race in October next year, with the new design VOR 65 coming together nicely.

In the latest video update following the new yacht's construction, VOR's Rick Deppe visits the Gottifredi Maffioli factory in Italy where the ropes are being made:

#Caribbean - The Christmas Caribbean Rally is offering £100 (€116) off the entry fee for the first Irish yacht to sign up for this year's event.

According to organisers Sailing Rallies, entries from England, the Netherlands, Spain and as far afield as Australia have already signed up for the next Caribbean cruising event, which departs from Lanzarote headed for Antigua on 16 December.

Taking place over the Christmas holiday period at a time when the trade winds should be fully established and the risk of hurricanes is at its lowest, the rally is intended to be a flexible, relaxing and enjoyable affair for skippers and crews alike.

Entry sizes are equally flexible, with the smallest entrant so far at 21 feet (6.5m) ranging up to 63ft (19.5m).

For those who prefer a more competitive event, organisers are working in conjunction with the Royal Southampton Yacht Club to run a full IRC racing division for the rally.

More information on the Christmas Caribbean Rally is available from the Sailing Rallies website HERE.

#VOR - The first candidates for places on Team SCA's all-female team for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race are currently sailing on a training leg from Southampton to Lanzarote.

The Volvo Ocean Race website spoke to one of the hopefuls, Vendee Globe veteran Sam Davies, who described the team's plans to field the first women-only team in the VOR as "an amazing opportunity for me and woman's sailing in general, especially for women ocean racers."

She's joined on the VOR 70 training vessel - which sports the team's recently unveiled livery ahead of the completion of their VOR 65 yacht - by fellow Brit sailor Annie Lush, Carolijn Brouwer and Klaartje Zuiderbaan from the Netherlands, Jeanne Gregoire from France, and Liz Wardley and Stacey Jackson from Australia.

Davies said of the team selection that it's "a two-way process... the managers are looking at all of us and we're testing it out to see if it is really what we want to do."

Team SCA managing director Richard Brisus said of the first trainee voyage to the team's base at Puerto Calero: "We have set out to work with the world’s best female offshore sailors and create a strong group of women that also has the ability to work well together as a high-performing team."

A second group of candidates will head out to sea shortly, and Team SCA coach Magnus Olsson said it "would be fantastic if we could find our team from these two groups.

“They are a remarkable group of women and each brings a very high level of skill sets to a potential team."