J24 Blog

Chris McLaughlin reports:

Ian Southworth and Andrea Casale won the pin and worked toward pressure on the left of the course. At the Committee boat end, a few boats tacked immediately and headed to the right, led by Britain’s Gavin Watson in Roger Rabbit and Germany’s Stephanie Koepcke, with her women’s team on Vega Reederei. The wind flicked but gradually built left , but not before boats from the extreme right, including Watson, Koepcke and Gaetano Pelizarro in the aptly named Magic Fate had rounded, with Casale in Fiamma Gialle fourth and Southworth sailing Inmarsat Hedgehog fifth. Places were unchanged down the run and the leaders, with the exception of Casale took the right hand leeward mark, then all began a slow port tack hall to the right. The USA’s Keith Whitemore on Furio rounded behind them at the left mark and immediately pressed right.

As Watson and Koepcke went further ahead, the wind died completely leaving Southworth and Casale on port making little progress. Whitemore found breeze at the right hand shore and sailed into the leading pack while Southworth and Casale tacked toward new pressure on the left. For the next ten minutes the pair tried to find pressure, as Santa Cruz and others caught up and joined them on the left. Casale, more inshore, dropped back in no pressure, and Southworth could only hold on port underneath an increasing pack of boats. When it finally arrived, it lifted Casale back up from ninth place to third and the port lift left Southworth in the mid-teens.

More here.