76th Edinburgh Cup at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club - Day 2
by Emma York 11 Jul 20:52 NZST
7-12 July 2024
76th Edinburgh Cup 2024 Race 3 Corinthian winners - Fit Chick GBR 753 © Emma York
Day two of the 76th Edinburgh Cup greeted the Dragon fleet in Abersoch with Autumnal conditions with a medium South westerly breeze and rain.
Race 2
Dragon teams looked forward to increased wind conditions on day two of the 76th Edinburgh Cup in Abersoch. A clean start line saw the fleet split in half up the beat as the tide continued to flood.
Portugal's Pedro Andrade took advantage of the wind and tide situation to take the lead holding off Grant Gordon's Louise. Cameron Good's Little Fella IRL 211 kept the pressure on, staying ahead of Lawrie Smith GBR 815 and Jerboa GBR 831.
As the wind and rain increased the visibility died, but it was back in the pack where positions were gained. Ireland's Martin Byrne Jaguar Sailing Team held off increasing pressure from Jono Brown's Fit Chick and Abersoch local Nick Whipp Seafire GBR 636.
1. POR 89 Saturn, Pedro Reiberio de Andrade, Miguel Leitmann, Martin Westerdahl
2. GBR 833 Louise, Grant Gordon, Luke Patience, Elliot Hanson, Faye Chatterton
3. IRL 211 Little Fella, Cameron Good, Henry Kingston, Shaun Kingston
Corinthian - Little Fella IRL 211
"Abersoch was great today, we had good courses and even though we couldn't see anything with the visibility it was really good. We're getting a hang of the venue, understanding the right-hand side, which I think paid quite a lot." said Grant Gordon.
Corinthian winner of race two, Cameron Good's Little Fella commented post racing; "We had a good start at the committee boat in both races and got away in clear air. We could go the way we wanted to go, and protect ourselves which was good."
Race 3
A freshening breeze and increased sea state made for an exciting second race of the day, however it took the fleet two general recalls to get away cleanly. Setting out their position early, Graham Bailey's Bluebottle led the fleet from the first windward mark, choosing the favoured beat to make essential gains.
Chasing them down were Saturn POR 89, Louise GBR 833, Alfie GBR 815, Fit Chick GBR 753 and Jaguar Sailing Team IRL 201. Closely followed by Little Fella IRL 211 and Simon Barter's Bertie GBR 763.
The finish, while masked in mist and rain was close with many of the nearly 30 Dragon fleet finishing seconds apart.
1. GBR 192 Bluebottle Graham Bailey, Julia Bailey, Will Bedford, Killian Boag
2. POR 89 Saturn Pedro Reberio de Andrade, Miguel Leitmann, Martin Westerdahl
3. GBR 833 Louise Grant Gordon, Luke Patience, Elliot Hanson, Faye Chatterton
Corinthian - Fit Chick GBR 753
Saturn's helm Pedro Reberio de Andrade said; "Today we had a good strategy, we had really good speed allowing us to take some risks upwind. We didn't sail very well downwind, but at the gate with Grant Gordon, we saw he took the left-hand mark so, we decided to split which ended up to be better. After yesterday's race we still have a chance, so we will keep fighting. "
Results after Day 2:
1. Bluebottle GBR 192 Graham Bailey, Julia Bailey, Will Bedford, Killian Boag
2. Alfie GBR 815 Lawrie Smith, Goncalo Ribeiro, Ruairidh Scott, Martin Wrigley
3. Louise GBR 833 Grant Gordon, Luke Patience, Elliot Hansen, Faye Chatterton
4. Saturn POR 89 Pedro Reberio de Andrade, Miguel Leitmann, Martin Westerdahl
5. Jerboa GBR 831 Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, Mark Hart, Jake Hardman, Ffion Wood
Full race results can be viewed at www.britishdragons.org/76th-edinburgh-cup-results
The schedule for racing on Thursday 11th July will be to complete races four and five.