Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Day 5 - Long Day, Short Race

The 34-strong international fleet competing in the 2012 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup endured a frustrating waiting game today as insufficient breeze played havoc with the Race Committee’s best laid plans. After this morning’s racing was abandoned, conditions improved sufficiently by 14:45 CEST for all five classes to engage in a short coastal course.

Today’s winners were: Rán 2 (GBR), in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship; Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) in Maxi Racing; Aegir (GBR) in Maxi Racing/Cruising; Nilaya (GBR) in Supermaxi and Magic Carpet 2 (GBR) in the Wally class.

The competition leaders going into the final day of racing are: Bella Mente (USA) and Rán 2 are tied level in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship; Esimit Europa 2, Velsheda (GBR) and Highland Fling (MON) are tied on equal points in Maxi Racing; Aegir lead in Maxi Racing/Cruising; Magic Carpet has the advantage in Wally while by virtue of a fourth straight bullet Nilaya have tied up the Supermaxi class.

regattanews.com is profiling action from a different class each day as the 23rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup unfolds. Today’s focus is the Supermaxi class.

Nilaya takes title
Filip Balcaen’s 34.13m Nilaya – line honours winner at the Rolex Volcano Race this year – is making short work of the Supermaxi class. The defending class champion claimed her fourth straight bullet today ensuring that going into the final day she has already sealed the divisional title.

Former Volvo Ocean Race sailor Bouwe Bekking is Nilaya’s expert tactician. “The week has been above expectations, we’ve won all the races very easily,” admits the Dutchman. “We’ve made a lot of changes since last year and they have paid off. It’s gone really well for us.”

Like the Maxi Racing class, the Supermaxi division pits together contrasting craft. As well as being lighter and more agile than her rivals, Bekking believes Nilaya holds another distinct advantage: “The changes we have made include the introduction of racing sails. They are lighter and have a better shape. We sail against heavier boats with cruising sails on so we are quite a bit faster.”

“The main competition for us was Saudade and the new Hetairos. They are significantly bigger than us so we perform manoeuvres a lot quicker. This is a Class of massive boats: our biggest spinnaker is 1,100 square metres and Hetairos has one measuring 2,000 square metres.”

Rán vs Bella Mente
While Nilaya have sown up Supermaxi title sown up, the remaining four classes seem destined to go straight down to the wire.

Most crucially, the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship took a tantalizing twist as defending champion Rán – owned by Niklas Zennström – clawed back Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente’s four and a half point lead to set up a dramatic final day of the event. Rán has won the previous two Mini Maxi Rolex Worlds and her weeklong battle with debutant Bella Mente will be decided tomorrow.

Rán enjoyed some luck today as navigator Steve Hayles explained: “It was a long day for a short race. Conditions were very light and only just raceable even in the race that was finished. We had a little fortune today as we didn’t start the first race very well although there was some way to go when the Race Committee abandoned that race as the wind dropped away to unsailable conditions.”

The respite served Rán well. “We were grateful for that discussion, sat down, had a good chat and made sure we were up for the second race which was short and the key was leading at the first windward mark. From there we managed to extend away.” Bella Mente eventually finished in fourth place.

“It comes down to tomorrow,” admitted Hayles. “Bella Mente has sailed a really good week.” However, Rán’s extra experience in holding its nerve on the final day will undoubtedly be crucial. “We are a team that has sailed together now for five years. It’s a tight group, we work for each other and have been in these situations before. It is a hard to be definitive about it. You see it across all sport, a little bit of experience can make the difference. The guys on (Bella Mente) individually are fantastic but the team doesn’t have the experience we do. Hopefully, that will be the difference.”

Weather permitting, the final day holds windward/leeward racing for the Mini Maxi and Wally classes and coastal courses for the remaining classes.