Miami Luxury Yacht Charter & Superyacht News

Azzurra clearly takes the 52 US Super Series circuit and almost reaches victory at the Gaastra 52 World Championship in Miami, but a broach in the last run of the last race permits Ran to overtake and take the leading position by just one point.

Day five of the Gaastra World Championship of 52 Super Series - Photo by X. Olleros/52 Super Series

The Gaastra 52 World Championship in Miami will be remembered for its twists and turns. Going into the last day of racing, Ran was leading by four points over Azzurra. In the first race of the day, the Italian boat didn’t manage to do better than a fourth while the Swedes led from the start but handed victory to Vesper after a photo finish.

The second race sees a complete reversal: Azzurra, trailing by six points, leads from start to finish while Ran throws away its advantage with a seventh place.

The third race of the day, last of the Championship, was the decisive one: Azzurra and Ran were tied on equal points but the Swedes were holding the tie-breaking advantage of more partial victories. Azzurra’s strategy was to cover Ran and keep her at her stern. It was a match race between the two boats from the onset with Azzurra having the easier task of squeezing Ran out at the pin end of the starting line even with the cost of not starting on time.

The two boats kept battling it out and came back from the bottom of the fleet. In the first beat, Azzurra managed to put two boats in between but Ran proved to be very fast downwind. While Quantum led the race, Azzurra approached the last weather mark with a two-boatlength advantage over Ran. They were virtual world champions but in sailing, it’s not over until you cross the finish line. Azzurra broached due to a technical problem with their enormous gennaker, Ran overtook them and grabbed the TP52 World champion title.

The fleet will now be shipped to Barcelona for the first event of the 52 Super Series in the Mediterranean. The start of the regatta in the Catalan city, the Trofeo Conde de Godo, is set for May 23rd.

Quotes of the day
Alberto Roemmers, owner and helmsman: “We were very, very close after the second race and the tie with Ran. We had a very good first beat but they caught up with us in the first run thanks to a very nice puff they had. We were tight together at the bottom gate and in the last beat we marked them closely. We had a small technical issue, we broached and we had a small disagreement with the umpires there as we thought we had the right. Ran deserved their win. They sailed very well throughout the world championship. As I said, we were very close and the overall assessment in very positive. We have nothing to complain about and I’m very happy with the crew, their work and their team spirit.”

Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, who watched the final day of racing together with the club’s General Secretary Jan Pachner: “Azzurra won the U.S. Super Series that also includes the Key West regatta and was a breath away from repeating it in the TP52 Worlds. Obviously, we nearly tasted our double victory when a broach deprived us of that pleasure. The fact remains that it was a beautiful and hard-fought World Championship and Ran deserved their win. That’s racing, you don’t always win, but the important thing is to have built a solid and successful group, just as Azzurra was thirty years ago when she made Italy fall in love with sailing.”

Guillermo Parada, skipper: “We were so close, despite not having a very good week. I think that just the fact we are fighting for a world championship in the last race of a week that wasn’t favorable is a good thing. Obviously, Ran sailed very well and deserved their victory. Congratulations to them, they are the merited champions. In what regards ourselves, the American season comes to a successful end as we win the US Super Series with a good point advantage for the rest of the season. We are happy knowing there is still room for improvement”.

Tomislav Basic, strategist: “The championship was fantastic and it was great to be here in Miami. It’s great to be part of a team such as Azzurra, especially when you have the opportunity to fight for a world champion title. The last race was going to decide the world championship and our plan was for me to match race Ran in the pre start. I’m a match racer so I was in my natural environment. Niklas Zennström was at the helm of Ran and for sure they don’t have as much practice. That’s why we had a better start but Ran gained really a lot in the first downwind. We had such a nice lead in the first beat, they then caught up in the first run and in the second beat we were still in the lead but by a couple of boatlengths, even less. In the last run we were really unlucky and got a very strong puff after the hoist. We broached, we lost control of the boat and that changed the entire race.”

Gaastra 52 World Championships, Results after 10 races
1 Rán Racing (Zennström, SWE)  32pts (7,1,1,1,4,2,1,7,6)
2 Azzurra (Roemmers, ITA) 33 pts (1,2,3,5,2,5,3,4,1,7)
3 Quantum Racing (DeVos, USA) 34pts (3,4,2,3,3,4,6,3,5,1)
4 Vesper (Swartz, USA) 39pts (5,5,7,2,6,1,4,1,4,4)
5 Gladiator (Langley, GBR) 43pts (2,6,5,4,1,3,8,6,3,5)
6 Interlodge (Fragomen, USA) 49pts (4,7,4,7,5,8,2,8,2,2)
7 Rio (Moshayedi, USA) 61pts (8,3,8,6,8,7,7,5,6,3)
8 Gaastra-Pro (Blees, NED) 69pts (6,8,6,8,7,6,5,7,8,8)

US 52 SUPER SERIES final after Quantum Key West 2013 and Gaastra 52 World Championships
1 Azzurra 57pts
2 Rán Racing 63 pts
3 Quantum Racing 66pts
4 Interlodge 78pts
5 Gladiator 85pts
6 Rio 112 pts

With a four-point advantage over Azzurra, Ran is currently leading at the Gaastra 52 World Championship in Miami. Everything is still possible tomorrow, with three more races to go.

Azzurra - Photo by Ingrid Abery/Azzurra

Three challenging and spectacular races were held today off Miami Beach and the TP52 race course was positioned right in front of Ocean Drive, the famous boulevard that runs alongside the equally famous South Beach, already crowded with beachgoers.

The breeze was light, 9 to 11 knots, and particularly shifty with sudden changes in direction of up to 30º, a true puzzle for tacticians and strategists. Azzurra scored a second, a fifth and a third and avoided slippages to the bottom of the fleet, as happened to other boats: Gladiator won the first race, finished third in the second one, only to come dead last in the third race. Quantum had a third and a fourth but then slipped to sixth, a result that would prove a drag in the score table.

Saturday, March 9th, is the final day of the event and three races are scheduled. Starting time has been brought forward by one hour to 11:30am local time, 5:30pm Italian time.

Quotes of the day
Guille Parada, skipper: “It was a tough day with very unstable wind conditions both in terms of speed and direction. We didn’t sail at the level I think we are able to do and we are now placed second overall. We still have another three races and I think we have a chance in winning. We are going to fight until the end and we will try to make life as tough as we can for Ran.”

Vasco Vascotto, tactician: “Today was another very complicated day in terms of tactics. We sailed well but on Ran they were better than us and they deserve being in front. The Worlds haven’t finished yet and we have to fight because we are convinced we still have some aces up our sleeves. Tomorrow we need to sail three perfect races because in the World Championship a second place isn’t worth much. However, at the same time, we need to keep an eye on the overall leaderboard of the 52 Super Series because that’s the goal of the season.”

Gaastra 52 World Championships, Results after 7 races.
1 Rán Racing (Zennström, SWE)  17pts (7,1,1,1,4,2,1)
2 Azzurra (Roemmers, ITA) 21 pts (1,2,3,5,2,5,3)
3 Quantum Racing (DeVos, USA) 25pts (3,4,2,3,3,4,6)
4 Gladiator (Langley, GBR) 29pts (2,6,5,4,1,3,8)
5 Vesper (Swartz, USA) 30pts (5,5,7,2,6,1,4)
6 Interlodge (Fragomen, USA) 37pts (4,7,4,7,5,8,2)
7 Gaastra-Pro (Blees, NED) 46pts (6,8,6,8,7,6,5)
8 Rio (Moshayedi, USA) 47pts (8,3,8,6,8,7,7)

The extremely light as well as unstable wind forces the fleet to be out of time limit at the Gaastra 52 World Championship. Azzurra had an amazing start and managed to sail with caution and concentration in the light winds. When competing was cancelled, Azzurra was reaching the finish line, taking third place behind Gladiator and Gaastra-Pro, while Quantum was trailing the rest of the fleet.

Azzurra Team - Photo by Ingrid Abery/Azzurra

This is what Simon Fry, gennaker trimmer, had to say about today’s action: “We had an excellent start. Our plan was to immediately go on port and I could say that the two best starts in the fleet were ourselves and Gladiator. We had a really, really good first beat and a good run despite it being snakes and ladders. You could go up and down. At the bottom mark, Vesper and ourselves were tight together, leading and then, unfortunately, the wind died. The race committee decided to abandon the race and there is now confusion and many boats are requesting a redress because the length of the course was different to the one broadcast on the radio”.

The Jury then discarded the request for redress and validated the decision by the Race Committee to cancel the day’s only race. As a result, the event’s overall scoretable remains unchanged.

Vasco Vascotto, tactician, commented: “The Race Committee made errors that were acknowledged but that didn’t change the final decision which clearly penalizes Azzurra over her more direct adversaries. They proved lucky but I do hope that Lady Luck decides soon to look with kindness our way as well.”

Racing for the Gaastra 52 World Championship will continue on Friday, March 8th at 12:30pm local time (6:30pm Italian time).

Gaastra 52 World Championships, Results after 4 races
1 Rán Racing (Zennström, SWE)  10pts (7,1,1,1)
2 Azzurra (Roemmers, ITA) 11 pts (1,2,3,5)
3 Quantum Racing (De Vos, USA) 12pts (3,4,2,3)
4 Gladiator (Langley, GBR) 17pts (2,6,5,4)
5 Vesper (Swartz, USA) 19pts (5,5,7,2)
6 Interlodge (Fragomen, USA) 22pts (4,7,4,7)
7 Rio (Moshayedi, USA) 25pts (8, 3,8,6)
8 Gaastra-Pro (Blees, NED) 28pts (6,8,6,8)

Azzurra is still in the battle for leadership in the TP52 World Championship, as third and fifth place are not enough. The Italian sailing yacht Azzurra trails Ran yacht, helmed by Skype founder Niklas Zennström, by one point. Competing in Miami will last until Saturday.

World Championship of 52 Super Series in Miami - Day Two Photo credit: Xaume Olleros/52 Super Series

The second day of racing at the Gaastra 52 World Championship in Miami was marked by a variable, northwesterly breeze, between 16 and 22 knots, with unpredictable puffs that played tricks. The day began well for Azzurra that was leading the fleet at the first weather mark after an excellent start. However, in the first run, an unexpected puff gave the fleet the opportunity to close in on Azzurra, frustrating the crew’s efforts. Azzurra and Ran rounded the leeward gate neck and neck but umpires handed Azzurra a penalty. After the penalty turn was completed, Azzurra had fallen back to third, a position she maintained until the finish line, crossing behind Ran and Quantum.

In the spectacular and hard-fought second race, Azzurra rounded the first top mark in second place, neck and neck with Ran behind first-placed Quantum. In the first run however, the right tactical call to opt for the right side of the course and attack the Americans, was once again frustrated by a wind shift. Ran and Vesper that were sailing on the left sprang ahead and took the lead. In the last beat Azzurra and Gladiator were trading fourth and fifth places but at the end it was the British boat that finished fourth. Thanks to today’s two bullets, Ran takes the overall lead, one point ahead of Azzurra. Quantum recovers but still sits in third place.

Quotes of the day
Guillermo Parada, skipper: “It was a difficult day and things didn’t turn out the way we expected them. We paid dearly every error we committed but we shouldn’t give more importance than what it really has. There are days when everything goes fine and days when things don’t come naturally. We now have to assess what we didn’t do well and focus on the seven remaining races. There is a long way ahead and the three leading boats are practically tied, so we could think we had two more days of training prior to the start of the world championship.”

Vasco Vascotto, tactician: “In these moments I’d rather look at the brighter side of things. We are second, trailing by a mere point. The top three boats are within three points and this speaks volumes of the competitive level of the fleet. Everything is still wide open. We had two excellent starts and we were clearly ahead in the first run but the breeze decided to offer our competitors presents. That created a situation where we were handed a penalty we didn’t want to protest but we honestly think we were the ones to be prejudiced by Ran and not the other way round… Even in the second race the breeze made us pay too much for small error or better said, it greatly benefited those that found themselves on the opposite side of us, not because they chose to.”

Racing for the Gaastra 52 World Championship will continue on Thursday, March 7th at 12:30pm local time (6:30pm Italian time).

Gaastra 52 World Championships, Results after 4 races
1 Rán Racing (Zennström, SWE)  10pts (7,1,1,1)
2 Azzurra (Roemmers, ITA) 11 pts (1,2,3,5)
3 Quantum Racing (De Vos, USA) 12pts (3,4,2,3)
4 Gladiator (Langley, GBR) 17pts (2,6,5,4)
5 Vesper (Swartz, USA) 19pts (5,5,7,2)
6 Interlodge (Fragomen, USA) 22pts (4,7,4,7)
7 Rio (Moshayedi, USA) 25pts (8, 3,8,6)
8 Gaastra-Pro (Blees, NED) 28pts (6,8,6,8)