Yes Campers, RUS 76 helmed by Dmitry Samokhin has a chance to add to his two regatta victories this year by taking the lead of the competitive 5th winter series here in Portugal. After another wonderful day of sailing which saw three more races completed and three different race winners, Cascais proved once again why it is probably the best venue in Europe for Dragon Racing. With the wind again from the North West blowing at times up to 18kts, then easing away to 8 to 10 kts, the 26 boat fleet had a fantastic 6 hours of sailing.
After recording an 18th and 5th place on day one, RUS 76 crewed by Andrey Kirliuk and Aleksey Bushuer showed their pace in “Strange Little Girl” and recorded a 1st, 2nd & 3rd ! A truly amazing days sailing. Also having a good day was your’s truly in GBR 751 “Bear” helmed by Martin Payne and crewed by two excellent local sailors Rui Boia and Rubrio Basilo, who finished 2nd, 4th & 16 out of the three races, so chasing the leader overall (after discard) with just a 2 point difference. The winner of race two yesterday was former Olympic Medalist Uli Libor helming SUI 307 who is now 3rd overall after many consistent races in this most high standard fleet…
Winning the 3rd race yesterday was that “Colourful” and “Jolly” Frank Berg, helming DEN 405 who despite also winning the first race on day one, has had a medioca set of results, so overall is not yet in contention. But someone who is still very much in with a shout, is GER 1123 with Tommy Muller at the helm in his new Petticrow. Tommy crewed by his “Bavarian Dream Team” has quickly got the new boat up to speed and although he is 10pts off the lead, with 2 more races today anything can happen…..
So the stage is set Camper’s, can Dmitry hold on to take a “Hat Trick” of titles so early in the season or will the “Bear” catch the “Strange Little Girl”…. Maybe Uli Libor will pass them both or Tommy Muller will finish strongly to pip them all……. Lets see what the day brings, but one thing is for sure, Cascais has rewarded all these top class sailors who have made the long journey down to Portugal with day after day of memorable sailing…….
Higher, Faster, Longer…… Growling (in the “Bear”)……. Stavros. (GBR 751).