GOR - Global Ocean Race Class40s - Leg 2

Tagesberichte siehe Menu unten 2 January 2011 Fourth place for Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon with Class40 Financial Crisis At 06:13:45 GMT on Monday 2 December (19:13 local), the Italian-Spanish double-handed team of Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon crosses the Leg 2 finish line of the Global Ocean Race (GOR) in Wellington, New Zealand, with their Class40 Financial Crisis taking fourth place after 33 days 20 hours 13 minutes and 45 seconds and 7,000 miles of racing from Cape Town, South Africa. The 33 year-old Italian sailor, Marco Nannini, and his 26 year-old co-skipper, Hugo Ramon, have encountered some of the worst, Indian Ocean weather in the GOR fleet since leaving Cape Town and conditions were typically robust as the duo logged the final miles of Leg 2 through Cook Strait with 20-25 knots and a big sea off North Island’s southern coast with Financial Crisis carrying two reefs and staysail. Bearing away round the Barrett Reef Buoy, Financial Crisis entered Wellington Harbour and the duo could begin to relax for the first time in over one month spent locked the Roaring Forties. “It’s absolutely fantastic to be here and a great result for us,” said Nannini minutes after crossing the finish line. Following his third place in Leg 1, there was a slight hint of disappointment for the highly competitive yachtsman. “I know we only came fourth, but we were so close to Campagne de France who are great sailors with such a good boat,” he continues. Nannini and Ramon crossed the Leg 2 finish line ten hours after Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron: “We took 720 miles in a week out of their lead over us,” confirms Nannini. “It cost us quite a few sails, but we did try hard,” he adds, mourning the total loss of two spinnakers. Nannini and Ramon joined forces for Leg 2 in Cape Town (Ramon had sailed GOR Leg 1 with Conrad Colman on Cessna Citation) and the GOR’s ‘Latin Team’ work well together. “I have to congratulate the ‘capitano’ as he made a great and very intelligent approach to the race,” says Hugo Ramon complimenting Nannini. “Intelligent tactics and navigation and he knows the boat, and he knows his own abilities and limits,” continues the former Mini 6.50 sailor. “I have promised Hugo dinner if he says nice things,” interrupts Nannini, clearly embarrassed by the praise. The duo’s ability to indextain a sense of humour and high spirits when withstanding the series of fronts that swept through the fleet was fundamental: “I think technically we did get the worst weather as we were further north than Phesheya and we did get closer to the centre of a low pressure system,” says Nannini of a gale shortly before reaching the Australian Ice Limit. “We saw Nick and Phillippa tacking south, so we thought maybe there is going to be too much and when it started hitting 40-50 knots of wind we bailed out,” he adds. “It was just getting silly – triple reefed index and storm jib and it was still uncontrollable.” Financial Crisis was then caught above the ice limit running south towards the exclusion zone in a Force 10 gale. “Then, a couple of days later, as a front came through, we saw 60 knots of wind.” 2 Januar 2012 Mabire and Merron complete the GOR podium in Wellington At 09:49 on Monday local time (20:40 GMT 01/01/12), Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron crossed the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 2 finish line in Wellington, New Zealand, in third place with Class40 Campagne de France after 33 days 10 hours 40 minutes and 15 seconds of racing through the Indian Ocean from Cape Town. Mabire and Merron’s hard-won podium place keeps them in second place on points behind Ross and Campbell Field on BSL and two points ahead of Leg 2 winner, Conrad Colman and Sam Goodchild with Cessna Citation.

in der Cookstrait Foto: http://globaloceanrace.com