SailJuice Blog

In the grudge rematch this afternoon, Desafio Espanol 2007 bounced back from a poor start with some great downwind moves and socked it to Mascalzone Latino. Both teams were fired up for this one, which was evident from the exuberant celebrations by the team in green when they crossed the line.

However, Vasco Vascotto spotted a gesture he didn’t like the look of, and it came from Desafio’s Kiwi tactician John Cutler. Vascotto didn’t take kindly to this, and made his feelings evident in the media zone after racing. “It’s disappointing the end of their victory was marred by an unsportsmanlike gesture from John Cutler. In my crew I have Spanish sailors and he – who is a Kiwi – doesn’t deserve to sail on a Spanish boat. The whole world saw this, and I hope the… Read the rest

Vincenzo Onorato called a press conference at the Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team base this morning. It was a typically flamboyant affair, with the charismatic Onorato in flamboyant and upbeat mood. And so he should be, after getting off the hook with another 10,000 Euro fine (remember the one from a couple of days ago for the paint job).

Mascalzone Latino have been fortunate to find Bryan Willis and his jury in generous mood. This could so easily have been a disqualification for the Italians, which would have snuffed out any realistic hope of reaching the Semi Finals.

The Italians held their hands up to moving the top-mast backstays during the race. Indeed they admitted they had missed the rule change from two years ago which forbids such moving of the stays during racing. So for the past two years, the Rascals… Read the rest

This evening the protest takes place between Desafio Espanol and Mascalzone Latino. For the Italians, this potentially is a make or break meeting, because if the Spanish succeed in making their accusation stick (of illegal use of the top-mast backstays on Mascalzone), then it will be two points harder for Vasco Vascotto’s team to break through to the Semi Finals.

At the press zone this evening I asked Ian Walker from +39 Challenge about this whole thing of removable backstays. Ian says on +39 they make a decision based on windstrength as to whether or not they’ll need them. If it’s light enough to get away without them, Ian texts one of the shore team who passes the message on to the measurers, who must be informed of such changes before the race.

It all seems a bit precarious mucking… Read the rest

So far so good for the change of helmsman on Mascalzone Latino, with Cameron Dunn doing a good job for the Italian boat in the must-win match against Desafio Espanol 2007 yesterday. The Rascals are still in with a chance of deposing the Spanish from that coveted fourth Semi Final place.

However, it seems yesterday’s match between Mascalzone and Desafio is not quite over, with the Spanish putting in a protest against the Italians, who they claim made illegal use of their backstay during the race in question. It’s an arcane rule, but basically if you choose to start the race with your backstay you must finish the race with your backstay. If you start the race without your backstay, you must complete the race without your backstay – which is a real problem if the wind pipes up half… Read the rest

Five losses in a row?!! I hadn’t even realised until Vincenzo Onorato pointed it out yesterday. After such a strong start, that is a disappointing run of form for Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia.

Is it the right thing to change helmsman at this stage in the game though? Substituting Flavio Favini for Kiwi Cameron Dunn seems like desperate measures, but then again, I suppose the time has come for desperate measures. This time next week, 11 teams will have been slashed to just 4.

Team head Onorato commented: “Five losses in a row have seriously affected our morale, it would be wrong to deny. In today’s sailing team meeting the burn from the losses was evident. However my men are not depressed but angry, with a real desire to recover and that is exactly the way I’d like them to be.

“We’ve… Read the rest