Sailing World on Water July 14.23 RTI Race, 52 Royal Cup, Aegean 600, RORC Cowes-Dinard, more

Highlights of what happened globally in the sport of sailing in the last 7 days.
After a disappointing eighth and a ninth on the opening day of the Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup, Tony Langley’s British flagged Gladiator bounced back with two good, solid race wins. Harm Müller-Spreer’s Platoon retain the overall regatta lead thanks to their second and fifth places.

This is your weekly Sailing Highlights show, the World on Water, July 14, 2023.

This is the pedigree of the RORC Cowes Dinard winner, Tschüss 2. The yacht started life with a win in the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race as Groupama 4 under Franck Cammas, then Kiwi winemaker, Jim Delegat, won the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in it as, Giacomo. It was then sold to the US and as Wizard, it won the 2019, 388 boat, Rolex Fastnet Race. One could say it's a Volvo 70 Super Boat, and at Full Tilt, You'd better hang on.

In this white hot fleet on Day 3, again, it seemed all too easy to pair a good result to a bad one. That was not the case for the circuit leaders, Ergin Imré’s Provezza which sailed to a fourth and first places to take the event lead by just half a point from Takashi Okura’s Sled. And Jean Luc Petithuguenin’s Paprec team had their best day of the season so far with a second and a fourth.

With the help of a solid Meltemi wind throughout the race area, and reaching and running angles in the first few legs of the course, the fleet of yesterday’s 44 starters has had a fast start to the first half of the AEGEAN 600. This offshore classic race is organized by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club, and co-organized by the Region of Attica, Olympic Marine, and supported by the Deputy Ministry of Sports.

Winners of the 52 SUPER SERIES Menorca regatta in both 2019 and 2021, Platoon looked to have killed off their chances of a consecutive Mahon hat-trick when they were over the start line and were penalised to amass 13 points for their day’s work, but the past double TP52 world champions first had put themselves into position to take the lucky break, when it came their way at the end of Race 7, before, then winning Race 8 emphatically.

The Aegean 600's course is a magnificent anti-clockwise lap of the southern Aegean Sea, weaving its way between islands steeped in Greek ancient history and mythology. The start was off Homer's sanctuary, the temple of Poseidon, before heading to Milos (of Venus de Milo fame) and on to the gate at Santorini Caldera, where the white houses blend with the volcanic rock. Southwest to the race's southernmost turning mark, Kassos, it is then northeast leaving to port, Karpathos, birthplace of Athena, and on to Rhodes. The course then meanders north up through islands such as Kos and Kalymnos, before the fleet heads west, past Patmos and on to the gate between Mykonos and Delos, birthplace of Apollo, to the finish again off Sounion.

Harm Müller-Spreer’s Platoon extended their record in Menorca to three victories when the German flagged team lifted the Royal Cup as winners of the third regatta of the 2023 season, the Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup. Platoon also won her in 2019 and 2021. They were pushed to the final gun of the last race by Ergin Imré’s Provezza. The Turkish flagged team, winners in both Saint Tropez and Scarlino lost their 2023 unbeaten record by only one single point after a nail biting finale when Platoon, led by Italian tactician Vasco Vascotto, deciphered the best route up what proved to be the last leg, sailing round the outside of Provezza in a fast fading breeze to steal the top prize.