Les Voiles d'Antibes - Days 3 and 4
by Alexander Panzeri 20 Sep 2020 16:53 BST
16-20 September 2020
The day 3 forecast was good, more or less. The start and the leg via Cap Antibes with the wonderful La Garoupe has been a bit like purgatory with the wind going down, but when outside the bay of Golfe Juan till the Palm Beach (the home of the Yacht Club Cannes) the conditions were typical for the event: small waves and good wind maybe up to 10kts, sufficient to see masts angled, sails full.
Even though the north-north-east wind had changed at the starting line, the pin was still preferred, and as usual, this means some boats overshooting the start. However the course chosen was the 11 (with C flag already announced) and demands a different strategy to follow - immediately tack or follow to the mark and tack later.
A great performance from the new TUIGA D-3 team showed the training during the summer has made the team strong! They were also followed by a RIB of Y.C.M. with supporters and a "photographic bench" mounted at the bow. With this in mind the organization has provided a VIP yellow-cab RIB to bring spectators closer to the action.
A note about Day 4: the start was precise at 09:00UTC, but a storm has arrived suddenly and around 10:00UTC all races were stopped (around the hills of Nice many lighting strikes were seen, and strong gusting wind reported on the radio. Also the visibility has dropped significantly.
Balance of the event: absolutely positive, as usual Antibes has showed its capacity to make great regattas.
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