On the TP52 Jolt 3 skippered by Peter Harrison, tactical decisions paid off. A superb 2nd place in the first race and 1st in the second put the team in second place overall in the provisional ranking in AC Class 1. Another notable performance in the same group was that of Django WR51, helmed by Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, which claimed two third-place finishes.
In AC Class 2, YCM vice-president Pierre Casiraghi remained focused and calm on Jolt 6. After finishing 7th in the first race, the team hit back to claim 4th in the second race, and now lie third in the provisional ranking. Still in AC2, Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s second entry, Django JPK, is in seventh place this Tuesday.
Thanks to the level-heads and consistency of the Jolt boats, Yacht Club de Monaco has taken the lead in the club standings, one point ahead of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, closely followed by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. The end result of this provisional podium promises to go down to the wire.
It was a day of two very different races: the first a short technical windward course of 2.5nm for AC1 and 1.9nm for the AC2 in a shifty 16-knot breeze; the second “round the cans” technical coastal race of 25nm for the AC1 and 23nm for AC2 tested the teams in winds gusting 20 knots to a thrilling finish at the Royal Yacht Squadron Line.
Wednesday is the second of three days of inshore racing when the teams have their work cut out for them. Then after a rest day on Friday, they head offshore on Saturday for the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, a flagship event on the offshore calendar and of the Admiral’s Cup.
The Rolex Fastnet is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Over 450 boats and 4,000 sailors, pros and amateurs, will be on the start of this legendary 695 nautical mile course across the Channel and Atlantic to round the fiercesome Fastnet Rock south of Ireland, before coming back.
For Team Jolt and Yacht Club de Monaco, their preparations have more than paid off this week. The big test is yet to come.
