Bermuda Defeat Mexico At Qualifiers In Rio
Bermuda secured a three-second win over Mexico in Group I at the SSL Pan-American Qualifiers in Rio de Janeiro, leaving them just one point behind the group leaders ahead of the final day.
A spokesperson said, “The penultimate day of a regatta is often called ‘Moving Day’, but here in Rio it has to be ‘Samba Saturday’, as the eight national teams vying for the final three tickets to the Copa do Mundo da Vela, the Football World Cup in Sailing, continued their dance on Guanabara Bay.
“The leaderboards in both Group H and I were taking shape with two clear leaders, but anything can happen with the double points race on Sunday, and then the ‘Last Chance’ race which will see the pressure go up to the next level as four teams battle for that final coveted place in the finals.
“With another great breeze forecast, but a little less of the sunshine we were blessed with yesterday, it was another great day to be out on the water.
Group I, Race 4
“The Group I teams lined up beautifully on the startline with El Salvador at the committee boat end and Cuba winning the pin as the breeze piped up to 15 knots.
“The Cubans managed to cross the fleet as they tacked out to the right, judging the shifts to perfect to cross the fleet by over 100 metres as the fleet converged. At the windward mark it was tight behind the leaders as Mexico rounded just ahead of Bermuda with El Salvador a little further back.
“Cuban helm Nelido Manso López powered the Pirates of the Caribbean team downwind, and his well-drilled crew rescued what could have been a disastrous spinnaker drop at the leeward gate, grabbing it out of the water before it started to drag, with Mexico leading the chasing pack as El Salvador struggled to get the jib sheeted in. The stronger winds make every manoeuvre that little bit harder, so minimising mistakes becomes critical.
“Cuba rounded the final windward mark 24 seconds ahead of Mexico after judging the layline to absolute perfection, with Bermuda in third.
“The final downwind leg saw the race turn on its head as Cuba lost ground on the left, while Mexico and Bermuda powered down the right. It was nip-and-tick as the teams crossed gybes into the line with Bermuda rolling Mexico at the last second to take the comeback win by just 3 seconds as Cuba came in just 10 seconds further back.
“The result leaves the battle for Finals ticket in Group I finally poised going into Golden Sunday as Mexico are just a point ahead of Bermuda and Cuba are a mere 2 points further back. With double points on offer it’s all to play for, but El Salvador need everything to go their way to qualify for the Last Chance race.”
SSL Team Bermuda’s Grinder Max Curtis said after the race, “It was an epic, epic downwind and the whole crew went 100% fast, fast, fast, the whole way down. I’ve probably never spun the handles that fast in my life! We were just wide open. There was great communication between us and the trimmer, the tactician and the skipper. We just banged every single manoeuvre to get us down to that finish.”
On how they overtook Cuba and their confidence going into the final day Mr Curtis added, “They pretty much opened the door for us, so we just took the opportunity, banged our big maneouvres and it was a whole team effort. I fell out of the boat yesterday, and coming from that and still coming first, and then redoing it all over again today – the team’s just locked right in now and it’s all to play for in the next race. The whole team’s hungry right now and we’re going into tomorrow.”
The spokesperson said, “What a day we have in store to conclude the Pan-American Qualifiers. The final three tickets will be awarded and the full forty nations set to contest the Copa do Mundo da Vela will be known. Be sure to tune in to the live broadcast on the @StarSailors YouTube channel to see how it all plays out!”
