RC 44 Season Championship resumes today off Valencia
July 27, 2010
Featuring 11 crews ready to battle in match and fleet race disciplines, the RC 44 2010 Season Championship resumes here tomorrow on the Mediterranean Sea.
Pieter Heerema of The Netherlands leads his No Way Back crew into action atop the season standings. Last year’s season champs have amassed the low score of 8 points on finishes of 3-3-2, but Heerema sees trouble on the horizon.
“We’ve been consistent, but this isn’t the moment to talk about the standings,” said Heerema, a veteran sailor of dinghies and keelboats. “After this regatta each team gets to discard its worst finish, so the standings will change.”
Three points in arrears is the Russell Coutts-led BMW ORACLE Racing crew aboard Deal Breaker. Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis holds third place with 12 points, followed by Chris Bake’s Team Aqua with 14 points and Harm Mueller-Speer’s Team Sea Dubai in fifth place with 16 points.
“They’ve been very consistent,” said Team Aqua professional helmsman Cameron Appleton of New Zealand. “Pieter has put in a lot of time and effort and it’s paid off. They’re a strong unit.”
Other competitors in the event include Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref of Slovenia, BMW ORACLE Racing’s Boat 17 led by skipper James Spithill, Guennadi Timtchenko’s Katusha of Russia, Daniel Calero’s Islas Canarias Puerto Calero and René Mangold’s AEZ RC44 Sailing Team of Austria.
