Porto Montenegro put the toughest blu26 sailors to the test
Building on last year’s success, the blu26 class called for the second fleet race edition at Porto Montenegro. Two local, two German and two Swiss teams accepted the challenge.
Wind gusts of up to 35 knots accompanied the races, providing the ultimate sailing conditions. And team Hazel did it again! Closely followed by team Sailing Center Tegernsee and team Dukic.
The teams that had scheduled a warm-up training the day before the race to acclimatize to the local conditions, were surprised by very strong winds and heavy rain. What a baptism! The rain stopped that evening however the Bura, a strong local katabatic wind, lived up to its name and continued to set the scene on the first racing day. The fleet race battle with six competing crews rotated at a fast- pace through the four boats in very strong breezes, putting the toughest sailors to the test. Cracking situations asked for clever tactics and excellent teamwork. Particularly the spinnaker maneuvers required optimum precision. On the second race day, somewhat lighter winds, yet rather twisty gusts, created an extra challenge for the teams. Fairness, no objections to decisions by the on-water umpires jugging after AddendumQ, and appropriate execution of penalties, assured fair and smooth racing conditions. Eighteen races overall stretched the excitement until the final course mark.
Team Hazel is taking the trophy back to Switzerland after consistently good performance. The young sailing team from Tegernsee, Germany in second place was closely followed by the local Team Dukic in third. This was the first time that Milivoj Dukic, Montenegrin Olympic Sailor, joined the blu26 fleet race. “I really enjoyed these two racing days. It feels like a week of sailing after the many races we have done. I’m very happy with the blu26 boat because you need a lot of physical and tactical efforts”, Milivoj reveals.
The blu26 class was again warmly welcomed by the Porto Montenegro Yacht Club (PMYC). Special thanks to Tony Browne and Jenny Puttock, who have organized the event and led the race committee with the highest professionalism. “What makes the blu26 events so special is that almost all participants know each other and connect so easily. It’s almost family-like”, says Jenny. Indeed, the prize giving ceremony on Saturday evening, the relaxed BBQ gathering and live-viewing of the America Cup made all participants feel almost at home.
Porto Montenegro has become a fixed-point on the blu26 class sailing map. The blu26 class thanks the PMYC very much for the prodigious hosting of these exciting racing days. We will be back!
Video Interview with Milivoj Dukic, Team Dukic
Find more information about the blu26 regatta season 2017 at www.blu26.org/index.php/events. And so we continue:
24/25 Juni - blu26 Cup Romanshorn
19/20 August - blu26 Cup St. Moritz
15-17 September - blu26 Int. Swiss Championship Bayern (GER)
29 September - GV blu26 International Class Association in Zürich
30 September/01 Oktober - blu26 Cup Zürich
Author: Céline Zuber, Blu26 Class Communications | Pictures: Dalibor Sevaljevic and Mirko Kordic, Porto Montenegro Yacht Club
