Bavaria Cup 2007
10/16/2007
The first crew arrived in Biograd, where at the pier of Marina Kornati, 18 Bavaria 42 Match yachts are already waiting with Russian, Ukrainian and Estonian flags flying along with giant (2 × 3m) blue flags with the words “Bavaria Yachts”
10/17/2007 - 10/19/2007
Arriving crews take their boats, go to the gym. The weather deteriorates, in the evening of October 18th it began to rain heavily, snow fell in the mountains. On the morning of the 19th, a unique picture from the sea opened up for the yachts who went out for training - against the background of the yachts and at an air temperature of about 18 degrees, snow-covered mountains were seen in the distance ...
10/20/2007
18.30 - A meeting of the regatta skippers took place. The strong northeast wind (35 - 40 knots), observed during October 19 - 20, made changes to the regatta route. With this wind, parking in Vodice is recognized as problematic. It was decided to assign the start of race No. 1 to 11.00 on October 21 along the following route: Biograd - tacking on a landmark near the eastern tip of Babac Island, then to Prcevac Island and finishing at the northern tip of Kamenica Island. After the finish, the yachts are ordered to go over the skerries past the town of Sibenik to the marina of Skradin
19.00 - In the fireplace hall of the Biograd Yacht Club restaurant, a friendly dinner began, dedicated to the start of the Bavaria Cup 2007 regatta. After a short introductory word from the organizers, the crew’s skippers presented their crews. Sailors from different cities of Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Germany arrived at the regatta. For the participants of the regatta, a folk group played - a mandolin, an accordion and a guitar, and then a particularly talented yachtsman was entertained by the local VIA. The evening was a success.
10/21/2007
9.00 - At the meeting of captains made the last adjustments on the distance, starting and finishing procedure. At 10.00, the departure of yachts from the marina was appointed. The wind is increasing ...
10.00 - Wind 30 to 35 knots. The Croatian judge (the regatta is registered in the calendar of the Croatian Sailing Federation) postponed the race. According to the rules of conversion, competitions cannot be held with a wind strength of more than 25 knots. After clarifying the weather forecast, it was decided to cancel the race on October 21, to go in free mode to Skradin, where to wait out bad weather.
11.30 - Yachts one by one in the storm bulk wind with the help of a boat with inflatable sides, out of the marina. The speed of yachts under a small staysail reaches 9 knots. A fleet controlled by a 42-foot referee boat and 4 51-foot and 54-foot cruisers head for the mouth of the Krka River (Sibenik).
16.00 - The first yacht moored in Skradin. The wind begins to subside to 5 points. The next day, an excursion to the Skradin Buk waterfalls is scheduled, and at 13.00 a meeting of captains, where a decision will be made on a possible short race on the lake Prokljansko Jezero. The people went to a friendly dinner.
10.22.2007
05.00 - The northeastern wind increased sharply, in gusts of up to 50 knots (and this is near the pier in Skradin, closed by mountains). It became clear that the race today will not be.
10.00 - The first motor ship from Skradin to the entrance to the Krka National Park departed from the Skradin jetty together with the first group of people who want to see the beauty of the magnificent waterfalls. The meeting of captains is appointed at 18.00. Weather forecast indicates a weakening of the wind on October 23 to 3-4 points. We hope that everything will be fine, before this forecast did not fail, it was executed with an accuracy of up to 3 hours.
18.00 - A meeting of captains. The race on the route Mazirina (western extremity) is announced - the landmark Plicine Sestre - o.Mulo - the entrance to the bay of Kremik Marina. The wind continues to whistle, but the tendency to weakening is obvious.
10/23/2007
8.30 - Meeting of captains, where certain moments of the future race are specified.
9.00 - Yachts out of Skradin in the direction of Sibenik and then - to o.Mazerina. 12.00
Race number 1 has been launched. Blowing a fairly strong NE with reinforcements up to 25 knots, a part of the fleet was supplied with a large genoa, but as practice has shown, it was necessary to take the first reef, or seriously open the luff of the grotto on its upper half. After active tacking, which half of the fleet conducted on the left side of the distance, and half - on the right (which won in the end), the yachts raised spinnakers (gulfwind - full wave) and almost even reached Mulo Island, after which a small tacking. As a result, Les Sables came first to the finish, Southampton came second, San Diego took third.
After the race, a meeting of the organizing committee was held, where it was decided to carry out the race to the city of Vodice, the route of the race was developed, parking places were chosen for the choice of skippers - the marina and the Vodice city pier, as well as a small marina on Zlarin Island. On the morning of October 24, the forecast promises wind NE up to 15 knots.
10/24/2007
2nd race. 22 miles.
Finally: the forecast for the NE wind is up to 15 knots, the distance with good tacking. All active, trained and ready for battle. It's like the first start after the practice race: you have sorted out the roles, the boat, etc. However, sailing is sailing: here the captain, crew, yacht ... everything matters, But the most important actor is the weather, or rather the wind . It was he who brought surprises: expected, but still unpredictable.
Start in a very weak wind. Infinite looking out for streams, looking at clouds, shores. As this often happens in such races - the main rally happened “through calm” and then everyone lined up in a long ride, where it was much more difficult to change the situation. The fleet divided into several groups and confidently moved along the distance. It seemed that everyone had already “sorted out” by rounding around the island Maslinovik, but it did not work out. The main task is to go beyond the cape of Maslinovik, where the main wind obviously prevails. After a series of "shyness" devoted to the search for wind, the first for the cape are the yachts Southampton and Cape Cod, the latter pulled the tack to the north and eventually ended up in a calm strip. The yacht Southampton pulled ahead, embarked on a general course on Father Kakan, successfully passing it to the full bravado, and later did not miss its leadership, tearing itself away from its rivals for more than a mile.
At the last stage of 7 miles, the wind was again forced to zero, and the fleet activated in the hope of changing the situation. Someone was looking for his happiness in non-trivial "corner" solutions, someone stepped on the heels of competitors. There was more than 2.5 hours left until the end of the control time (18-00), however, the “mirror” of water ahead caused the panel of judges to worry, which even offered to take a shortened finish on the radio (the agreed point of distance reduction had already been passed by this point). Yachtsmen are very gambling people, and sailing is always a bit of a lottery. Therefore, the general opinion coincided with the one that was correct for the letter of the sailing competition: we are going in accordance with the racing instructions to the next control point of o.Logorun. A "save the race" (ie, to finish) was the one who knows the wind.
By 17-00, the finish of the first yacht, Southampton, was reached. Then, in harmony and in almost match wrestling, Moscow Auckland and Las Palmas finished. With a small margin behind them - the leader of the first race Les Sables from Odessa. Unfortunately, the fleet was stretched quite strongly and in control time only 7 yachts out of 18 were installed - Southampton, Auckland, Las Palmas, Les Sables, Cape Cod, Solent and Saint Tropez. The rest of the protocol appeared entry DNF.
Given the cancellation of the first race, scheduled for October 21, and, consequently, the inability to ignore the worst arrival, the need for two races in one day became obvious. As it was successfully implemented the next day, the benefit of the forecast contributed to this. The change of the northeastern wind to the southeastern was promised, with its strengthening for two days to 35 knots. It was supposed to change the wind about 12 o'clock in the afternoon.
At the operational meeting of the organizing committee, the following route of the two subsequent races was developed: Race No. 3: start near the eastern tip of og.Logorun, tack on the first mark - buoy near the marina of Vodice, then round the o.Tijat and complete course to finish near o.Prisnjak. The range for the general course - 15.9 m.m.
Race number 4: start a full course at the finish of the previous race, rounding around the islands of Babuljas, Gnalic and Kozina, the last one will be taken to the finish. Range - 8.7 m.
The organizing committee brought all the information to the captains by radio, as the fleet divided - half went to Zlarin, half - to Vodice, so the message about the races was repeated several times, everyone heard it and almost all crews went to the start fully prepared.
10.25.2007
10.00 - Nearly the entire fleet gathered near the launch, we are waiting only for Saint Martin, who, unfortunately, wrapped the mooring on the propeller in the dark the day before, so the diver’s call took a while.
11.00 - Start of race number 3. Started in unison, but the proximity of the coast had its effect, and someone was more fortunate. The change of wind occurred almost within ten minutes after bending around the first sign. A steady southeast wind arrived, almost immediately it became much warmer, for the first time during the regatta the crews crept out of warm clothes - it became very hot. Put the spinnakers on the fordewind. Some were looking for happiness under the coast, but mostly those who went seaside won. At the finish, three yachts mated and went to loving each other, which ended in a series of protests that were not satisfied.
14.20 - The start of race No. 4 is given. The start under the spinnakers, which, the majority set right after the start. On the full course again won (but a little) yachts at sea. On the rounding around of o.Gnalic with the change of spinnaker by genu, some were able to get ahead, and, accordingly, some people lost. Other signs were held with a steady wind under the main sails, so their rounding did not contribute to the existence
The start of race No. 4 is given. The start under the spinnakers, which, the majority set right after the start. On the full course again won (but a little) yachts at sea. On the rounding around of o.Gnalic with the change of spinnaker by genu, some were able to get ahead, and, accordingly, some people lost. Other signs were held with a steady wind under the main sails, so their rounding did not make significant corrections to the finishing protocol. After the finish of the fourth race, everyone moored in the marina of Kornati, the native marina of the fleet. In general, the day went well - the wind was no more than 18 knots, the sun was shining, the races were dynamic. Obviously, a positive experience was obtained of holding two races in one day, which also relieved some tension in the mood of the crews of the yachts who did not meet the control time the day before.
It was decided to start the last, fifth race with a length of 14.2 m. the next day on the route: start at the southwestern tip of the island Sv.Katarina, rounding o.V.Artica and o.and o.Gnalic (both starboard) ,.Babuljas (starboard) and finish at the start. The wind is promised strong enough - up to 35 knots, especially in the area of the first mark.
10.26.2007
10.30 - The first start was unsuccessful, the majority of the fleet turned out to be a false start, and a general review was given. Many did not take into account the strong, more than one knot, the flow, and literally “took out” everyone beyond the starting line for the distance. At the second start there was an unfortunate incident, which became one of the reasons for the loss of the yacht Southampton in this race, and, in general, the loss of its first place in the final protocol. The New York yacht with a crew from Sevastopol, headed by Alexander Nikolaev, despite numerous warnings about the lack of space between Southampton and the referee vessel, which was standing in the wind, nevertheless rounded the launch vessel from the distance and headed for the closed "hole". The result - a blow overboard the yacht New York, knocking down the Southampton helmsman on the cockpit floor. The blow could have led to catastrophic consequences if it were not for the actions of the Southampton yacht, which had fallen a little before the strike, giving space for New York to pass between them and the referee ship. Lavirovka at the first sign allowed Southampton to get as close as possible to the race leader - Les Sables, but the minutes and a half lost at the start turned out to be fatal, and it became impossible to catch up on the full course on a strong wind (up to 25 knots). The fact is that the Southampton yacht had only one rival left for the last race - the Les Sables yacht, the other yachts could not intervene in the first and second place. In fact, who of these two won the last race became the owner of the main prize. There was another possibility - in the case of the arrival of Les Sables fourth and lower, Southampton ranked first, even if it had not started at all. Such amazing opportunities often arise under the rule of throwing the worst result in a competition. An extremely dangerous incident threatening not only the destruction of the materiel, but also the possibility of damaging the health of yachtsmen on both yachts, an incident that should not occur in competitions of such large yachts as Bavaria 42 Match, left a very unpleasant aftermath .
By 2 pm all the yachts returned to the marina and the fuss began with the preparation of the yachts for delivery. At 7 o'clock in the evening, an official award ceremony was appointed in the fireplace room of the Biograd Yacht Club restaurant.
19.00 - All participants of the regatta - yachtsmen, the panel of judges, employees of the Adriatic Challenge company, the marinas of Kornati, the Biograd Yacht Club gathered in the restaurant, various drinks and snacks were served. By this time, the passions had subsided, the crews surrendered their yachts, took seats at the tables. After all satisfied the hunger began the procedure of rewarding. The chief referee of the competition V. B. Pribylov, called in turn the crews of the yachts in accordance with the occupied places, and the head of the organizing committee, the general director of the company Bavaria Yachts A. N. Markarov awarded each crew member with commemorative medals. Special prizes were awarded to crews of yachts, who took first places in separate stages - Les Sables, Southampton and Cowes. Members of the jury and members of the organizing committee received medals of the regatta. Finally, the procedure for awarding the winners of the competition. The crew of the San Diego yacht (Kiev, Ukraine), headed by Dmitry Yarov, was awarded a small cup and bronze medals, the crew of the Southampton yacht (Moscow-Petersburg, Russia, the skipper Alexander Markarov) received a medium cup and silver medals, a large cup and gold medals The crew from Odessa, Ukraine was awarded the Les Sables yacht, led by skipper Valentin Klementyev. After the official part, the guest orchestra began to play, which really “lit up” the majority of those present, some returned to their yachts long after midnight. In general, the night was very vain, most of the regattas were leaving at night and early in the morning, for example, buses to Zagreb for the Aeroflot flight to Moscow left the marina at 5 am. The latter left the hospitable Biograd no later than noon on October 27.
In general, the regatta was held at a high level. If you do not take into account the incident at the start of the last race, all participants showed great skill, respect for each other, and organization. The organizing committee was able to provide quick replacement of torn sails for repaired ones (8 spinnakers were damaged during the regatta, and 5 - very significantly), the equipment did not let down, minor failures were promptly fixed by the mechanic who accompanied the regatta. The efforts of correspondents of the magazines Kapitan-club, Russia (Alexander Samoilov) and Farvater, Ukraine (Bogdan Parfenyuk), as well as participants of the regatta (V.Orlov, V. Shnurenko, A. Markarov and the crew of Saint Tropez yacht) photos, which was transferred to each participating crew as a keepsake. The start of preparations for the Bavaria Cup 2008 regatta, which will take place at the end of October 2008 in Biograd, was announced, many crews have already confirmed their participation in the future competition.
Photographers: A. Samoilov, A. Markarov, B. Parfenyuk, V. Orlov, V. Shnurenko
