Americans celebrate clean sweep
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STUART ALEXANDER
reports from Cowes
The United States scored a clean sweep of three firsts in the fourth race of the Champagne Mumm Admiral's Cup yesterday, and a cause for extra celebration was the first defeat of the Italian 40-footer, Pasquale Landolfi's BravaQ8, by David Clarke's Pigs in Space.
This put some valuable daylight between the Americans and the Italians, who are now 12.125 points adrift, with the rest of the eight countries floundering in their wake. For the British trio, the death by a thousand cuts continued and it was debatable whether they were helped or hindered by only one race being run instead of the two scheduled for Corum Trophy day.
The catch-up can be made either by running three races today or using tomorrow's reserve day to stage the postponed fifth race. As the organising Royal Ocean Racing Club has arranged things for the greatest flexibility, it may agree with the Italian team's weather expert, Roger Badham, that a change of venue from Christchurch Bay, at the west end of the Isle of Wight, should be considered.
It took four hours of delay before a little thermal sea breeze crept across the bay, and while the Irish big boat Jameson 1 was able to break away and lead the fleet, although she was eventually beaten on handicap by Bob Towse's Blue Yankee, Britain's big boat, Group 4 Seahorse, skippered by Robin Aisher, found herself struggling to beat even some of the small boats, the Mumm 36s.
Except, that is, for Britain's Mumm 36, another Group 4, which struggled at the start, went up the right-hand side of the course when the left was paying, looked painfully slow, and rounded the top mark at the back by a considerable distance.
At that mark, 23 of the 24 boats hoisted spinnakers and stayed to their right; Aisher hoisted his and went left. And the Mumm, skippered by Mike Golding, waited a while before also heading over to its left, which inspired one senior member of the support team to bemoan what he saw as an LGO - a lightning gybe to oblivion.
The Italian 36, Mumm a Mia! also went left and suffered, but managed to pull back to second in her class. That, with Brava's second and the big boat Capricorno's sixth, still gave the Italian team the second best score of the day in company with the Scandinavians.
The only boat again to salvage any pride was the British 40, skippered by Harry Scudmore, which was third early in the race and held on to finish fifth, but Britain was again the highest points scorer in a low-scoring contest and is now firmly lodged at the back.
The lack of wind also affected Skandia Life Cowes Week, where all of the day boat racing was cancelled for the second consecutive day and only seven classes eventually began racing at 1.45pm, although the Sunfasts could not complete the course in the eastern Solent by the 6pm deadline.
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