There is a particular feeling of pressure today for Doug DeVos as he steps into the hot seat at the helm of Quantum Racing, for the crew of Sorcha as they set out for their first ever 52 SUPER SERIES regatta and for Azzurra as, racing on their own home waters, they seek to halt Quantum Racing’s run of three straight regatta wins since Copa del Rey in August 2015.
“We are the new boys. As a team we are pretty green when it comes to the 52 SUPER SERIES. We have never lined up against a 52 SUPER SERIES TP52 before and could really have benefited from a practice race yesterday. But we will go out there and do our best. We have no idea how we will do,” said Cameron Dunn, the tactician onboard Sorcha.
The Sorcha team includes several sailors with solid TP52 experience such as Andy Clark in the pit, Dunn who sailed with Bronenosec and Synergy before as well as hugely experienced sailors Campbell Field as navigator, trimmers Dick Parker, Andy Meiklejohn and Ronan Grealish. They have sailed as a team for a couple of years although Dunn is new to the boat.
DeVos has not stepped on his TP52 since Key West in January and also would have liked a practice race yesterday to get his eye in.
Azzurra will take some confidence in being on home turf.
“We want to go out and sail today like the the Italian football team, keep it tight and take our opportunities when they come.” said Vasco Vascotto, the tactician for Azzurra.
Follow the action from the race course, live, here.
