Leander 2014 Supercup Sprint Series

For the second year in a row, I was unable to participate in my favorite event in the whole world, the RClass Supercup sprint series due to injury. A sign of getting old I suppose.

Luckily it is not only fun to participate in, it's also fun to watch. The Supercup is a series of short, high octane races close in to shore. This guarantees exciting racing and plenty of carnage. Intrigue this year came from the foiling vs non-foiling boats. The Leander had just been won by Massive Attack, a non-foiling boat in a light-wind series, closely followed by TheVirtual, the top performing foiling boat, mostly untouchable when the breeze actually got strong enough for them to get going. Thrown into the mix was the strong pairing in L3, who had not contested the Leander, but are always ultra- competitive. Winds were up nicely, favouring TheVirtual, but most felt the short course format, and their inability to start on time would reduce their speed advantage.

The first race would be telling, and so it proved to be, with places matching overall results. TheVirtual started late, behind everyone, and on port, but going out clear to the layline, their blistering pace giving them a clear lead at the top. They were so untroubled they could sail quite conservatively, not hoisting their kite until after the first gybe. L3 started well, sailed well but couldn't really do much, taking a comfortable 2nd. The only other foiling boat in the fleet, Merde, showed glimpses of speed, but not the consistency of the top 2, taking 3rd. The other 4 boats all swum. Chemical Weapon swam the least, taking 4th, Hangovers on Massive Attack after their Leander win caused them to get confused and sail amongst the windsurfers in the middle of the harbour instead of with the R's. The Rookie crew and skipper on RaptR showed good improvement during the series and were competitive at the end after numerous early swims. As for Subwoofer, they had some issues telling their port from starboard, tried to sail through the fleet on port, their refusal to budge putting several boats into panicked maneuvers and ultimately the drink. During one of their capsizes they managed to rip out the X-frame and pulled out. So a well deserved win to Paul Roe and Malcolm Snowdon on TheVirtual. Can't wait till next year! More Photos