Rain, rain and rain with 4 to 6 knots of wind was the recipe for day 1 in front of Helsinki for ranking 2. The superb thing is that the Melges24s are the biggest racing fleet in this regatta called Suunto Cup. Besides us there are f.ex. X-99, X-35, Dragon, Star classes competing with us on the same time on the same course. This is the marketing we want it in Finland - Melges24 mania!
And today´s racing. Stable conditions and wind coming in from E (80 degrees). A Finnish Melges24 fleet of 17 boats was really cool to watch. Zuxu EST791 helmed by Peter Saraskin took early command of the fleet turning first at the upwind mark. Followed by Midnight Sun Sailing One FIN529 helmed Sami Ekblad. It looked that Zuxu would take a easy win but the last long beat changed it all. Small shifts and gusts coming in and out mixed Zuxu so that MSS One got to the "bumper". The last run and especially the leeward mark + the rounding was a true skill of MSS One and Sami Ekblad. They took Zuxu and sailed into first place. Third was FIN662 helmed by Jaakko Perimaa.
After this race the wind died totally and the rain shower show started. After almost 1½ hours of waiting the race committee sent the fleet to the harbour.
So the fleet got only one race sailed and so three races are scheduled for tomorrow. Weather prediction looks better > 8 to 14 knots of wind.
Click here for full results of the regatta
Racing starts tomorrow at 11.00 am at Melkki race area. Keep tuned!