REGATES ROYALES 2015 - 24 SEPTEMBRE
Russians bounce back
Russians bounce back
The highly competitive Dragon fleet had two races today. The first started in the early afternoon with a nice south-westerly breeze of a dozen knots on a windward/leeward course, the perfect playground for the 1929 one-designs to speed downwind, using their spinnakers in “kite surf style”. Conditions were particularly suitable for the Russian crews, who had not started the series on a high. Anatoly Loginov (Annapurna) scored a win in the fourth race ahead of his countryman Vasily Senatorov (Even Better) whilst Victor Fogelson (Sunflower) finished in sixth. Germany's Michaël Schmidt (M3) finished in fourth behind the other German crew skippered by Michaël Zankel (Powwow). The starting signal for the second race of the day was fired in a south-westerly of around 15 knots. On the windward/leeward course, after two and a half laps, the first to cross the line was Martin Payne (Bear) from the UK, with the slightest margin over Ivan Bradbury (Blue Haze) and French Stéphane Baseden (Outlaw). As a result the overall top position is still in the hands of Michaël Schmidt (M3) with a nine-point advantage, followed by a triplet of Britons (Blue Haze, Jerboa, Bear) and Germany's Michaël Zankel. Tomorrow is the last racing day for the Dragons at the 37th Régates Royales and the final podium will probably be decided among these five teams, with both Italy's Giuseppe Duca (Cloud) and Russia's Anatoly Loginov (Annapurna) already out of contention, 30 and 33 points behind the leaders respectively.
