Armando Giulietti and Sébastien Col out sail the opposition and conquer the Dubai RC 44 Cup

[Source: RC44] The Italian-French duo left no chance to the opposition today, winning two out of three races and finishing the fleet race event with a comfortable margin over Team Ceeref and Team ES Bankers Dubai.

The wind had shifted to the left for today’s last races, and the chop made it a significantly different race course than the one experienced during the previous days. This novelty didn’t disturb Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano, with Armando Giulietti at the helm and Sébastien Col at the tactics. Indeed, the Italian team clearly dominated the fleet today, taking excellent starts, sailing fast and at the right place to win the event with a massive 15 points margin over Team Ceeref and Team ES Bankers Dubai.

Also on great form, Team Ceeref’s Igor Lah climbed up the ranking list to end up in a beautiful second place. Already winner of the match race event earlier in the week (with James Spithill at the helm), Team Ceeref concludes the Dubai RC 44 Cup with the best overall result although the RC 44 Class has decided to drop the combined match & fleet ranking.

The winners of the Dubai RC44 Cup, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano. Dubai, 7 March 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

Team ES Bankers Dubai, with Patrick de Barros at the helm and Russell Coutts calling the shots, didn’t have the day it expected. Indeed, its bow crash box broke during the first beat, slowing down the boat in a very frustrating way and resulting in a disappointing 6th and two 5th places today, with a third rank overall.

Team Aqua confirmed that it was back on form, sailing consistently with a 4th, a 3rd and a 2nd place to end up fourth overall – a satisfying result considering its difficult start in the event.

Finally, Cro-A-Sail ends up with the same number of points as Team Aqua but finishes fifth of the fleet race ranking, ahead of Team Sea Dubai. Sailing very well for their first appearance in the RC 44 Championship Tour, the boat owned by Dubai International Marine Club proved that it could beat all the teams with some more training and got a very promising fourth place in the match race event.

Today’s last race was the coastal DHL Trophy. It took the six strong RC 44 fleet in Dubai’s spectacular The Palm construction, reaching alongside the Meridien Hotel beach and beating alongside the massive construction site. A very enjoyable ride that saw once again Team Hiroshi- Città di Milano lead the fleet, ahead of Team Aqua and Cro-A-Sail.

James Spithill and Sébastien Col, this time as tacticians, fight during the last day of the Dubai RC44 Cup. Dubai, 7 March 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

Interestingly, the two leading teams of this event have been training together during five days before the start of the competition. Team Hiroshi also worked with Ian Ainslie as a coach on this event, well known as Shosholoza’s strategist in the last America’s Cup. The team worked hard at bettering its speed thanks to the use of video, photos and daily de-briefings. There is no secret to victory, but a simple method and a lot of hard work.

They said:

Armando Giulietti, owner, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano (1st): “We didn’t have too much pressure today as we were comfortably in the lead. It helped us to sail well and be relaxed about it. Somehow, it felt easy but there is a lot of work behind it. We always go out early on the water to practice. For us, preparation is the key to success.”

Sébastien Col, tactician, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano (1st): “We spent five days training with James Spithill before this event and this is the key to our success. We are still new to the Class, and we are not yet sure how to trim the boat in various conditions. We have definitely improved a lot.”

Igor Lah, owner, Team Ceeref (2nd): “I am very happy and lucky to sail with such a good team. They are great and we work well together. We don’t talk much on board. It is quiet and relax. Everybody knows what they have to do and they make it as well as they can. I started sailing one year ago and now, I can really say that I love it. If anybody wants to join the club, I can only encourage them: it is great.”

James Spithill, tactician, Team Ceeref: “When I found out about Igor’s sailing background a year ago, I got a bit concerned… Now I just find it amazing. It also shows how good our entire team is. It’s not down to me but to the entire team. On these boats, everyone has to rely on everyone. The boat is also very well prepared, which is key.”

Patrick de Barros, Team ES Bankers Dubai (3rd): “We had a bad day. We took a bad start, then we were over the line, our crash box went off, it was hanging down all day like a big paddle… It’s a shame because we started the championship very well. Next time will be better. We just need to sail better and to have a boat that is better prepared.”

Last race start of the Dubai RC44 Cup. Dubai, 7 March 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

Fleet-racing, final results (no discard)

1) Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano (1, 1, 2, 4, 3, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1) 21 points
2) Team Ceeref (5, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 5, 2, 3, 1, 4) 36 points
3) Team ES Bankers Dubai (3, 4, 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 5, 5) 40 points
4) Team Aqua (DNF, DNF, 3, 6, 6, 3, 1, 3, 4, 3, 2) 45 points
5) Cro-A-Sail (4, 5, 4, 5, 1, 5, 6, 4, 2, 6, 3) 45 points
6) Team Sea Dubai, (2, 2, 6, 3, 4, 6, 2, 6, 5, 4, 6) 46 points

DHL Trophy:

1) Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano
2) Team Aqua
3) Cro-A-Sail
4) Team Ceeref
5) Team ES Bankers Dubai
6)Team Sea Dubai