Virgin Gorda, BVI (March 4, 2017) Race Day Three of the Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean brought more of the same sunny and breezy conditions that have characterised the week so far in Virgin Gorda as well as custom courses for the assembled fleet of Nautors Swan yachts. With just one more race day left in it, the Swan 90 Freya is looking comfortable at the top of the Maxi division where she leads Plis-Play by four points.

In the Grand Prix/Mini Maxi division the ClubSwan 50 Cuordileone retains her overall lead despite a spinnaker tear during todays race, while among the Mini Maxi boats the Swan 66 Bounty maintains a healthy delta. Organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with Nautors Swan and title sponsor Rolex, this third edition of the biennial event concludes tomorrow, Sunday 5th March.

The Maxi division set off on schedule today on a 32 mile course that snaked through the islets off Virgin Gorda passing Great Camanoe and Scrub Island before rounding Ginger, at the south western tip of Virgin Gorda and embarking on a long reach back to the finish line off Necker Island. Don Macphersons Freya and Vicente Garcia Torres Plis-Play battled at the front of the pack for most of the duration, while the Swan 80 Selene and the Swan 82 Stay Calm fought for third place.

Victory in todays race took Freya to a total of three consecutive wins and she now looks set to be the overall division winner, save some major upset in tomorrows final race. The fight is on, however, for second place as Plis-Play sits just one point ahead of 2015 division winner Selene. All three boats may be experiencing a feeling of dej vu as a very similar battle unfolded at 2016 Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo. In that instance Freya took a clear win while Plis-Play just managed to get the upper hand over Selene on the final day, whether fates will change in Caribbean climes will be revealed tomorrow.

The Mini Maxi and Grand Prix boats completed a shorter course that took them around the Dog Islands for a total of approximately 21 miles. As the two competing ClubSwan 50s settled in for their daily match race-style duel, Cuordileone suffered a massive spinnaker tear, and although she recovered admirably, the setback saw her loose time and points on the scoreboard. Gibb Kanes Bounty, with a mainly American crew, took first place in the division in todays race ahead of the other participating ClubSwan50 Earlybird, which vants Jochen Schuemann on tactics. The overall classification now sees Cuordileone just one point ahead of Earlybird with Bounty sitting one point further behind in third place.

The Maxi division set off on schedule today on a 32 mile course that snaked through the islets off Virgin Gorda passing Great Camanoe and Scrub Island before rounding Ginger, at the south western tip of Virgin Gorda and embarking on a long reach back to the finish line off Necker Island. Don Macphersons Freya and Vicente Garcia Torres Plis-Play battled at the front of the pack for most of the duration, while the Swan 80 Selene and the Swan 82 Stay Calm fought for third place.

Victory in todays race took Freya to a total of three consecutive wins and she now looks set to be the overall division winner, save some major upset in tomorrows final race. The fight is on, however, for second place as Plis-Play sits just one point ahead of 2015 division winner Selene. All three boats may be experiencing a feeling of dej vu as a very similar battle unfolded at 2016 Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo. In that instance Freya took a clear win while Plis-Play just managed to get the upper hand over Selene on the final day, whether fates will change in Caribbean climes will be revealed tomorrow.

The Mini Maxi and Grand Prix boats completed a shorter course that took them around the Dog Islands for a total of approximately 21 miles. As the two competing ClubSwan 50s settled in for their daily match race-style duel, Cuordileone suffered a massive spinnaker tear, and although she recovered admirably, the setback saw her loose time and points on the scoreboard. Gibb Kanes Bounty, with a mainly American crew, took first place in the division in todays race ahead of the other participating ClubSwan50 Earlybird, which vants Jochen Schuemann on tactics. The overall classification now sees Cuordileone just one point ahead of Earlybird with Bounty sitting one point further behind in third place.

Event details Scoreboard Facebook

See the original post here:

More of the same at Swan Cup Caribbean >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News - Scuttlebutt Sailing News