Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2024-2025 - Stage 1 Day 2
by Burak Zengin 14 Dec 23:53 PST
12-15 December 2024
Tenzor International Cup – J/70 Open Winter Series 2024-2025 Day 2 © Elena Razina
The first leg of the Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2024/2025 started with great weather conditions. After three clean starts and races on the first day, it turned out that the weather conditions on the second day were full of surprises.
As the Principal judge of regatta Can Giray explained: "We could not find favourable weather for the race and postponed the start, after an hour we sailed as soon as we found weather coming from the north-west. A different wind system awaited us on the course, albeit with low degrees. However, all 16 teams were incredibly competitive in these challenging conditions. We sailed a total of 6 races over two days as planned. Tomorrow we will have 3 races again, but this time the weather forecast is for rain. We have issued an 'addendum' and set the first warning signal time for tomorrow at 11:00 local time, in other words we have brought the starts forward by one hour. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
Intensive battles on the water removed the leaders. "Bogatyrs" overtook Tenzor Team and is in the lead now with 1 point of gap.
"We had a tight fight with the Tenzor Team, so we looked after them and controlled situation, - said Igor Rytov, helmsman of Russian Bogatyrs team. - Today it was a good race day for us, and there are no special secrets, we are already 10 years together in the crew, so being in sailing for a long time helps us to show stable results. The third race was very intense, the wind was spotty, we rounded almost the penultimate, and the decision of our tactician Konstantin after the last rounding to make a jib and go the other way turned out to be correct and in the end we finished sixth. Waiting for the wind on shore and other situations, of course, provoke nervousness. We are all human and have emotions, we need to tune in internally and try to stay calm. But I can say it is not easy to do."
Eker Sailing Team skippered by Cem Gozen saved 3rd place in ranking after 6 races.
Cem Gozen (Eker Sailing Team): "Today it was a little bit tricky day, because it was a light wind. Yesterday was a strong wind and it was easy for us to race. We had to wait a little bit the wind today, but after managed to do three races. So much shifty and tricky day, but we enjoyed it. We are pleased to be here as Eker Sailing Team. The event is very nice and we try to overcome the first two teams - Bogatyrs and Teanor Team, hope we can win some races tomorrow. Sailing is motivated me a lot. I am sailing since 10 years old and it is almost 25 years as I do it. This is my passion and I am always trying to be near the water and on the boat. It is going to be a south wind and strong, with waves tomorrow, so it will be a fun day. We will try to do our best to be in top."
Dolce Vita team moved on 4th place in standings, while Cheese Sailing lost 1 position. Gaswar closed the top six teams.
O1 Properties skippered by Petr Bukin took the lead in Corinthian division with 8 points ahead of Orient Express led by Arif Gurdenli and 13 points from Ayaz JR team.
Arif Ayaz (AYAZ JR): "Today the race was in low and midlle wind conditions. It was very tough for us and the scores were not so good. Hopefully three more race? of final day will be better. In my opinion, the strongest teams are Cheese Sailing and Eker Sailing Team in Turkey and Tenzor Team is generally in well condition now. Team's work is very important. It will take many time to became a real team. We are racing 4 people, all of us are good sailors, but you need time to be a team on the boat."
For the newcomers of the first Stage of Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2024-2025 it is a very good experience to compete in a strong J/70 fleet.
"The impressions from the past racing days are very good", - resumed Svetlana Sorokina, owner and helmsman of Trem Sailing Team. - "Turkey is always beautiful, even in winter the weather is warm and sunny. The races are held in intensive mode. The wind was strong on the first day, and it was difficult for us to cope with such conditions, since our weight is quite light for such conditions. Today the wind was lighter, and the it was changed very often, so somewhere we successfully guessed, somewhere - not, but always tried to catch the gusts. We will continue to fight, there is another racing day ahead. Our team is very motivated: all crew members are the experienced sailors, so we encourage and support each other. The participants of this regatta are quite strong. The "Bogatyrs" is in top, we have already competed with them in other regattas. Andrei Pushkin's Tenzor Team is also very strong, so this is why these two teams are fighting for leadership. It's nice to see good teams from Turkey. It used to seem to me that sailing does not exist in Turkey in the same level as, for example, in Italy, but now I see the progress and happy for this."
Mikhail Senatorov (Double V Sailing Team): "The emotions are mostly positive. The weather was quite strong yesterday. There was too much wind for our first experience in J/70 fleet. The conditions were great today, we really enjoyed the race. The organization is at a good level, so we decided to participate in all stages of the series. At this regatta, we get used to the boat and try to work together as a team, so our main goals are to establish communication and test the boat in different conditions. I see that the strong teams from Russia and Turkey have gathered here. Sailors are in good shape and feel confident. We also have experienced guys in the team, my younger brother, who used to have experience in sailing, also participates with me. I wish all my rivals good luck and enjoy racing!"
Final race day is awaiting for the teams on Sunday, 15th of December, to complete this fantastic regatta of Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2024-2025.
Provisional Results after Day 2: (top ten)
1. Russian Bogatyrs 9 pts
2. Tenzor Team 10 pts
3. Eker Sailing team 22 pts
4. Dolce Vita 24 pts
5. Cheese Sailing 26 pts
6. Gaswar 27 pts
7. Hubex 35 pts
8. IVEDI 35 pst
9. TREAM Sailing Team 39 pts
10. Atoll Sailing Team 40 pts