Waiting. Nothing new in that this week in Capri where the mornings have been slow as the hesitant breezes settle to a – hopefully – solid direction. And while the recent mornings have been marked by strong sunshine and limp flags, today as we are held ashore, the BARCLAYS 52 SUPER SERIES fleet are experiencing some grey skies. The threat of a thunder storm early afternoon is being reported by a few navigators.
The overall standings remain unchanged, of course, as yesterday’s coastal race had to be canned due to the lack of breeze. Vesper are on top of the standings on countback. Quantum Racing’s star navigator Juan Vila reaffirms that it is going to be another day when patience will be required around Capri’s Marina Grande:
Today is going to be another tricky day here. There are thunder storm lines coming through, a sort of a front, and that is supposed to hit us in the middle of the afternoon. There will be a SW’ly initially, and then we get hit by the squall line and so maybe a thunderstorm is not out of the question today. And after the thunderstorm gust really light after that.
We are all very close on points right now, we need to just get out and do our best. It is my first time racing here in Capri and it is definitely a very different place. The height of the island is an influence and it has its local winds, it is very challenging for the navigators and it is really nice to be at a venue which can offer different conditions every day.
You do your homework before you come to a new venue. You look at the different weather sources and what the models look like, and get a feel for the accuracy of the models and that is basically your working tools. And then you fine tune your working tools every day on the water.
Our tools are pretty good, it is always tricky in the Mediterranean. Here also you need to watch what is happening and we have different options rather than having a set forecast. And then you watch. Our vision is just to have an open mind and use our own observations on the water.
Juan Vila, navigator, Quantum Racing
