my log of a great weekend …One year after my first visit to 2009 IACC 120 Cup as a learning visit prior to building my two boats, I was finally on my way with a 10 hour drive to the 2010 Cup event in Ravenna Italy, time to reflect 12 months of building, testing and tuning to finally have the opportunity to sail against the best of best … I was nervous doing a mental check list that I had everything and wondering how well my ETNZ team would perform.
Aboard were my two boats NZL-92 which I would be sailing and NZL-87 which my friend Rouven would be sailing, this would our maiden RC regatta for the both us.
First stop over was TD models in Bologna to pick-up parts for my next 120 builds and an amazing place of model construction, the owner of TD, Tiziano, has a passion for design and construction which leaves your speechless, carbon fins of every shape and size and hulls & fittings that are made to perfection, he even designed and makes wrist watches out of carbon fibre to the finest detail.
We spent 2 hours just discussing various aspects of 120 construction & sail design, which gave me a great insight in how I could improve construction techniques of my next boats (started two months ago) at this point I was becoming more nervous knowing that larger percentage of Italian skippers are using his components, I felt very humble and excited at the same time as he openly explaining invaluable construction explanations.
After empting my bank account buying carbon masts, fins, bulbs other accessories Tiziano gave us the greatest honour of taking us on a tour through TD Model Laboratory or his Paradise of Dust as he calls it. This guy built his own CNC machine for precise mould making, no building boards with hand cut frames, balsa planking and sanding here man, this was serious stuff, I can’t tell you more as he swore me to secrecy (joking) but he makes components and supplies components to the most well known supplies of model yachts in the world. If your looking for perfection in design and construction it’s all here at very reasonable prices.
Finally the day of reckoning arrived, beautiful sunny 20 degree’s with perfect sailing conditions was the start of the Saturdays fleet racing to find the qualifiers to race in the IACC 120 Cup on Sunday afternoon. If I’m not wrong 22 boats were there this year with the only notables missing were NZL-103 ETNZ, - Alessandro and RSA-83 Shosholoza, - Alex from Rome due to other commitments.
Boat assembly finished and finally testing then briefing in Italian (gotta learn the language) first race course instructions were lost in translation (idiot me) and he’s me at the back of the fleet hmmm …nervous not a good start, I was too pumped, second race and better start mid fleet and then the wind comes up to around 25 knots wow the whole fleet has #1 set (80 dm2) and we are all struggling up wind and then I get entangled with another boat going around the second buoy and NZL-92 is de-masted … %&$k.
After watching NZL-92 drift back to shore, damage was one lost shroud and turnbuckle with superficial hull paint damage and sails looking like a mess after drifting through the water for 500m, spend next hour doing repairs and then NZL-87 comes in with hull full of water and one drowned rudder servo …oh la la, no spare rudder servo in the spares kit and I use half size 6 kg torque servo, which no-one has, means major surgery to fit normal size servo, no time I wanted to race so we get NZL-92 back into the water and I decide to alternate races between Rouven & I so he does not miss the days racing.
Racing was then postponed for 1-2 hours until conditions settled back into 10-15 knots again in the afternoon. From this point onwards it was all downhill, sail settings were never quite the same again and with the help of few seasoned experts we did the best to tune NZL-92 again which had a good helm balance but could not get good drive, the weakness of my fittings in 25 knot winds were clearly apparent by now. Rouven managed a respectable 4th placing in one race with NZL-92, which was better than I could do.
I must have looked a sad sight and then the 2009 Cup holder RSA-09, Shosholoza & Italian IOM champion Luca came up to me and gave me his boat for one race, man-o-man was that a bright ray of sunshine when I needed it to boost my confidence as I finished 4th, must add Luca has a habit of winning. RSA-09, Shosholoza is one very finely tuned boat which just sat in the groove all away around the course …absolutely perfect helm and boat balance and sails that looked like wings off an F-18 jet fighter, should say here that Luca also makes most of the Italian fleets sails.
The eight qualifiers for the 2010 IACC 120 cup were:
- RSA-09, Shosholoza –Luca (2009 Champion)
- SUI-100, Alinghi – Matthias (New boat)
- USA-71, BMW Oracle – Moreno (New Boat)
- FRA-93, Areva – Mauro (New Boat)
- ITA-73, Azzura - Renato (New boat 1 week old)
- USA-36, Young America - Alberto
- ITA 17, Mascalzone Latino - Daniele (New boat)
- GER-98 GMX - Mario
Sunday started again with beautiful weather 10 knots which slowly deteriorated throughout the rest of the day making for some interesting fleet racing before the match racing began. The eight qualifies then started series of match races which was first boat with two wins beginning with RSA-09, Shosholoza –Skipper Luca versus USA-71, BMW Oracle – skipper Moreno. Luca is a sailing strategist and cool tactician and the man to beat, I don’t know much about USA-71, BMW Oracle – Moreno, but my observations of him gave me the impression he is some-what like a “horse whisper” he touches settings and caresses his mast and sails into perfect shape for the conditions like he is part of the boat and when he sails he looks like he is standing at the helm on the boat and adjusting to every wind shift, his skills and tactics on the start-line are finely tuned and no-one could nerve him at all, it was the horse whisper against the cool tactician … and the horse whisper won and RSA-09, Shosholoza –Skipper Luca was out and there was going to be a new champion.
Last year’s runner up Matthias with his new boat SUI-100, Alinghi, looked fast in fleet racing and his toughest adversary over the last two years, Luca, was no longer in contention, you could see Matthias eyes locked on the Cup like Luke Skywalker, he wanted that cup on his mantle piece at home in Rome. … but his new boat had lots of heavy knocks and breakages to get into the finals.
After great series of match racing the two boats in the final were to be SUI-100, Alinghi – Matthias versus USA-71, BMW Oracle – Moreno and what heart stopping series of match racing it was with USA-71, BMW Oracle – Moreno finally winning 3:1
An exciting IACC 120 Cup is over for another year and I had plenty of time to think about what I need to do to become better for next year’s event in my 10 hour drive back to home base. The good news is that next year’s event will not be multi-hulls, yes IACC 120 is not following the big AC format thank goodness, the bad news is with so many new boats and competition becoming increasingly tougher I will be making more frames, planking, sanding and then training and training to have the best time a guy can have …to go sailing and racing IACC 120’s.
Cheers Alan
hence the main was moving backwards & forwards under sail, I’m guessing that was the reason I could not get any drive …oh well it’s history now, we live and learn uh ! 
