The In-Port Race off Itajai/Brazil on Saturday evening did not live up to what it was intended for. These short races before the actual start of the stage are intended to showcase the sponsors, but also the sport. However, the wind weakened and it turned out to be a rather boring performance, which still lasted an hour and 20 minutes after a ten-minute postponement of the start following a shortened course.
The Dutch team Brunel had the luckiest hand, with their first stage win also putting them at the top of the overall standings of the In-Port Races. However, this placing has little sporting value, as the result only comes into play if there is a points tie at the end of the stages.
Mapfre penalised
The two-point penalty imposed on the Mapfre team was much more severe. The technical inspectors in Itajai had noticed that the team had made changes to the boat that they had not reported to the race organisers. However, this is prohibited in a strict one-design class. For example, a so-called outrigger - one of the short booms used aft to deploy the Code Zero - was not only repaired after breaking, but also reinforced.
In addition, the team had glued and bolted five battens to the hull in the area of the forward ballast tank during the leg. These battens had already been cut to size in Auckland, so it was a planned change.
The team had failed to inform the race organisers before, during or after the changes. Although videos of both measures were made and also transmitted, only the batten work was publicly visible. But even this would not replace a formal report.
Team Mapfre were handed two penalty points, which should hurt. Before the penalty, Mapfre had been in fourth place with 18 points, level on points with Team Brunel in third place, just two points behind Dongfeng. Now it has slipped to fifth place with 20 points and had to let Alvimedica pass it with 19 points. Abu Dhabi is clearly in the lead with nine points ahead of today's start to stage 6.
Summary of the Inportrace
The complete Inportrace
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
