After Saturday’s performance of the Emirates GBR Team continued to fall well below last season’s League winning standard, the hunt is on for the cause.
Emirates GBR helm Dylan Fletcher described the courses as, quite a difficult course in terms of it being very processional from the start and not many overtake opportunities – so it was all about nailing the start, great action for the crowd in terms of breezy conditions and boats going fast.
Fletcher also thought that the problem was the way the courses were set up with the forts and the bias on the course requiring teams to take the left turn at the bottom and then go all the way to the boundary.
Describing Saturday’s course as, just a start and then try and lock the race down. Something he obviously failed to do until the third race, when he got the start right and won the race!
So maybe the problem was more to do with the boat handling, which he admitted wasn’t as good as they we’re capable of, and weren’t doing a good enough job at the start and managing that situation.
He added that it would be interesting to see if they changed the course at all for Sunday. Although the teams in Group A seemed to cope with these apparent course traits, which he put down to Group A boats not being sailed quite as well as the Group B, the additional mistakes giving more opportunities.
Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills echoed Fletcher’s course description and said the team was aware there was “still lots to do” to make it in the final, but the crew was ready to give it their all on Sunday in front of the home fans.
Emirates GBR Team are placed fourth of six teams in Group B. They need to be in the top two to qualify for the Event Final on Sunday, something the fans are hoping for.
The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix continues Sunday 26 July, with the 13 teams still split into two fleets. A further four Group races on Sunday, before the top four teams then progress into the winner-takes-all event final.