Day 1 arrivals- Puerto Sherry

This evening saw the first flurry of teams to arrive into Puerto Sherry following Race 1 from Portsmouth, UK.

Perseverance, the winning team of Race 1, was first to arrive, and then next into port was Qingdao Skippered by Greg Hunt and Steve Westwood. The Chinese team entry finished in sixth position on the first race. Race Skipper Greg Hunt said: “I'm very proud of my crew, they've done really well. Some of the evolutions we performed as a team were amazing.”

Image: Qingdao arriving into Puerto Sherry

Image: The Qingdao team

AQP Steve Westwood added: “The crew have made a great team and done super well on this first race!”

The next two teams to arrive in Puerto Sherry were the remaining two podium yachts- second-placed Yacht Club Punta del Este and third placed UNICEF.

Having opted for the Scoring Gate bonus points, Yacht Club Punta del Este, Skippered by Nano Antia Bernardez, scooped up an additional three points on top of the ten points awarded for second place in Race 1. This places the team at the top of the leaderboard going into Race 2.

Image: Yacht Club Punta del Este celebrate second place on Race 1

Image: Race Skipper Nano Antia Bernardez

Angus Whitehead, AQP on Yacht Club Punta del Este said: “I am unbelievably proud of the team- they were fantastic. They worked so hard. Going for the Scoring Gate really paid off in the end, and that’s down to how hard these guys worked. It’s a very good start, and we are just hoping to keep pushing on.”

Third-placed UNICEF was next to dock alongside. Skipper Dan Bodey said: “We’ve had some really challenging conditions, and the crew have really pulled through it all- they have done an absolutely amazing job. It was really nice actually having the other boats around us, we were with Our Isles and Oceans for ages, and we finally shook them off. But then Yacht Club Punta del Este appeared next to us which gave the team an extra boost of motivation but unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get past them before the end. But we are super with third place!”

Image: UNICEF team

Image: Champagne spray for UNICEF, taking third place in Race 1

Our Isles and Oceans was next to arrive, after a fourth place finish in the first race. AQP Tom Newsom said: “I’m so proud of the team. To come fourth in the first race is a real achievement. Everyone was able to have a go on the helm during the race, and everyone worked really hard for the result in this race and looking forward to the next race.

Image: Our Isles and Oceans team

“The last 24 hours of racing saw some very light winds. We’d been through some heavy conditions into lighter stuff, and so you really have to be thinking rationally, thinking slowly and managing the boat well. It was really challenging but so enjoyable.”

The final yacht to arrive late on Monday night was PSP Logistics, taking fifth place in Race 1.

Image: The PSP Logistics team

Mike Miller, Skipper on PSP Logistics said: “It was a properly challenging race. We had a cracking start, and we were doing really nicely. We did initially try for the scoring gate, but got the wrong side of the wind shift, so we then decided to not fight for the finish rather than the extra two points. We came round Cape Finisterre in second place. The boat is fast! We had an absolute blitz downwind, and went really fast upwind, so we proved we could do it so we are really well set for next time.”

Lottie Wade, AQP added: “That was fantastic, a great first race for us. We got a position mid-table, which is an epic result, as we didn’t know what to expect. The guys pushed themselves so hard, and achieved great results. We have really bonded as a team, ever since the fleet photoshoot! The crew are all working well together on board and making a conscious effort to make sure everything is running well.”

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