Primo Cup - Summary

The trip

The first event of the year took place last week in Monaco, the Primo Cup. After a break from about 2 months the Mummaduck finally could get on the water again. Last winter the boat had a big maintenance, so the Mumm was fresh again to go in to the Mediterranean Sea. Six Mumm’s would be at the start, including several good teams, like Olympic and CourrierDunkerkque. So it would be a tough competition just after the winter break.

Training
At the first day of training there was unique weather in Monaco; it was snowing. They told us that it only is snowing once in 10 years. A strange feeling because yesterday we even walked in our t-shirts. Around 11 o’clock we went out on the water for some training. After already 3 hours, the training was stopped. Due to bad weather conditions, the wind comb from all angles and it was freezing cold. We ended the day by checking all the sails. Because the boat was in the harbor so early, we could be gone for the necessary parts to repair the broken engine of the boat.

Day 2
On Friday it was time for the first races. The weather was good and there was a slight breeze. The start of the first race was good and the Mummaduck came in fourth by the first mark. We kept this position till the finish. Shortly afterwards it was already time for the second race. This race wasn’t as smoothly as the first race. In the beginning we could chase Olympic a bit, but then after a big mistake we dropped back to the 6th and last position.

Day 3
For Saturday there were no less than four races on the program. Despite an OCS (false start) we can speak of a very good day. With the right choices we finished in the front. Twice third place and a fourth place was the result.

Day 4
Soon it was Sunday, we would sail two more races. So it would not be too late for the boat to be back at the cranes. The first race was not the best ever. After a bad start, the boat came in a windless area. This had cost us a lot of time and we finished in 6th position. For the second race we had to have a good result. After a very good start we could make a gap to the rest of the field. Tendrisse and Olympic came a bit closer halfway the race but did not let them pass us. The result was a very good first place. A great way to end this weekend. After 8 races of which the best 7 count, the end result a 4th place overall!

Returning
Immediately after the race could be started with packing the boat and the preparing it for transport. After some delay we left Monaco about 10 o’clock. An agent of the maritime police was kind enough to lead us out of Monaco. After some snowy conditions in the Belgium Ardennes we had a good trip and we arrived Monday about noon in Delft.

What’s next
The coming weeks will be spend most of the time on the water for training, together with Delft Challenge. The next race will be Spi Ouest, which will take place during the Easter weekend.

Signing off,

MD