Reminder of today’s … first half day of the 58th Kékszalag Raiffeisen Grand Prix
Tactical struggle … High wind at the start was expected
The field of 458 boats started off briskly on Thursday morning. The sailing competition is held every year in the month of July under the Full Moon. And just yesterday was the bright Buck Moon. So even in the evening hours still on th lake to watch with pleasure the sailers whom still on the water. The total distance of the race is overall 150 kilometers.
The first hours brought a particularly open fight: three or four catamarans were constantly changing the leading position. Sometimes RSM, sometimes Process Solutions were in the lead, but the pursuers were also constantly sailing within shooting range.
The fleet set off from Balatonfüred at exactly 9 a.m., in a 9 km/h northeasterly wind. The race distance was shortened to 155 kilometers as the crow flies this year due to low water levels, as the Keszthely buoy had to be moved 1600 meters east for safety reasons. Shortly after the start, a fierce kreuz battle broke out between the fastest: RSM, Process Solutions and KÜRT-Team Kaáli opened towards the north shore, while the crew of the defending champion Raiffeisen Audi Fifty-Fifty initially headed south, then they also turned north.
András Holczhauser – Secretary General of the Hungarian Sailing Association, assessed the period after the start and told: “Everything is fine, the field is sailing safely. The fresher than expected wind is definitely good for the race, the teams are sailing in a disciplined manner.”
Although the race director started to break the starting line after 11 a.m., a serious mistake was discovered by then, the Principessa Libera started three seconds before the horn. The team received a 45-minute time penalty in accordance with the rules. This development was especially painful in light of the fact that the unit broke a mast on the White Ribbon and they had to rebuild the boat with heroic work for today’s race. The penalty did not dampen their spirits either, they chased the catamarans as the first monohull, with the Lisa coming close behind.
At Alsóörs the wind weakened slightly, but the leading six-masted boat was still sailing at a stable speed of 7-8 knots. RSM, steered by Róbert Vándor, was the first to reach the Balatonkenese buoy in 1 hour 24 minutes 57 seconds, only 52 seconds ahead of Litkey Farkas and Process Solutions. Seventeen minutes later the first eleven boats had already passed the buoy, and shortly after 11 o’clock Taxi, sailing in 50th place, also successfully turned. By part noon 12.4 p.m. this number had increased to 150, and Loupiot, competing in the Yardstick I/2 group, completed the leg in 3 hours 1 second.
Siófok and the Tihany Strait: an intensifying struggle. After Kenese, the wind picked up again, and the race towards Siófok started in a better than expected, with 8-10 knot northwest wind. RSM was driving at a speed of 11-13 knots with a gennaker, but Process Solutions also made a huge splash: the team hoisted its brand new gennaker, with which it began to work off its deficit. RSM was still in the lead at the Siófok buoy, but their advantage melted to half a minute before Process Solutions. They were followed by AUDAX Django, Raiffeisen Audi Fifty-Fifty, KÜRT-Team Kaáli and Team Suzuki. Meanwhile, the field of catamarans was reduced by one boat: POPLART was forced to abandon the race due to a torn sail and headed towards Tihany. Approaching the Tihany Strait, Process Solutions caught up with RSM, and Fifty-Fifty also clung to them tightly. RSM finally crossed the pipe first. An amazing atmosphere greeted the sailors from the shore: Márton Józsa and his escort motorboat reported that at the ferry port there was an announcer, applause and cheers waiting for the leading group.
Heading to the western basin … the Földvár thermal decided. As the boats crossed into the western basin, the Földvár thermal began to dictate the conditions. Both RSM and Process Solutions chose the southern shore tack, which proved to be more promising based on the meteorological wind map, while the northern side showed mirror-smooth water after Szárszó. Based on the meteorological forecasts, the afternoon leg to Keszthely promised to be a serious tactical puzzle. At 2 p.m. Process Solutions was in the lead, closely followed by RSM, with KÜRT – Team Kaáli in 3rd. Last year’s winner and record-holder Raiffeisen Audi Fifty-Fifty is moving closely behind the front-runners, in 4th place.
The real tactical challenge of the Blue Ribbon began in the western basin in the afternoon. Fortunately, all of this can be followed perfectly from the shore and in front of the screens: with the help of an intelligent GPS tracking system developed in collaboration with Széchenyi István University in Győr. the tactical moves and the real positions of the boats can be seen live on the track hunsail.hu website with centimeter accuracy. The professional visual experience is guaranteed by the television-quality live broadcast, realized with the support of Raiffeisen Bank. The broadcast, produced with a monumental crew, onboard cameras and drones, is continuously available on the kekszalag.hu website and the Telekom Live YouTube channel, so fans will not miss a single exciting moment.
Despite her early start and time penalty, Principessa Libera set the fastest pace in the monohulls. They were the first to take the Kenese buoy, and then they were the first to turn in the category in 2 hours 45 minutes – 29 seconds at Siófok. At Kenese, Lisa, Lillafüred and Sparta II followed them. In the legendary 75-class cruisers, Lillafüred and Nemere II fought a tough duel, their speed rivaling that of the catamarans in places. Tactical opinions were divided in the 70-class cruisers: Pannónia sought refreshment in the north, while Capella, Anna and Orpheus sought refreshment in the south. In the fleet of 50-class cruisers, Lizabella, steered by András Pálffy, led ahead of King Kong and Parti szél.
One of the youngest competitors, nine-year-old Mária Terézia Fináczy competed on board the latter. In the most crowded 8m OD class of 13 boats, Weight (Ákos Gyenes) was in the lead, choosing the south coast, while Harpia was in the lead in the jubilee 30th cruisers.
Upon press release
Update by Aggie Reiter
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