The decisive round of the National Sailing League was hosted by Abrau-Durso from November 17 to 19.
On Thursday, the crews held training sessions, getting used to the waters of Lake Abrau, and on Friday they already entered the race in racing mode.
The first day of competition turned out to be very hot in wrestling. The top three, replacing each other, came to the finish line first. Of the seven races held, Tenzor Team has one first arrival, the same number for the Akhmat team, and Calipso won as many as four races. The Tenzor Team crew, consisting of Pavel Sozykin, Daniil Odintsovo, Alexander Andrianov and Alexander Grishunin, was able to add three second arrivals to the piggy bank at once, which allowed them to take second place in the results table of the day.
Daniil Odintsov (tactician): “The conditions are not easy. On this lake, the wind works very unusually, gusts come from above, as there is hilly terrain and a very high coast around. Yachts, going side by side, 50 m apart, may have different winds. We got off to a good start — something worked out, something didn’t work out very well. Our task is to keep the leading position in the ranking before the final day on Sunday, since according to the rules of this year, four yachts enter the final. In fact, the whole League starts anew, from scratch, that is, anyone can win, even though one of the teams could lead the whole season, it can take fourth place in the final“.
The second race day was supposed to determine the four strongest teams that will be eligible to participate in the final races on Sunday. The Racing Committee held eight races that day. These races were completely different for the teams. The Tenzor Team raced very steadily, winning three races and retaining the second position. The Calipso team took the first place, and Akhmat became the third. The fate of the fourth ticket to the finals was decided unexpectedly: the three races won by the ZID art Sailing Team allowed Zoran Paunovich’s team to break into the ranking 4th place.
Daniil Odintsov: “The races are stressful, as the conditions are very unpredictable. We had a few situations today when we got off to a good start, but we stayed in the middle of the race in calm and couldn’t do anything about it. And vice versa, in the last race of the day we were fourth, far enough from the leaders, and then the leaders just stopped in a calm, and we caught up and overtook them with a rush. I don’t really like it, because in fact anyone can win, it won’t necessarily be the strongest team. Nevertheless, there is a final ahead, where three more teams came out with us. As the leaders of the overall standings, we already have one first arrival and a certain advantage, so we are setting up for the fight.”
On Sunday, November 19, in the final, where four teams qualified, the winners and prize-winners of the series were determined. The races were held in unpredictable weather conditions — heavy rains and playing wind forced the teams to act on luck. The winner was the first to win two races.
The Tenzor Team crew came second twice, and accordingly finished in second place. The victory went to the team Calipso, and Akhmat closed the top three.
Daniil Odintsov: “The final was completely different from the race conditions. The judges gave races in such windy conditions that anyone could win. In both races, different sides worked, with very large approaches of 40 degrees, while we were chasing a tram, and there was simply no chance to overtake the leaders. In my opinion, such races are not worthy of the finals. Therefore, we are not upset, but saddened by the conditions in which the decisive races of the season were held. We are happy with ourselves, the team has worked this stage and the whole season at a high level.”