From December 7 to 10, the first of the five stages of the Tenzor International Cup – J/70 Open Winter Series 2023/2024 took place in Bodrum. The winter series, established by the Tenzor Sailing Club Turkiye Yacht Club, brings together professionals and sailing enthusiasts from different countries to identify the strongest in the J/70 class in two divisions – “Open” and “Corinthian”.
A fleet of 12 teams took the start of the first regatta of the tournament. Among the participants was the Tenzor Team crew consisting of Andrei Pushkin, Daniil Odintsov, Alexander Andrianov and Nikita Ushkov.
On the first day of the race, the yachtsmen did not manage to hold a single race. First, a hail and thunder storm hit Aspat Bay, extinguishing the wind. The teams that went out on the water had to return and wait for the weather to improve. The second attempt to hold the race after lunch was again unsuccessful – the wind was weak and unstable, so the judges had to end the race day ahead of schedule.
But on the second and third days of the competition, the weather and wind conditions were ideal.
On Saturday, December 9th, 5 races took place. In a very interesting fight, the leading group of 5-6 boats was determined. Tenzor Team showed the best time in the second race, their rivals – Dolce Vita came first twice, with another victory on the account of the “Bogatyrs” and Eyed Mushrooms.
Stable arrivals not lower than the top-5 allowed the Tenzor Team to finish the day third with only 1 point behind the leaders!
“It was a good, interesting race day. Downwind – strong approaches – very similar to the Moscow lake conditions. In the first race, we had a breakdown, a rope flew out of the bowsprit, and because of this we lost several positions. In general, we are happy with the day, we came steadily, despite the very changeable wind,” said boatman Alexander Andrianov.
On the final day of the race, the organizing committee of the regatta held more races. Andrey Pushkin’s crew went out on the water with the right attitude — to fight and win!
The first of the three races ended with the second arrival, in the next race the Tenzor Team boat finished fourth, and the final race was victorious.
In terms of the total of all races, the Tenzor Team with 17 points confidently beat its closest rivals, the Russian Bogatyrs (21 points) and Dolce Vita (22 points).
Daniil Odintsov (tactician): “On the final day of the regatta, the wind was at times stronger than the day before, up to 14 knots and from another direction — from the sea. The races were quite calm, we tried not to be nervous and keep our concentration. We were good at identifying the benefits and right sides, everyone worked very well together, which affected our result. We are very pleased that the stage was a success!“