2017 Pineapple Cup – Day 1

2017 Pineapple Cup – Day 1 Update

Tight Battle Ensues for Wizard and Prospector in IRC while White Rhino and Renegade lead in PHRF

The first 29 hours of the Pineapple Cup – MoBay Race have been a tightly contested battle between Wizard and Prospector in the IRC Class! In the PHRF fleet, Renegade has been leading since the start but White Rhino is hot on their tail! As the PHRF fleet make the turn around Great Isaac in the Bahamas, they’ll get into the classic running conditions the Pineapple Cup is known for.

The IRC boats are well into that weather pattern, having rounded Great Isaac early this morning. We heard from Mike Buckley, Tactician on TP-52, Heartbreaker, earlier today: “The boys are getting used to being on port tack as we have spent 95% of the race hard on the wind on port. Not much to report, wind shifting between 55-90 all night, beautiful star display in the sky, very calm seas crossing the streams. We’re pushing hard with a medium jib and dull main. Looking forward to a left shift and some down wind sailing to see if we can make up some time on the big boats in front.”

The IRC fleet is now seeing wind speeds in the mid to high teens from the NE. They will be sailing downwind for the remainder of the 500 nautical miles to MoBay.

Hugh Piggin, Race Director,“The leaders are in a steady 10-18 knots of breeze which will hold for the remainder of the race. This is classic Pineapple Cup conditions as teams make their way to tropical paradise. At the current speeds, we look forward to welcoming the first finishers to Montego Bay on Monday afternoon.”

Related News