Bodrum Course Accelerates: CFM-BAYK Winter Trophy 4th Leg Intensifies

When the calendar showed Saturday, March 18th, and the first briefing of the 4th Leg began, we saw Ayberk OLCAY at the podium as Chief Race Officer. Olcay started his speech by thanking Hulki Oruz for his contributions and efforts to date. Then he explained that the number of races held so far was insufficient, that the supplementary instructions had been shortened, that the start group divisions in the IRC A groups had been reduced from 4 to 2, and that they aimed to speed up the starts for this reason.

Indeed, with this decision, the excessive number of starts that almost all competitors had been fed up with was coming to an end. The weak starts of eight, seven, or nine boats were not befitting Bodrum, which hosts the yacht race with the most crowded participation.

The reduction of start intervals to five minutes would also speed up the racing.

One coastal race was planned for the IRC B and Support classes during the day, and 2 buoy races for the IRC A classes.

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Finally, at the meeting, our Çanakkale Martyrs were commemorated on the occasion of March 18, and then the course was started.

The forecasts of meteorological websites proved accurate on the course. The wind was blowing at 12-14 knots from 335 degrees. Although showers that would not cause concern occasionally affected the course, it became clear that there would be no change in wind direction.

The start time for IRC B and Support class boats was set for 11:30. These boats would race on a course of approximately 17 nautical miles, starting from Bodrum, leaving Kurt Burnu to starboard, and leaving Çelebi Island and Kara Ada to port.

At 11:40, the start for the 21 boats competing in these classes took place.

During these groups' race, the wind generally remained stable. As the group approached Çelebi Island, the BLEU DREAMS boat competing in the Support class collided with the ZAGUN boat competing in IRC B from port side. Although last-minute maneuvers ensured that the material damage was not excessive during the collision, BLEU DREAMS completed her penalty turn and continued racing on the course.

Although the wind was observed to drop occasionally south of Karaada, there was no decrease in the general strength it maintained throughout the race. In fact, it even reached 24 knots. IRC B and Support class boats rounded Karaada, executed tight beats off Bodrum, crossed the finish line, and completed the race.

At the end of the race;

IRC B 1: ZAGUN (Zafer GÜNEL),

IRC B 2: ICEBERK ANKA RACE TEAM (Mehmet Şükrü YILMAZ),

SUPPORT class: NAVİTA (Burhan KURNE) were the boats that left their competitors behind.

8 boats in IRC A 3 and 4 classes executed their starts at 12:05, and IRC A 0-1-2 groups at 12:19. These groups will race on a sausage course off Bodrum. All boats except IRC A 0s will complete the course, which has a leg distance of 1.6 nautical miles, twice.

IRC A 0 groups will complete the course for 3 laps.

The start scenes become even more spectacular with the numerical abundance of boats. Immediately after the start, GÖZTEPE YELKEN ALLEGRO announces their withdrawal from the race due to a technical malfunction.

Wind started blowing from 335 degrees at 15-19 knots. Boats within the fleet are competing in pairs, maximum three-way battles at buoy roundings.

At the end of the race;

In IRC A 0, ARKAS-FLYING BOX (Serhat ALTAY),

In IRC A 1, DEFİNE (Selim KAKIŞ),

In IRC A 2, TURUVA 1 (Aytuğ ÜRER),

In IRC A 3, YEDİ MAVİ SHAK SHUKA (Hasan Utku ÇETİNER)

In IRC A 4, LADY SUN (Hakan SOYSAL), were the boats that left their competitors behind.

As soon as these groups completed their finishes, the start procedures for the 2nd Race began for the same groups on the same route. While the wind was blowing from 335 degrees at 17-20 Knots, at 14:10 the start was given to IRC A3 and 4 groups, and at 14:20 to IRC A 0-1-2 groups.

At the 2nd start, VICTORY was over early among the boats making their exit from the race committee boat. She then returned to restart and took her position on the course to begin racing.

Despite being a short course, the head-to-head battles between boats and their close competitors in the middle of the Trophy were notable. When ratings were taken into account, the spectacular performances of the racing machines at very high speeds were not reflected in the results.

In this race, BOREAS protested BOLD at the start due to contact, and following the hearing, BOLD was penalized. BOREAS retired from the race due to damage to her bow.

At the end of the Race;

In IRC A 0, ARKAS-FLYING BOX (Serhat ALTAY),

In IRC A 1, DEFİNE (Selim KAKIŞ),

In IRC A 2, MARİNA VİSTA KEYİF 60 (Yiğit EROĞLU),

In IRC A 3, YEDİ MAVİ SHAK SHUKA (Hasan Utku ÇETİNER)

In IRC A 4, LADY SUN (Hakan SOYSAL), were the boats that left their competitors behind.

On Sunday morning, March 19th, the weather in Bodrum had changed; the sun had disappeared, and a hazy atmosphere dominated the race course.

At the briefing, Principal Race Officer Ayberk OLCAY indicated that the weather would be poor, but they expected a possible strengthening between 12:30-15:30. He explained their goal was to implement one of the alternative prepared routes.

The surprise of the day was the long-awaited separate starts for IRC A, IRC B, and Cruising classes. This would speed up the races, enhance visual quality, and accelerate the racing while bringing competition on the course to the forefront.

When we reached the race course, there was almost no wind. While all boats gathered around the committee boat, the wind slowly began to build. The wind, blowing from 130-180 degrees with insufficient strength, gradually shifted to 155, then to 165 degrees. When it reached a strength of 5.2-6.2 knots, the procedures for IRC B and Cruising classes began.

These classes will race on a course of approximately 13 nautical miles, starting off Bodrum, leaving the Köçek shallows and the buoy south of Çelebi Island to starboard.

With the wind limits just slightly above the lower threshold, entering the final moments, other boats were quickly matching the single boat approaching the start line with a spinnaker.

After the start given at 12:25, KONTİKİ announced that it was protesting the boats ZAGUN and REBİS.

Shortly after this announcement, ZAGUN also announced that it was protesting the boat KONTİKİ. However, the protests were not taken to the committee.

As the fleet began racing towards the Köçek shallows with a weak start taken with spinnakers or genoas, the committee had already started determining the start line and course for the IRC A groups.

The start line was adjusted very quickly according to the wind blowing at 6-7 knots from 150-155 degrees. The fleet will finish off Bodrum after leaving the windward buoy positioned 1.1 nautical miles away, Köçek Island, and the buoy placed below Çelebi Island to starboard.

With the mass start given at 12:47, 29 boats simultaneously began racing on the course. After rounding the windward buoy, the spinnakers hoisted were taking the fleet directly to the Köçek shallows.

Meanwhile, the weather had completely closed in, and the wind continued this way until the finishes. While the finish line was being set up and finishes were being recorded, the wind slowly began to drop. It died completely during the final finishes.

At the end of the race:

In IRC B 1, KONTİKİ M (Mehmet ATALAĞ),

In IRC B 2, BLUES 1 ÇORLU SAILING TEAM (Mustafa SÖYLER),

In SUPPORT class, NAVİTA (Burhan KURNE) were the boats that left their competitors behind.

In IRC A 0, ARKAS-FLYING BOX (Serhat ALTAY),

In IRC A 1, DEFİNE (Selim KAKIŞ),

In IRC A 2, TURUVA 1 (Aytuğ ÜRER),

In IRC A 3, AURORA X (Ömer DİRİM),

In IRC A 4, LADY SUN (Hakan SOYSAL), were the boats that left their competitors behind.