Dubai: Team Sea Dubai ended tied third along with four other contenders while Team Aqua moved up as sole leader after two days of match sailing at the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup being held in Denmark.
The first two days of action proved to be fruitful for the Dubai team with Danish skipper Jes Gram Hansen stepping in to helm as regular Sea Dubai Sailing Team skipper Markus Wieser was busy defending his Dragon European title on Hungary's Lake Balaton.
Sailed in perfect conditions off the Royal Danish Yacht Club on the Baltic coast the Sea Dubai team gained three vital points after beating Russell Coutts' BMW Oracle, Christian Binder's AEZ RC 44 Austria Sailing Team and Terry Hutchinson's Swedish challenger, Artemis.
But the one to make an even bigger impression was the series of unblemished results recorded by Team Aqua with Cameron Appleton at the helm to end the two days with six points. Rod Davis' Ceeref also looked good but ended the two days with four points and second place overall. And joining the Sea Dubai with three points apiece were Artemis, No Way Back, BMW Oracle and James Spitall's boat, 17.
Home advantage
Perhaps the heavy downpour during practice the previous day helped and Sea Dubai skipper Jes Gram Hansen to capitalise on home advantage the following day with three wins.
"We had some great moments on the water and boats speeds of up to 14 knots and some really close racing," said the Danish skipper.
Sea Dubai also lies third in the overall ranking following a great start to the season at the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy in February followed by a fantastic second round in Lake Traunsee in Austria last month.
Results: 1. Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton) 6 points; 2. Ceeref (Rod Davis) 4 points; 3. Team Sea Dubai (Jes Gram Hansen) 3 points; 3. Team No Way Back (Ray Davies) 3 points; 3. Artemis (Terry Hutchinson) 3 points; 3. 17 (James Spithill) 3 points; 3. BMW Oracle Racing (Russell Coutts/Larry Ellison) 3 points; 9. Katusha (Paul Cayard) 1 point; 9. Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (José Maria Ponce) 1 point; 9. AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (Christian Binder) 1 point.
