With gale force winds battering the west coast of Sweden, racing had to be cancelled on day three of the 44Cup Marstrand. 

PRO Maria Torrijo explained: “The wind has been really strong from very early morning. We were checking at 0600 and 0700 even because in Sweden it gets light very early so we might have been able to race early. But we decided to cancel the day.”

While the boats moored up in the protected lee of Marstrand gives the impression of a pleasant day here in Sweden, this is not the case to the blustery west of the island. “Today the average wind is 28 knots and the gusts are up to 40,” Torrijo continued. “The maximum wind we can race in is 25 knots average, which is a lot of wind already. But in Sweden with the westerly wind you get a lot of very big waves…”

Anticipating this, four, instead of the scheduled three, races were held yesterday and there may be the opportunity to recoup another extra one on the final day of racing tomorrow.

Torrijo concluded: “For tomorrow we are going to have a good breeze of 12-18 knots and we are planning to start one hour earlier, at 1100, and we plan to do as many races as we can.”

The 44Cup Marstand is taking place one day earlier this year: racing began on Wednesday will conclude on Saturday, 28 June, (and not on Sunday).