The Bosphorus Cup Day 2: Orient Express wins an up and down Bosphorus Race
by Quinag 21 Sep 15:40 PDT
19-22 September 2024
Orient Express VI may not be the biggest boat at the regatta but today she was the fastest. Yildirim Kaynaz's Farr 55 sailed a tactically strong Bosphorus Race, the showpiece race on the middle day of the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul.
The forecast was for moderate breeze but after a wait for the wind to arrive, Principal Race Officer Nino Shmueli sent the 95-boat fleet on its way, launching out of a fast downwind start towards the southern end of the Bosphorus Strait.
Catalin Trandafir's Soto 40 Essentia was fastest out of the start, speeding close to the Asian shore and beating a lot of the bigger boats to the bottom of the course near Dolmabahce Palace.
Then came the long tacking battle upwind as the boats tacked close to the European shore to escape the strongest currents. As Orient Express's double Olympic representative Arif Gurdenli commented: "We don't have a lot of time to look around and enjoy the view. We were too busy focusing on our manoeuvres and racing the other boats as well as trying to avoid the motor boats getting in our way. It's very busy and there is a lot to think about at all times."
Meanwhile on shore, hundreds of guests including VIPs and celebrities were enjoying the yacht race from the grounds of the Çiragan Palace Kempinski, a lavish five-star hotel. Reflecting the theme of the 'Theater of Winds', six dancers - each representing a different wind of the Bosphorus - entertained guests with their interpretation of how wild and varied the wind can be in Turkey's greatest city.
It was as though the wind gods had been watching the dance for themselves. All six different winds made an appearance during the afternoon's two-hour race. Rain squalls in between the sunshine made for a difficult tactical race through the Bosphorus, but it was Orient Express who took top honours at the end of an intriguing afternoon. With strong currents, rain squalls and big gusts as well as patches of light wind, the 95 boats were constantly tested through the Bosphorus Strait. Gurdenli estimates he has competed in more than 15 editions of this famous race, and twice won as Orient Express's tactician back in 2016 and 2017.
He put the team's success down to accurate execution of manoeuvres. "There are so many tacks and gybes involved in this race, and you had to be able to react quickly," said the double Olympic representative from 1988 and 1992. "Today there was rain, then strong winds, very strong current in the channel, but we were able to execute on our strategy, especially in some risky places on the race course."
While Gurdenli is a veteran of the Bosphorus Race, another double Olympian was competing for the first time, also on board Orient Express. Finn representative for Turkey at Tokyo 2020 and earlier this summer as Nacra 17 catamaran sailor for Paris 2024, Alican Kaynar was calling tactics on the 55-footer. "Sometimes we went really close to the shore, maybe less than three metres away, because at points on the race course the current is running at five or even six knots against you. It was very challenging but we have such a good team with so much experience, and that really helped us sail the best course today."
In past editions of the race Orient Express VI has been the biggest on the race course, the scratch boat. Gurdenli was more than happy to concede that title to bigger boats at this year's event. "I want to say thank you to the organiser Orhan Gorbon for doing such a good job of bringing some really competitive big boats to the regatta. This year there is a well sailed Volvo Ocean 70 (Aiolos owned by Greek businessman George Procopiou) and also some very fast boats like the TP52s.
"There is a big boat coming from Greece (Stratis Andreadis' 86-footer Meliti). So that provides us good fight with bigger boats because usually in Turkey when we are racing on our own in Istanbul, we are always the biggest boat and we sail on our own. But now this time we need to compete with at least three or four different teams, boat to boat. So that also keeps us alive, and it means that we can push further and improve our game."
Gorbon continues to emphasise the great potential of the Bosphorus Cup to become bigger and bigger by the year. "Today showed what great racing and great spectacle it's possible to enjoy here in the heart of Istanbul. Today's race provided the centrepiece for people across Istanbul to enjoy a stunning spectacle, and for our sponsors and supporters it obviously means even more to them. Today was a special day for many reasons, and it was wonderful to celebrate the city and the Bosphorus with so many people."
In the overall competition, Timofey Zhbankov's JPK 11.80 Rossko Racer is still leading ahead of Arkas Sailing Team - Blue Moon, Serhat Altay's Judel/Vrolijk designed TP52.
Sunday brings the final day's racing when the 95-boat fleet heads back out on to the open waters of Caddebostan. By Sunday evening we will know who becomes the winner of the 2024 edition of the Bosphorus Cup.