Bonds Flying Roos do it again! Winning the Wet and Wild Sassnitz Rockwool German Sail Grand Prix

The rain was pouring for the Final in Sassnitz and the wind, which had been up and down all day, started strong, but by the end of the race was under 5 knots. The Australian Bonds Flying Roos took a low course at the start, while the Canadian Northstar team pushed both the New Zealand Black Foils and the Spanish Los Gallos up towards the windward end of the line, resulting in all three being far slower off the line than the Roos. The Australian team took control, while the Canadians held off the Spanish and New Zealand teams on a murky racecourse. The tight boundaries, as with all the weekend’s races, gave few passing lanes, with most overtakes happening when one of the boats fell off the foils. With the 18 metre rigs, falling into a lull was disastrous, which the Bonds Flying Roos had found out to their cost in the first race of the day, but they weren’t going to make the same mistake again. Linking the gusts was key, as it is in light wind races in the International Moth class, which helm Tom Slingsby has proved so good in over the years. The crowds cheered on in their wet weather gear as Australia wrapped up their fifth event win of the season and now hold a massive 14-point lead in the championship. Thumbail photo (c) Jonathan Nackstrand for SailGP #SailGP #sailing #foiling