There was dramatic racing on the water during the preview media day of the iShares Cup Amsterdam yesterday afternoon when in the fourth race of the day, Mike Golding’s Ecover was hit by Oman Sail Renaissance, skippered by Loick Peyron, in a classic port starboard confrontation. The nine boats, squeezed into the IJ-Haven canal, just 875 metres by 265, were on the final leg of the final practice race of the day when Renaissance hit them on the port stern.

Mike Golding explained: “It was a straight forward port starboard incident; I just don’t think they saw us or heard us calling. We had been crossing and ducking each other all the way up the beat. They hit us in a relatively soft area of the boat, it looks bad but luckily it’s not a structural point of the boat.”

Loick Peyron agreed: “It’s not a good day for us today. We were at the back of the fleet fighting our red boat [Oman Sail’s Masirah] and no-one on board looked right and it’s the first thing you should do on a port tack. There was no noise and we hit them. I really hate it, it’s not good; the second time in three weeks, not the same situation, but the second time. [Oman Sail Renaissance hit Team Wirsol Kiel.Sailing City in the first day of racing in Kiel]. Our guys will work through the night helping the Ecover shore team to get the boat back on the water for racing tomorrow.”

Ecover was lifted out of canal by crane and the shore team for both boats have been working through the night to repair the damage and make Ecover race-fit for the first day of the iShares Cup Amsterdam.

The nine iShares Cup boats enjoyed great conditions for the media day, the wind speed was approximately 12 knots and the crews were challenged by the gusts that come down between the buildings that tower over the Amsterdam canal.

Racing for the iShares Cup Amsterdam starts today, Friday 25 September until Sunday 27 September, with up to eight races each afternoon on the tightly packed race course at the IJ-Haven Canal.

For more, visit www.isharescup.com .