Thursday, May 12th 2011 Sailing up close 3 Fleet Races in the Gmundner Bay Since today the owners are at the wheel of the RC44 carbon yachts. The fleet race series of the RC44 Austria Cup 2011 has begun. The start is a crucial factor for the success of the race, since at the starting line all 13 boats fight for the best places at the same time. The AEZ RC44 Team Austria didn’t have an ideal start today. In the first two of three races of the day the team with the boat owner Rene Mangold was trapped by their adversary in the prestart phase. It got better in the third and last race of the day. The Austrians had a good start and were in fourth position for a long period. In the end the “Upper Austria” crossed the finish line as 8th boat. This improvement leaves hope for tomorrow. “In the first two races we definitely had a bad start. The third race showed what a difference a good start makes. Tomorrow we want to keep this improvement up”, says tactician Christian Binder and emphasizes how important a starting phase is. Last year’s RC44 Austria Cup winner, Oracle Racing, won this day. Even though they haven’t won a single race, they were the most complete team in the field. Once again Russell Coutts put his competitors in their places. Team Nika, the new Russian team in the RC44 Champions Tour won the last race of the fleet race today. In the meanwhile the RC44 Austria Cup 2011 is in the half time. Since Tuesday the sails have been set and the stars of the America’s Cup perform exciting duels every day. For the ones who do not have the time to watch this up close can view it at www.meintraunsee.at live stream. In the course of this evening’s Hafenfest the„Shopping & Sailing in the City“ is on the program. From 5-9 p.m. the red carpet is open for you at the Gmunder Rathausplatz. If the weather stays like this, tomorrow the fleet races will continue.  Livestream YouTube www.rc44.at

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