Bronenosec Sailing Team moved level on points with leaders Team Aqua on day three of the RC44 Bermuda Cup in the Great Sound yesterday.

The Russian team, the 2015 RC44 match racing champions, sailed consistently around the racetrack all day to make considerable inroads on overnight leaders Team Aqua who fell slightly of the pace.

However, the top boat on the day was Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref that won two of the day’s three races to move into third, two points adrift of the two boats above them.

“The crew work is brilliant, the guys are doing really fine and Ado [tactician Adrian Stead] is calling some nice shots,” Lah said. “Everything is as it should be.”

Team Nika, the defending RC44 fleet racing champion, finally came to the party yesterday.

Vladimir Prosikhin’s team chalked up their first win of the regatta after rolling the entire fleet on the first beat.

Team Nika has had a slow start to the regatta but appears to back on her feet after making some tweaks to her crew.

“There’s still potential and let’s hope that it is a climb-up,” Prosikhin said.

Calling the shots on Team Nika is Ed Baird, the 2007 America’s Cup winning helmsman, who described yesterday’s variable conditions as “interesting”.

“We had some rain come through, some breeze and occasionally less breeze,” he said. “Downwind the puffs were very important.”

Rejoining the fleet was Artemis Racing who was forced to retire in the first race the day before after suffering heavy damage in a collision with Team Cereef.

At the helm of the Swedish RC44 is Artemis owner Torbjörn Törnqvist who is having a blast racing at the venue for next year’s 35th America’s Cup.

“It is as good as it gets,” he said. “The surroundings with its water, colours and the wind conditions, sailing doesn’t get better than here.”

Racing continues today in the Great Sound.