Alec Cutler and crew of Hedgehog made a rocky start to the Audi-Tron Sailing Series in Riva del Garda, Italy yesterday.

After three races the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club skipper and his colleagues were eleventh among the 21-boat Melges 32 fleet.

Things appeared all so promising for Cutler after a third-place finish in yesterday’s first race enabled the past J-22 world champion to hit the ground running.

However, the momentum gained was quickly lost as a thirteenth place and sixteenth place in the next two races left Cutler in eleventh at the end of a day’s intense racing contested in breezy conditions.

Cutler and his colleagues will now look to bounce back when racing resumes today.

Topping the leaderboard on day one was Jason Carroll, the Melges 32 world champion, who is sailing on Argo.

Ryan Davos and crew of Volpe were in second followed by Dalton Devos and crew of Delta in third.

Carroll, Davos and Devos all come from the United States.