Esimit Europa 2 breaks Palermo-Monte Carlo record

by Gorazd Mauri on 21 Aug 2010 Esimit Europa 2 made another magnificent victory for Europe today when Igor Simcic’s 100 foot maxi yacht was the first to cross the finish line in Monte Carlo, taking line honours in the Palermo-Monte Carlo Race. The crew onboard Esimit Europa 2 completed the 500 nautical mile course in 2 days 52 minutes, marking the second significant victory for the European team led by Skipper Flavio Favini. Over the last two days, the team faced a full range of unpredictable conditions in this long offshore race but showed their true skills and broke the course record by 3 hours 19 minutes.

The rest of the fleet is expected to begin arriving in Monte Carlo over the next 24 hours. Organised by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in collaboration with the Yacht Club de Monaco, 2010 is the sixth edition of this race which started in the historic city of Palermo on 18 August. The prizegiving will take place on 23 August at the prestigious Yacht Club de Monaco.

'The Palermo-Monte Carlo is just the second offshore regatta for Esimit Europa 2 and I am pleased that it is also the second win for the team and a united Europe. This is a new boat and new crew, making a long regatta such as the Palermo-Monte Carlo even more challenging. With three consecutive inshore and two offshore victories I am pleased with the project’s progress and happy about today’s record. Now we will set our sights on the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia,' said owner of the yacht and Esimit Europa General Manager, Igor Simcic.

Commenting on the race, skipper Flavio Favini said: 'We are very pleased to be the first team to arrive in Monte Carlo. We faced a range of conditions during this long race, it was demanding on the crew to keep the boat speed up at all times, particularly when the winds were light. In particular, we were fortunate last night to have kept the same breeze we had as we sailed up the Corsican coast all the way into the finish line in Monte Carlo. At the beginning, we didn’t think that it would be possible to break the record but it is an honour to have done so with Esimit Europa 2.'

Esimit Europa 2 has a full calendar of regattas in September and October. The next regatta for Esimit Europa 2 is the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup from 5-11 September, followed by the Barcolana and Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Looking ahead to the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Favini added: 'The competition and type of racing in Porto Cervo will be different from what we have done thus far, but we’ll be making a few modifications to the boat and our sail inventory and hope to have a good rating. We will also be training in the Costa Smeralda prior to the start of the regatta to fine tune our inshore skills as we will be racing on short courses that week.'

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