All eyes are on the 52 Super Series in Valencia

by Azzurra Sailing Team on 20 May 2015 The 52 Super Series got off to a spectacular start today in Valencia, with twelve highly competitive boats at the starting line including the new Azzurra, sporting symbol of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

Top-level sailing is again in Valencia, formerly venue of an unforgettable edition of the America’s Cup. Today it’s the 52 Super Series, the highest-level monohull event for professional sailors, that’s the event to watch in these waters. TP52s are not one-design boats but are very similar in that they race in real time following a box rule where project technology, build quality and the team’s skill are the factors that make the difference. In today’s two races there were tight starts, packed fleets on the marks, adrenalin rushes on the final leg and photo finish arrivals.

Just after 1:00 PM, under a cloudy sky unusual in this Spanish city, the fleet of twelve boats got off to a speedy start in choppy seas with easterly winds at about 16 knots. The first race saw a clear win for Alegre followed by Ran and Platoon. Azzurra finished sixth after Provezza beat her to the finish line by just a few centimeters.

The second race was equally hard fought and fun to follow. Azzurra got a good start and gained and lost positions throughout the race right up to a photo finish arrival in four boats. This race was in breezes of about 12 knots and saw Ran finish first ahead of Provezza. Alegre placed third.

Overall results see Ran in first place followed by Alegre and Provezza. Azzurra, Quantum and Platoon are all tied for fourth place.

Tomorrow there will be more windward/leeward races in front of Malvarrosa beach starting at 1:00 PM. As always, you can follow the regattas in real time via Virtual Eye on our website and news direct from the regatta course will be posted on Azzurra’s Facebook page and Twitter account. Registered journalists can find copyright-free high res images for publication in the press area of the website.

Quotes:

Guillermo Parada, Skipper: “It was a nervous day, nothing special, but we managed to survive in a day that wasn’t going our way. We aren’t satisfied, but it’s fine. We need to go into tomorrow thinking that it’s a new beginning and start all over again like we always do. We’re confident in our boat and in our team, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Vasco Vascotto, Tactician: “We were a bit below our potential and we weren’t sailing at our best. We already know which errors we’re going to have to go over in our debriefing so that we won’t make them again tomorrow. But we already knew that when sailing against a larger and even more competitive fleet there would be a lot more potential winners than in previous editions and during our test runs.”

2015 Calendar 52 Super Series
18 to 23 May: Valencia (Spain)
8 to 13 June: Porto Cervo (Italy, Sardinia)
13 to 18 July: Puerto Portals (Spain, Mallorca)
3 to 8 August: Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
15 to 20 September: Cascais (Portugal)

AZZURRA
Pablo and Alberto Roemmers - Owners
Alberto Roemmers- Helm
Guillermo Parada - Skipper
Vasco Vascotto - Tactician
Bruno Zirilli - Navigator
Giovanni Cassinari - Mainsail
Mariano Caputo - Bowman
Juan Pablo Marcos - Midbow
David Vera - Pitman
Maciel Cichetti - Trimmer
Grant Loretz - Trimmer
Mariano Parada - Trimmer
Gabriel Marino - Grinder
Alejandro Colla – Grinder
Nicola Pilastro- Grinder
Boat Captain: Pedro Rossi
Coach: Guillermo Baquerizas
Coach: Marco Capitani