Excitement building for upcoming ORCi World Championship

by ORC Media on 18 Jun 2013 Excitement is building for 115 teams from 16 countries for the upcoming Adria Ferries ORCi World Championship, to be held in Ancona, Italy over 21-29 June. The Organizing Committee has published its final entry list, where 59 boats will be competing in Class A, and 56 boats will be racing in Class B. This is the third consecutive year there has been over 100 entries for this event, the only ISAF-recognized Offshore World Championship.

After measurements and registration procedures are conducted over Friday, 21 June to Sunday, 23 June at the venue at Marina Dorica, racing will start one week from today on Monday, 24 June. Principal Race Officer Alfredo Ricci and his Race Committee team will set windward-leeward courses for the inshore races, and during the week there will also be two offshore races to be held on courses set in the Adriatic. All racing will conclude on Saturday, 29 June when the two new World Champions will be crowned.

One team geting excited and ready for next week has a special incentive: to defend their World Champion title.

ScugnizzaEnzo De Blasio and his NM38 Scugnizza are ready to race. After winning an impressive sequence of 2012 titles including the ORCi world title won in Helsinki, the Italian national ORCi title won at Riva di Traiano, and the victory earned at Tre Golfi in 2011, De Blasio earned the title 2012 UVAI Owner of the Year. He and his Scugnizza team also just won their class at the 2013 ORC Mediterranean Championship at San Vito lo Capo Sailing Week in Sicily, so its no wonder why they are among the favorites heading to Ancona, where they have every intention of defending the title.

'The latest update of the ORC VPP had us greatly penalized, so then with Maurizio Cossutti we had to develop a program to optimize the boat's rating: We have revised the hull and the structure, while the sails have not been touched,' said De Blasio.

Before the victory in San Vito Lo Capo, Scugnizza had not had their usual results in Tre Golfi, to which De Blasio said 'Yes, we were out of practice. The adverse weather conditions in recent months have left little participation in many regattas, so we took a very serious effort in the Mediterranean Championship races where we had very strong opponents, with all participants in training for the Worlds.'

Are there are changes in crew? 'No, we are still the street urchins of all time, with the exception of Daniele Di Tullio who will be with our direct competitor, but we will have the Portuguese Olympian Ugo Rocia as tactician.'

What do you expect from the Worlds in Ancona? 'Light winds! This condition is not ideal for Scugnizza, especially with a very strong championship, but we are very determined to defend the title.'

More than just a series of races, World Championship will also feature an outstanding range of activities and attractions to attract and entertain not just the participants, but residents and visitors to the region as well.

Leonardo Zuccaro is the Director of the Marina Dorica in Ancona and has worked hard with all the organizations responsible to create an atmosphere of fun for all to enjoy during this World Championship event.

'It is very interesting to see that the Regione and the Comune are completely involved in the event and that they cooperate with the clubs - Numana Yacht Club, Assonautica, L.N.Ancona, Sef Stamura and Marina Dorica - to create not only a series of races but an entire event. There are many little surprises for all participants, such as the images, photos and videos on display in the piazza del Papa, or the elegant little square in Ancona downtown where the public can meet the sailors and the champions.

'There will also be live commentary of the races on the Passetto steps, just on front of Race course 1, where all the spectators and guests can look at the races and get an excellent view of the tactics of the participants. In the Marina Dorica there will be a permanent welcome area where all the participants can stay before and after the racing, and all the shops in the Ancona area await the participants with special offers. There will be other interesting ecological suprises presented during the event.

The idea to organize the ORC Worlds in Ancona came from Alberto Rossi, the winner of the last two editions in Cres and Helsinki. But since then there has been a big effort to support this event from many organizations here because we would all like to promote the best quality tourism in our beautiful Riviera del Conero'.

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