|
Sail-World.com : Louis Vuitton Trophy - Francesco Bruni steers Azzurra to victory
Louis Vuitton Trophy - Francesco Bruni steers Azzurra to victory
|
'I have the advantage of being a Star skipper,' said Francesco Bruni before he took a seat on the dais next to Emirate’s Team New Zealand’s skipper Dean Barker.
The two skippers would face off in the Grande Finale at the Louis Vuitton Trophy – Nice. Francesco Bruni, the Italian Olympic Star skipper in Athens and a contender for the Italian Olympic slot in Qingdao, skippered Azzurra.
Bruni steered the Italian team to two straight wins in the Grande Finale at the first World professional Sailing Team Association (WSTA) event in Europe. The Italians won both starts and were in the controlling position at the first cross in each race. They held their advantage throughout each race.
Azzurra, the name for the 1983 and 1987 Yacht Club Costa Smeralda America’s Cup campaigns, has returned to the milieu of interclub and nationalistic sailing competition by fielding an entirely Italian team for its WSTA debut at the Louis Vuitton Trophy-Nice. The Azzurra team brings together Giovanni Maspero’s Joe Fly sailing team, which has done so well in one-designs such as the Melges 32 and the Farr 40, and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda under the Azzurra trademark.
The charismatic skipper Bruni and tactician Tommaso Chieffi have quite a spirited following in Nice.
The tall ship, Signora del Vento, is the largest presence on the Baie des Anges. Chartered by YCCS, the yacht provides club members with the best on the water VIP experience during the day and has played host to gatherings of team members, their guests and potential sponsors during the evenings. Signora del Vento docked out at sunrise to be present for the Finals of the Louis Vuitton Trophy against Emirates Team New Zealand. H.H. the Aga Kahn was among the many supporters aboard who witnessed Azzurra beat the Kiwis in the first race of the Finals. The last time the Italians beat the Kiwis in an ACC boat was about a decade ago.
Said skipper, Francesco Bruni, who hails from Palermo, 'It is unusual to have an America’s Cup team in which everyone is from the same country and speaks their mother tongue. The entire team goes the extra mile because it is pushing for its flag and its country.'
Francesco Bruni, Iain Percy, Hamish Pepper and Paul Cayard were among the Star sailors in the afterguards of the eight teams that competed in the Louis Vuitton Trophy – Nice. Among the Star sailors who rounded out the grinding and pit crews among the teams, Brian Sharp went the furthest as a member of the Petite-final winning team, Synergy Russia Sailing Team. Francesco Bruni, however, carried the Star lineage all the way to the top as the winning skipper of the entire series.
by Lynn Fitzpatrick
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=63589
7:56 PM Sun 22 Nov 2009 GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
Click for further information on
Louis Vuitton Trophy Series
Related News Stories:
MORE STORIES ...
|
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact Sail-World.com as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com or Marinebusiness-world.com
Contact us
.
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our Sail-World news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
| | |
.jpg)
