Ursa Minor victorious in Platu 25 Central European AlpCup 3rd Act

by Sabrina Bonaiti on 4 Sep 2013 After five very exiting races competed last weekend in Urnersee, one of the four branches of Luzern lake, the Swiss 'Ursa Minor' owned by Andreas Karalis, won the Platu 25 Central European Alp-Cup (CEAC) third Act. So, at the end the dreaded overtaking on the Swiss crew 'Superbüsi helmed by Mathias Bermejo happened, and 'Ursa Minor' gained a lot upon Bermejo who is still leading the Platu 25 CEAC overall ranking list. The second place was for the German 'B52 Conquest' helmed by Walter Marlon and owned by Felix Dorn, followed by the Swiss 'Superbusi' at same points.

During two days pretty difficult, marked out by a shifty and tricky wind, fifteen Platu 25, ten Onyx and twelve Esse 850 took the regatta field in front of Brunnen, sailing very near to the famous 'Stone of Myths' the emerged rock dedicated to Friedrich Schiller. Boats competed between Brunnen and Rütli in one of the most beautiful landscape corner in VierWaldStattersee.

Helmed by Tom Studer and owned by Andreas Karalis - a Greek match race expert recently moved to Switzerland - with the talented Swiss Markus Sigrist at main and tactic and Luca Gerig at bow – 'Ursa Minor' is heading for the very last challenge in Mandello del Lario, on Como Lake, the next week end. It’s worth bearing in mind that 'Ursa Minor' boasts an illustrious past: this boat, indeed, was 'Modus Vivendi – 3Alfa' owned by Kostas Karageorgiou and steered by Panagiotis 'Takis' Mantis, and it was Platu 25 World Champion in more occasions. Andreas Karalis used to sail in Greece on a Platu 25 fighting against Kostas Karageorgiou and he clearly got a lot of experience from that high level competition. Moreover, take in to account the fact that Swiss Markus Sigrist and Luca Gerig were on board of 'Euz II Monella Vagabonda' respectively as tactic and at bow when the Italian boat helmed by Sandro Montefusco won the World Championship in Gmunden in 2011.

Andreas Karalis expressed its satisfaction for good result in Brunnen: 'Racing in Brunnen was another big challenge in the lakes of the Alpen Region, with very shifty conditions and variable winds. I guess this time our crew proved to be more consistent and although we are still a young setup, we are blending together pretty fast. We have proven that in higher wind conditions we are more competitive while we still need some work in lighter winds. We had some nice and interesting fights with Superbusi and the German B52 Conquest. There was enough drama, fighting and controversy involved, all contributing to a very interesting regatta for both crews and spectators.

In terms of organization, this Act at Brunnen was by far the best organized in my view. The Committee did a great job in crew hosting, and the events, the sponsors, the food, the hosting club, really they were excellent and I am looking forward to visiting again next year'.

On last Saturday four races were competed but the third one had to be cancelled by the Regatta Committee. On Sunday just two races were competed. At the end 'Ursa Minor' won, collecting two first places and two fifth places, discarding an eight. There was also a thrilling fight for the second place between 'Superbusi' and 'B52 Conquest' but in the last race German boat got a brilliant second place and 'Superbusi' had to be content with a third, more than enough to lose the second step of the podium. 'B52 Conquest' is another boat to keep watch: don’t forget that German boat is the 2012 Alp-Cup title defender and that at the moment is third in the overall ranking list. Good performance also for the Swiss 'Tajo' helmed by Philipp Meyer (4th position) and for the Italian 'Pirillina' helmed by Claudio Fasoli and with Mauro Fasoli as a tactic who concluded fifth, with a brilliant first place in the last race. Ten Swiss Platu 25 crews, four German and one Italian took part in this leg in Brunnen, confirming the International nature of this event.

The seventh Central European Alp Cup Edition (CEAC), the Circuit on the European Alpine Lakes that became an unmissable appointment for the Platu 25 International class, is drawing to a close and an exiting showdown is expected for the very last CEAC appointment. Next weekend in Mandello del Lario Platu 25 Central European Alp-Cup fourth Act is scheduled from the seventh to the eighth of September (information and ranking of race here.

'Superbusi' will do all its possible for maintaining its leadership (until now it won the 2013 Platu 25 Alp-Cup first and second Act in Germany and in Austria) , in order to confirm its talent and competitiveness, and 'B52 Conquest' has to defend its 2012 Alp-Cup Champion title. In a few days, we’ll know the name of 2013 Alp-Cup Champion and if it will be a Swiss or a German crew.

Ranking list after five races and one General ranking list after two acts