ORCi World Championship - Nervous energy in the air on rehearsal day

by ORC Media on 24 Jun 2013 On the rehearsal day for the ORCi World Championship, there was nervous energy in the air, with both competitors and the Race Committee using the day to practice their respective roles in the coming show. 110 entries from 15 countries are here, divided into two classes, with each on stage tomorrow to start a 6-day performance for which team from each class will be crowned the new 2013 ISAF Offshore World Champion.

The locals said that today's sun-drenched, 6-10 knot conditions are not unusual for this time of year, though the forecast does show a suitable variety of wind predicted over the coming week. Nonetheless, those that are strong in the light showed well in the practice starts and the practice race offered today, and despite what seemed like a light turnout for this session, nearly all teams were on the water for their own training sessions after completing their registration and measurement formalities over the past few days.

Among the 22 boats that completed the race among 56 in the class, Giorgio Martin's TP 52 Aniene managed to spring ahead of their closest rival 52's and Piero Paniccia's Cookson 50 Calypso to finish ahead by over one minute in corrected time on the 9.3-mile course. In second place was not one of these fast 50's, but the much smaller Primed Rush Diletta, a Melges 32 owned by Mauro Mocchegiani, a clear contender in the light air and flat water of the day. The remaining six places were separated by only 1:30 in corrected time, a preview of the close margins that lie ahead for this event.

In Class B only eight boats decided to complete the entire course, with another small light boat doing well amongst its larger rivals. Luciano Mastroianni's Farr 30 Candida Mente, one of the fastest-rated boats in Class B, won the race by 1:08 over Renato Pesaresi's Dufour 34 Machiael, one of the slower-rated boats in the class, over 11 minutes behind Candida in elapsed time on their 7.4-mile course.

The inshore course is a complex two-loop arrangement where Class A starts first, rounds the top mark and offset, and then reaches over another set of marks used to define their own dedicated windward-leeward track, before heading to a reaching finish to leeward of the leeward gate. This helps separate the two fleets and allow fair racing for both.

Another innovation is the mid-line start boat used to manage the 50+ boats in each start. This will help race managers more properly identify boats who are OCS, a problem that today resulted in a general recall for the over-anxious Class A fleet.

'Everyone here in Ancona is ready to go,' said ORC Chairman Bruno Finzi. 'This looks like it will be a fantastic World Championship, we wish Good Luck to all the teams and look forward to some great racing in the next week.'
ORCi Worlds website