Rolex Capri Sailing Week - Azzurra all set for action

by Giuliano Luzzatto on 20 May 2014 The opening event in the TP52 Mediterranean circuit will be held this year within the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, a classic May maxiyacht regatta that, for the first time, will also see the TP52s racing on a separate course.

Azzurra, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s sporting symbol, is docked at Capri’s Marina Grande along with the eight other TP52s she will be competing against. A total of nine boats is a good number in this highly technological and intensely competitive Barclays 52 Super Series. Azzurra and her competitors will have new sail plans, updated along new class rules that will make the boats even faster.

The week’s weather forecasts call for light breezes off Capri. A trial race was held today while official racing, where winners can start accumulating the points they will need for overall championship victory, will start tomorrow and end in September in Ibiza after stops in Porto Cervo (June, Audi TP52 World Championship) and Palma de Mallorca (August, Copa del Rey).

The Capri event will also have an extensive social programme sponsored by Rolex. An owner’s dinner is planned for Thursday the 22nd while on Friday the 23rd the eagerly anticipated Rolex Dinner Party will be held at the restaurant 'La Canzone del Mare'.

Guillermo Parada Azzurra’s Argentinean skipper, had these words on the eve of the racing: 'After our second place overall finish in the US 52 Super Series we are more eager than ever to place first in the Med series. We know that it’ll be difficult because the Barclays 52 Super Series is the most competitive series in our class and we are proud to be one of the top teams. Starting with the Capri regatta the TP52 fleet will be racing with a new and more powerful sail plan. Right now we are testing it and are fine tuning Azzurra. But we can already tell that the boat feels more powerful and faster in this new version.'

Barclays 52 Super Series – 2014 Racing Schedule
20- 24 May - Rolex Capri Sailing Week
10 - 14 June - TP52 World Championship, Porto Cervo
4 - 9 August - Copa del Rey, Palma de Mallorca
10-14 September – Royal Cup, Ibiza

Azzurra
Guillermo Parada - Skipper and Helmsman
Vasco Vascotto - Tactician
Bruno Zirilli - Navigator
Paul Westlake - Mainsail
Mariano Caputo - Bowman
Juan Pablo Marcos - Midbow
David Vera - Pitman
Maciel Cichetti - Trimmer
Mariano Parada - Trimmer
Grant Loretz - Trimmer
Gabriel Marino - Grinder
Alejandro Colla – Grinder
Boat Captain: Pedro Rossi
Coach: Guillermo Baquerizas
Coach: Rod Azzurra website