2015 52 Super Series - Azzurra welcomes competitors to Costa Smeralda

by Azzurra Sailing Team on 9 Jun 2015 The new Azzurra welcomes her competitors in the 52 Super Series to her homeport in Porto Cervo. The regatta starts tomorrow, June 9th.

Tomorrow at noon the warning signal for the beginning of the Settimana delle Bocche, the historic regatta organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, will also signal the start of the second event in the 52 Super Series. On top of Azzurra, another eight TP52s will be at the start, making a total of nine teams that represent seven different nations. There will be both windward/leeward and coastal races through the beautiful islands of the Maddalena Archipelago and along the Costa Smeralda. The Settimana delle Bocche will conclude after racing on June 13th. Forecasts are for light breezes in the first half of the week with winds picking up Thursday, but conditions are always unpredictable in Costa Smeralda.

“The Settimana delle Bocche was the first regatta that the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda organized and hosted back in 1972,” said Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo. “I’m especially proud that this event is part of the 52 Super Series, the top racing circuit that our boat Azzurra competes in, and that here she can be the hostess. In welcoming all the competitors I can’t help saying that I hope our team will put on a good show here in the Costa Smeralda like it did in the Settimana delle Bocche in 2013, even though our goal is to win the championship, not the single event.

Skipper Guillermo Parada: “Racing in Azzurra’s home waters is always special and it gives us an extra reason for doing our best. We ended the first event of the 52 Super Series in Valencia with an excellent double win thanks both to our teamwork and to the boat’s preparation. We know we can do even better, but we also know that our competition is working hard. That’s the fun part about these regattas and we’re here to compete.”

The following boats will be racing in the 52 Super Series at the Settimana delle Bocche: Alegre, Azzurra, Bronenosec, Gladiator, Paprec, Platoon, Provezza IX, Quantum Racing and Sled.

As always, you can follow the regattas in real time via Virtual Eye on website. News direct from the regatta course will be posted on Azzurra’s Facebook page and Twitter account.

After the Prince Zahra Aga Khan baptized Azzurra in Valencia, yet another bottle of champagne was broken on the bow of a new TP52. Mrs. Sciaké Bonadeo, wife of the Commodore of the YCCS, was asked by Tony Langley to baptize Gladiator, one of the nine new boats built for the 52 Super Series 2015.The bottle broke on the first try, a good sign for the yacht. “I thank our friend Tony Langley for this honor,” said Sciaké Bonadeo, “and I’m sure that he’ll get a lot of satisfaction out of racing this boat. I do hope he understands, though, that in my heart of hearts I’m routing for Azzurra!'

2015 Calendar 52 Super Series
18 to 23 May: Valencia (Spain)
8 to 13 June: Porto Cervo (Italy, Sardinia)
13 to 18 July: Puerto Portals (Spain, Mallorca)
3 to 8 August: Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
15 to 20 September: Cascais (Portugal)