Sardinia lays on the weather

by Regatta News on 15 Sep 2005 After 10 days of unsettled weather, finally the sun is shining over Costa Smeralda, right in time for the opening day of the 27th edition of the Rolex Settimana delle Bocche, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

Some spectacular sailing conditions were enjoyed by the 33 competing crews, with a north-westerly breeze, locally known as Maestrale, steadily increasing from 6 to 25 knots.

The One Design fleet, comprising 17 Farr 40s and 10 Swan 45s, completed three closely fought windward/leeward races, featuring a windward offset mark and a leeward gate. The IMS fleet, with five Italian entries and one Russian representative, sailed a 30-mile coastal course starting off Porto Cervo and leading the competitors north on a long upwind leg towards the Monaci and the Barrettinelli rocks, and then back down - inside the protected waters of the channel of the La Maddalena Archipelago - on a long downwind run to the finish line opposite Porto Cervo.

Race one for the Farr 40 class was sailed in a light 6-10 knots breeze and featured a smooth start, with the fleet evenly spread out along the line and three boats taking an early lead - Italian Mascalzone Latino helmed by America's Cup syndicate head Vincenzo Onorato, Carlo Alberini's Calvi-Game On from Italy and German entry Opus One owned by Wolfgang Stolz.

Pre-race favourite and current title-holder, Nerone, co-owned by Italians Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo Migliori (winners of this regatta for the past three years running and former class European and World Champions) started the series on the wrong foot, finished 15th. Throughout the two-lap course, the top three boats were able to defend their position, rounding all the marks in the same order, with Mascalzone Latino taking line honours, followed by Calvi-Game On and Opus One.

Race one for the Swan 45 class wasn't as straightforward as the Farr 40s. The first half of the race was dominated by Italian entries Jeroboam (Vittorio Codecasa) and Mintaka (Stefano Polti), but at the leeward gate, Danilo Salsi's DSK and Lanfranco Cirillo's Star Trading, opted for the less popular right-hand mark. As a consequence, the latter two were able to overtake the leaders, sailing on a more favoured tack to the left side of the course.

DSK was able to maintain its lead throughout the rest of the course, crossing the finish line ahead of Star Trading and Jeroboam.

A carbon copy start of race one was the feature of the Farr 40 race two, sailed in an increasing breeze reaching 15 knots, with the bulk of the fleet powering down along the line and opting for a conservative approach.

With a faultless performance, Fiamma, owned by Italian Alessandro Barnaba and with America's Cup sailor Tommaso Chieffi calling tactics, won the race. Opus One showed excellent form again, sailing consistently to finish second overall.

The lone Australian entry, Kokomo, owned by Sydney-based property developer and keen sailor Lang Walker, with Grant Simmer, the General Manager of team Alinghi, calling tactics finished third.

In the Swan 45 class, race two produced a completely different set of results. Italian Marco Salvi's Vertigo, which in the earlier race finished last, gave a great performance. Following a perfect start, Vertigo, with America’s Cup sailor Francesco Bruni calling tactics, was able to take an early lead and keep it rivals at bay to take the gun well ahead of Carlo Perrone's Atlantica Racing and Stefano Polti's Mintaka.

Race three featured a strong 25 knots breeze and the crews showed off some excellent heavy air boat-handling skills. In the Farr 40 fleet, Nerone was finally able to stand up to its reputation, sailing a perfect race to crossing the finish line ahead of Mascalzone Latino and French entry, Twins 2, owned by Eric Maris.

Among the Swan 45 fleet, Vertigo - coming from a strong win - was forced to retire from the race right in the middle of the starting sequence after breaking the mainsail halyard.

In a brilliant performance, Mintaka was able to win its first race of the series, ahead of Atlantica Racing and DSK. Roberto Spata, tactician on Mintaka, was satisfied with their first day of racing. ‘We sailed well and scored a fourth, a third and a first.

‘Unfortunately, in the first race, we rounded the top mark together with the Farr 40s. We were forced to tack four times, and as a consequence, we lost a couple of positions. We are using this regatta as a warm-up and training for the next World Championship, where we hope to defend the title.’

After race one, the Race Committee increased timing between the two classes starts, in order to avoid such congestion at the top mark again.

Pietro d'Alì, tactician on DSK, commented: ‘It's been a very good day for us. We sailed a great first race in light breeze and although in the following races we didn't have such good starts, we were able to recover well. We kept a conservative approach and we didn't sustain any damage.’

At the end of the day, America's Cup Kiwi sailor Kelvin Harrap, calling the tactics on Opus One, commented: ‘It was a great day for sailing, we had 5 to 25 knots of breeze and this was a good test for everybody in all conditions.

‘We had a good day and were quite lucky in the last race where we managed to get back into the game. For the rest of the day, we were always in the front pack; so far so good.’

Almost same words were spoken by Adrian Stead, tactician on Mascalzone Latino, who enthusiastically commented, ‘another great day of racing in Sardinia. The Committee got the course just right and we sailed three cracking races. We scored a first, a fifth and a second, and we were able to fight our way back in a couple of races. Everybody on the boat sailed really well.’

Among the IMS fleet, Antonio Roncone's and Massimo Guardigli's Andromeda from Italy took line honours and was able to also win on corrected time. Luca Lualdi's Timeriesci from Italy finished second, followed by Alberto Cogni's Clean Energy.

CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS:

FARR 40 CLASS - Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1/R2/R3/Points

1. MASCALZONE LATINO Vincenzo Onorato ITA, 1/5/2/8.0

2. OPUS ONE Wolfgang Stolz GER, 3/2/4/9.0

3. TWINS 2 Eric Maris FRA, 8/4/3/15.0

SWAN 45 Class - Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1/R2/R3/Points

1. MINTAKA Stefano Polti ITA, 4/3/1/8.0

2. DSK Danilo Salsi ITA, 1/4/3/8.0

3. ATLANTICA RACING Carlo Perrone ITA, 5/2/2/9.0

IMS DIVISION - Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1/ Points

1. ANDROMEDA Antonio Roncone ITA, 1/1.0

2. TIMERIESCI Luca Lualdi ITA, 2/2.0

3. CLEAN ENERGY Alberto Cogni ITA, 3/3.0


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