Day Three of Moby M30 World Championship 2007

by Jill Campbell, Porto Cervo, Italy on 7 Oct 2007 With the fleet now having completed six races New Caledonia (FRA), owned by Vincent Portugal, leads the overall classification by five points ahead of Matrix ArcaTxActive (ITA), owned by Luigi Melegari and Gianmarco Rinaldi. Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) is in third place, 12 points behind the leader with yesterday’s leader Optimumm (AUS), owned by Guy Stenning in fourth.

Following yesterday’s postponement of racing due to light winds, things got right back on track today in the Moby M30 World Championship in Porto Cervo. After a slight delay in which the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee, and the fleet, prayed to the wind gods, 12 to 14 knots of west north westerly breeze blew in and the 39 competing M30s were able to complete three windward leeward races of approximately 7.5 nautical miles each.

With the fleet now having completed six races New Caledonia (FRA), owned by Vincent Portugal, leads the overall classification by five points ahead of Matrix ArcaTxActive (ITA), owned by Luigi Melegari and Gianmarco Rinaldi. Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) is in third place, 12 points behind the leader with yesterday’s leader Optimumm (AUS), owned by Guy Stening in fourth.

Race Four, the first of the day, started at 12.15 in 14 knots of north westerly winds. At the first leeward mark New Caledonia, with former M30 World Champion Pierre Loic Berthet (2005) at the helm, led Bagua (ITA) and Barking Mad which has America’s Cup Veteran Terry Hutchinson on tactics. New Caledonia and Bagua held their positions to the finish but Richardson was overtaken by anther former World Champion, Claudio Recchi (2003), with his Bred (FRA) with Francesco de Angelis on tactics.

At the start of Race Five the wind had shifted slightly left to 280° and had fallen slightly to approximately 11 to 12 knots. At the first leeward mark Mascalzone Latino, owned by Vincenzo Onorato, led the fleet in a return to form after a fairly shaky start to the week ahead of New Caledonia. At the finish line however it was Matrix ArcaTXActive with Tommaso Chieffi calling tactics who crossed the line first ahead of Mascalzone Latino and New Caledonia.

Mascalzone was one of the favourites heading into the race given Onorato’s history as M30 World Champion (2000) and his standing as current Farr 40 World Champion but placed 23rd and 25th in the first two races.

'We are learning a lot because it’s been many years since any of us has sailed on these boats, ' commented Marco Cornacchia of the Mascalzone crew. 'Here there are real experts, both Italian and French and there is an excellent Australian boat which is very strong. We are still optimistic about the championship though, we think we can do well.'

The breeze continued to shift westwards and was approximately 275 ° for the start of Race Six with intensity holding at around 11 to 12 knots. Groovederci (USA), owned by Deneen Demourkas with Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking calling tactics, led Matrix ArcaTXActive around the first windward mark this time followed by Armando Giulietti’s Hiroshi with Lorenzo Santini’s Uka Uka in fourth. On the first upwind leg Uka Uka overtook Hiroshi and went on to take third behind Matrix with Groovederci in first place.

Vincent Portugal, owner of New Caledonia, was pleased with the results so far but conscious of the challenge still to come tomorrow.

'In the first race you know we weren’t leading for the whole time, there were four boats very close, we were second, third, first, it kept changing, but these four boats were well ahead of the fleet and in the second race it was the same story, after the first mark there were six or seven boats really leading the fleet. The last race was very tough as the wind was getting stronger, I think if you manage to pass the first mark in the top ten you are ok but if you are further back there are just boats everywhere. So far so good.

The week has gone pretty well, we had a good pre-worlds, testing the speed and manoeuvres and all that, everything was ok. We are happy to be in the lead now but we have to wait for the last race, all the boats are very very close to each other. We know that until the last leg of the last race nothing is certain, we are just hoping for good stable winds tomorrow and not to change our position too much.'

Racing is scheduled to continue in tomorrow at 11.30 am. The final prizegiving is scheduled for 6pm in the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Piaza Azzurra.

(Bow No.) Boat		R1		R2		R3		R4		R5		R6
Owner/Helmsman	Sail No.	Pl	Pts	Pl	Pts	Pl	Pts	Pl	Pts	Pl	Pts	Pl	Pts	Total	Place
(27) NEW CALEDONIA	FRA 988	7	7	2	2	13	13	1	1	3	3	8	8	34	1
Vincent Portugal/Pierre Loic Berthet
(24) MATRIX ARCA TX ACTIVE	ITA 3111	15	15	12	12	2	2	6	6	1	1	2	2	38	2
Gianmarco Rinaldi/Luigi Melegari
( 4) BARKING MAD	USA 65	5	5	6	6	21	21	4	4	5	5	5	5	46	3
James B. Richardson/James B. Richardson
(30) OPTIMUMM	AUS 7151	21	21	8	8	1	1	12	12	4	4	6	6	52	4
Guy Stening/Guy Stening
(44) ANN BE ESPOIR IDF	FRA 18325	4	4	5	5	10	10	7	7	19	19	14	14	59	5
Yoann Richomme/Vincent Aillaud
(41) UKA UKA	ITA 3049	9	9	9	9	3	3	10	10	27	27	3	3	61	6
Lorenzo Santini/Luca Valerio
( 2) ASSOTUBI MUMMYONE	ITA 3003	12	12	1	1	4	4	15	15	12	12	24	24	68	7
Mingozzi / Bonora/Fracassoli Carlo
(23) MASCALZONE LATINO	ITA 2121	23	23	25	25	5	5	5	5	2	2	11	11	71	8
Vincenzo Onorato/Vincenzo Onorato
(10) ENFANT TERRIBLE	ITA 3078	2	2	30	30	7	7	13	13	9	9	13	13	74	9
Serena Gianluigi/Serena Gianluigi
(11) GROOVEDERCI	USA 706	3	3	28	28	17	17	14	14	14	14	1	1	77	10
Deneen B. Demourkas/Deneen B. Demourkas
( 6) CHEYENNE	ITA 13078	1	1	11	11	18	18	30	30	6	6	22	22	88	11
Federico Strocchi/Federico Strocchi
(14) JOE FLY	ITA 3005	11	11	18	18	9	9	11	11	18	18	21	21	88	12
Giovanni Maspero/Giovanni Maspero
(40) TWINS	FRA 7	17	17	14	14	19	19	23	23	17	17	9	9	99	13
Erik Maris/Erik Maris
(22) MAMMY	IRL 30	30	30	10	10	11	11	8	8	7	7	34	34	100	14
Diarmuid Foley/Diarmuid Foley
(15) JOULES ASTERIX	GBR 3093R	26	26	7	7	30	30	18	18	10	10	10	10	101	15
Louis Browlle/David Evans
(34) SPIRIT OF SIMONE - MASER	ITA 3020	16	16	21	21	22	22	17	17	8	8	20	20	104	16
Jacopo Bianchetti/Furio Monaco
(37) THULE	MON 1	18	18	15	15	8	8	DSQ	40	13	13	16	16	110	17
Fausto Rubbini/Farnetti Francesco
(43) ZUXU	EST 381	32	32	13	13	14	14	20	20	22	22	12	12	113	18
Peter Sharashkin/Peter Sharashkin
( 3) BAGUA	ITA 3036	20	20	20	20	32	32	2	2	25	25	17	17	116	19
Andrea Cecchetti/Andrea Ceccetti
(26) MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC MAGI	ITA 3064	25	25	3	3	6	6	21	21	33	33	30	30	118	20
Franchini \ Gasperoni \ Zaoli/Marco Franchini
(12) HIROSHI	ITA 3023	19	19	17	17	16	16	26	26	36	36	4	4	118	21
Armando Giulietti/Armando Giulietti
( 8) DANGEROUS BUT FUN	MON 2003	14	14	16	16	12	12	35	35	11	11	36	36	124	22
Michele Perris/Michele Perris
( 5) BRED	FRA 1	27	27	4	4	28	28	3	3	30	30	35	35	127	23
TBC/Claudio Recchi
(18) LA MARACHELLA DI DRI DRI	ITA 3076	13	13	26	26	25	25	16	16	23	23	26	26	129	24
G.Leopoldo, P. Marco/Pecorella Marco
( 9) DILETTA	ITA 3063	22	22	22	22	31	31	22	22	15	15	18	18	130	25
Mauro Mocchegiani/Mauro Mocchegiani
(32) RAIN BOW	GER 4640	33	33	19	19	15	15	24	24	34	34	7	7	132	26
Bent B. Dietrich/Bent B. Dietrich
(25) MEZZA LUNA	FIN 10581	6	6	33	33	23	23	27	27	28	28	25	25	142	27
Harri Roshier/Anssi Lyden
(36) TENDER TO RAPETOUS	FRA 18309	37	37	27	27	24	24	9	9	26	26	19	19	142	28
Jean luc Pronier/Romain Gibon
(21) MAGA JOANNA	ITA 3087	29	29	29	29	27	27	19	19	16	16	23	23	143	29
Luigi Parente/Paolo Parente
(38) TOPAS	GER 5373	28	28	23	23	20	20	28	28	20	20	33	33	152	30
Harald Bruning/Harald Bruning
( 7) DAY ONE	FRA 18386	8	8	OCS	40	34	34	25	25	21	21	37	37	165	31
Philipp Schoeller/Philipp Schoeller
(35) STORM SYSTEM	ITA 3040	24	24	36	36	33	33	31	31	29	29	15	15	168	32
Pier Luigi Loro Piana/Pier Luigi Loro Piana
(19) LE COQ	ITA 3081	34	34	24	24	26	26	34	34	24	24	28	28	170	33
Carlo di Borbone/Carlo di Borbone
(28) OGUZHAN JR	TUR 9992	10	10	37	37	38	38	38	38	32	32	29	29	184	34
Sedat Gulcaglayan/Sinan Sumer
(42) WHITE SHARK	GBR 30R	36	36	34	34	29	29	29	29	31	31	32	32	191	35
Geof Gibbons/Geof Gibbons
(20) LETTO DI PLETTO	SWE 2	31	31	38	38	35	35	32	32	35	35	27	27	198	36
Jan Hagg/Cristian Backhausen
(29) OMEGA PLANET OCEAN	SUI 309	35	35	31	31	36	36	37	37	39	39	31	31	209	37
Patrick Ducommun/Patrick Ducommun
(33) RARA AVIS	RUS 18306	38	38	32	32	37	37	33	33	37	37	39	39	216	38
Arkadly Sverlov/Anna Basalkina
(16) JUGA 2	RUS 6335	39	39	35	35	39	39	36	36	38	38	38	38	225	39
Los Victor/Bryuzga Sergey