Soling Worlds at Maremma at Scarlino, Italy - Overall
by Club Nautico Scarlino 19 Sep 2008 14:48 PDT
14-18 September 2008
Slovenians Antoncic, Strah & Hmeljak win
The Slovenian team with Antoncic at the helm, Strah middleperson and Hmeljak bowman have been crowned Soling World Champions. Argentineans Warburg-Celedoni-Smith finished second overall and Argentineans Busch-Peuvrel-Feldtman concluded third. The best of the Italian teams were the Maffezzoli brothers from Lake Garda.
With 9 races out of nine completed, the Soling World Championship held at La Marina di
Scarlino came to a close on Thursday. Slovenians Antoncic-Strah-Hmeljak
were constant in their results throughout the whole championship
(2-14-6-1-9-5-1-3-6) and conquered the title after having won the
European Championship in 2007. Gustavo Warburg and his Edding team with
Celedoni and Smith were close on their heels, but in race 9 Antoncic
managed to keep the Argentineans in check with two bullets and two
seconds spots. The Argentinean Skandia team formed by Martin Busch,
Tomas Preuvel and Maximo Feldtmann conquered the third place on the
podium. Hungarian George Wossala finished in fourth place and German
Thomas Maschkivitz was fifth overall.
The 40 crews from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France,
Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
Slovenia, Switzerland, the USA and Italy raced in a very technically
challenging race course. The Race Committee presided by Luigi Cuccotti
and Carlo Tosi was able to carry out all of the none scheduled races
over a five day period. Sailors faced all kinds of weather, from rough
seas with 15-25 knots of wind from the south, to sunny fall days with
the local 10-20 knot northwesterly Maestrale to finish off in a light
8-12 knot south westerly breeze. These conditions truly highlighted the
true qualities and strength of Soling yachts, a class that was Olympic
between 1997 and 2000.
Newcomer to the class Swiss Enrik Dannesboe finished sixth overall and
won Race 2 with his new Borresen Soling built in Argentina, one of the
three new boats that sailed in the Scarlino World Championship.
Hungarian George Wossala and German Roman Koch also competed with new
Borrensen boats. Individual races were won by German Marine Pool Team
with Roman Koch, Maximiilan Koch and Gregor Bornemann, who then finished
the Championship in ninth position overall, and by the other German team
helmed by Karl Haist (11th overall).
The classic boat award was won by USA 853, helmed by Matias Collins with
Enrique Mich and Spanish Jaime Martinez, who is also a newcomer to the
class and new boat owner whose goal is build a Soling fleet in Spain
once again and will keep his boat in Barcelona. The Paul Elvstrom
Trophy for the best under 18 helmsman went to Austrian Stephan Glanz
(AUT 114, 12th overall) A big welcome from the Class also goes to
Portugese Antonio Tanger who bring this nation back into the Soling
family after many years.
Over 200 visitors enjoyed the landscape and hospitality of the Maremma
region in Tuscany and it’s quaint medieval towns of Scarlino, Massa
Marittima and Castiglione della Pescaia and many of the competitors’
wives and families seized the opportunity of visiting the surrounding
cities of Florence, Siena and Pisa while the sailors were at sea.
The next race scheduled at La Marina di Scarlino is the VI edition of
the Cook & Sail, a competition where sailing and culinary skills come
together.
The Soling World Championship has been organized by the Club Nautico
Scarlino, in collaboration with the International Soling Association,
the International Sailing Federation, the Italian Sailing Federation
(FIV) and the committee Circoli Velici della Costa Etrusca. The event
has the patronage and support of the Province of Grosseto, the
Municipality of Scarlino, La Marina di Scarlino and Consorzio Etruria.
More information and full results at www.solingworlds.com