Melges 24 European Championship at Riva del Garda, Italy - Day 4

Very atypical conditions today in the Wind Factory of Garda Lake. For the penultimate day of racing of the Melges 24 European Championship, the Race Committee chaired by PRO Hank Stuart called the fleet out on the water perfectly on time at 1pm. All at a sudden, while they were setting the race course, the weather conditions over the Western shore of the Lake changed dramatically and a strong wind called Ponale, from the North West, started to blow with gusts over 30 knots.

The reigning World Champions on board Altea with Andrea Racchelli in helm training downwind and reaching the amazing speed of 20.8 knots - Melges 24 European Championship 2018 - photo © Pierrick Contin

The Race Committee secured the fleet on the Eastern shore of the Lake and, after having waited for the stormy wind to decrease and stabilize for over two hours, hoisted the AP over Alfa flag, heading back to the moorings of Fraglia Vela Riva followed by the 72 participant crews, assisted by the ribs of the organizing authority. Only some brave crews dared to challenge the strong Ponale wind and sailed for some minutes at amazing speeds [Watch the below video of the reigning World Champions on board Altea with Andrea Racchelli in helm training downwind and reaching the amazing speed of 20.8 knots].

No races sailed today then and no news on the overall ranking that, as after the races of yesterday, sees Maidollis leading the pack with 15 points, followed by Caipirinha Jr with 32 and Lucky Dog / Gill Race Team with the same score. Taki 4 keeps controlling the Corinthian ranking, followed by Lenny and Gill Race Team.

After the day out on the water, the crews could enjoy a pizza party offered by Fraglia Vela Riva and were encouraged to sign the Charta Smeralda, a document promoted by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda for the protection of the Oceans. Peter Havn from the Danish crew of Top Gun was also the lucky winner of a Garmin Quatix watch.

Peter Havn from the Danish crew of Top Gun was the lucky winner of a Garmin Quatix watch - Melges 24 European Championship 2018 - photo © Pierrick Contin

The appointment is set for tomorrow at 11.00 am and three more races can be sailed, with latest warning signal to be given within 3.00 pm, to determine the 2018 Melges 24 European Champion.

It will be possible to follow the final day racing via live streaming powered by Zerogradinord on the Facebook page of the International Melges 24 Class Association.

Results after Day 4: (top ten, 7 races)

1. MAIDOLLIS ITA854 Carlo Fracassoli, Enrico Fonda, Gianluca Perego, Stefano Lagi, Matteo Ramian 1-1-(7)-4-7-1-1 15pts
2. CAIPIRINHA JR ITA633 Matteo Ivaldi, Gabriele Benussi, Francesco Rubagotti, Vittorio Zaoli, Camilla Bert 5-(20)-8-1-1-3-14 32pts
3. LUCKY DOG / GILL RACE TEAMUSA749 Travis Weisleder, Mike Buckley, George Peet, John Bowden, Megan Ratliff 2-2-(12)-11-5-4-8 32pts
4. WAR CANOE USA841 Mike Goldfarb, Morten Henriksen, David Brink, Salvador Sanchez Rodriguez, Jonny Goldsberry (21)-5-6-7-2-8-12 40pts
5. TAKI 4 ITA778 COR Niccolo Bertola, Giacomo Fossati, Giovanni Bannetta, Marco Zammarchi, Lorenzo Piccioni 7-7-9-3-11-(14)-3 40pts
6. ALTEA ITA722 Andrea Racchelli,Gaudenzio Bonini, Alberto Verna, Michele Gregoratto, Federico Zampiccoli 9-(16)-2-16-4-13-6 50pts
7. ARKANOE by MONTURA ITA809 Sergio Caramel, Karlo Hmeljak, Riccardo Gomiero, Nicholas Dal Ferro, Margherita Zanuso 8-9-1-2-12-23-(34) 55pts
8. LENNY EST790 COR Tõnu Tõniste, Toomas Tõniste, Tammo Otsasoo, Maiki Saaring, Henri Tauts (27)-11-13-10-6-11-4 55pts
9. STRIBOG RUS817 Leonid Altukhov, Sergei Chevtsov, Aleksandr Andrianov, Maksim Kuzmin, Roman Konstantinov (73 BFD)-13-5-9-16-6-9 58pts
10. FGF SAILING TEAM HUN728 Robert Bakoczy, Domonkos Rozsnyay, Levente Takacsy, Bence Buza, Baldizsar Buza 14-3-17-(20)-3-17-15 69pts

Full results can be found here.