2019 Melges 20 World League - European Division Leg 1, Villasimius - Day 1
by Melges World League 27 Apr 2019 00:09 PDT
26-28 April 2019
2019 Melges 20 World League - European Division: Day 1 © Melges World League / Barracuda Communication
The Melges 20 fleet is once again the protagonist in Europe, where today the first continental event of the Melges 20 World League 2019 kicked off.
In Villasimius, races started at their best, with typical conditions for the Melges 20 Class: great balance, spectacular racing on the water and victories that could only be determined at the photo finish.
The day, characterized by gusty wind of 10/13 knots of intensity from the SW, saw the reigning World Champion, Stig by Alessandro Rombelli, with Victor Diaz de Leon calling tactics, immediately setting the pace and scoring the first bullet of the series. Behind him, Boogie by Pierluigi Giannattasio (together with Giulio Desiderato) and an excellent Siderval (Corinthian team) by Marco Giannini.
The second regatta saw Dario Levi as absolute protagonist at the helm of his Fremito d'Arja: they scored the second bullet of the day, a very important result looking at the overall ranking after day one, since it allowed the Italian crew to put the seal on the first place of the provisional, overall ranking. Race 2 is another great second place for Boogie, while the third place on the finish line is for the Italian Caipirnha Jr. of Alessandro Agostinelli (with Gabriele Benussi calling tactics).
The third and final race of the day (with increasing breeze) is a great fight, where the reigning Champion of the Melges World League - European Division, Brontolo by Filippo Pacinotti, scores the bullet, leaving behind two Russian teams, Russian Bogatyrs of Igor Rytov and Pirogovo Sailing of Alexander Ezhkov.
The provisional ranking sees Fremito d'Arja (6-1-6) lead the pack on the equals with Russian Bogatyrs (4-7-2). Stig is third (1-4-12) at four lengths from the leading pair and on equal points with Boogie and Pirogovo Sialing. In the Corinthian division, Siderval, sixth in the overall standings, with partials of 3-15-8, leads the ranking reserved to non-professional crews.
The Melges World League European Division count on the support of North Sails, Helly Hansen, Quantum Sails, Tirrenia, Garmin Marine, La Thuile, XPouf, Revi, Loison, Rigoni di Asiago, Dai Dai, Norda, Le Formiche di Fabio Vettori.