Azzurra end the Menorca 52 Super Series on a positive note

Azzurra at Menorca 52 Super Series Sailing Week © Nico Martinez / 52 Super Series

Azzurra finishes second in the final race at the Menorca 52 Super Series Sailing Week but with regrets for the errors that cost her a podium finish. The event was won by Platoon followed by Provezza and Quantum.

After two days of ups and downs, the last two races at Menorca were run in steady northerly wind at 15 to 18 knots, conditions that brought surprises for Azzurra and other teams. Just think that going in to the final race the event's winner seemed to be Provezza, but they ended up losing their lead by just four seconds. As it is, the final race was won by Platoon followed by Azzurra and Bronenosec. Those four seconds cost Provezza one single point, but that enough to bump them off the highest step of the podium. Quantum ended this event in third place overall, Azzurra in fourth.

In the first race Azzurra got a good start on the left hand side of the line and took a port tack right away keeping Quantum and Platoon in her lee. She approached the mark from the left where she was sailing in clean air, but she couldn't find an opening in the tightly packed fleet that was sailing on starboard tack. To avoid crossing behind, she chose to stay downwind to then try and move up with the fleet, but she got a penalty for not leaving space to manoeuvre. But her troubles didn't end there: her adversaries covered her, slowing her almost to a stop and making her drift and after she finally managed to round the mark, the umpires ruled that Azzurra had touched it and gave her a second penalty. Even after this punishment she tried to recover, not just from the last place, but from a last place that was very far behind the second to last placed team, Team Vision Future. Azzurra's team didn't give up and sailed to the far right of the course to then cross left where there was stronger breeze. She arrived at the finish from the left, neck-to-neck with four other teams and finished eighth.

In the eighth and final race of this event Azzurra got a good start on the Committee Boat and controlled Quantum. Platoon got the pin and was first at the mark, followed closely by Azzurra. While this duo stayed in the top spots, the rest of the fleet fought it out. Provezza went from sixth to fourth, but couldn't hang on to her leadership at the Menorca 52 Super Series. With her second place finish in this final race the boat flying the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's burgee and owned by the Roemmers family stayed in fourth place at this event. Looking ahead to the rest of the season Azzurra is not too many points behind the top placed teams: she is currently ten points behind Platoon and just four behind Quantum.

Riccardo Bonadeo, YCCS Commodore: "Azzurra didn't get a podium finish even though she got this event off to an excellent start, but that's the way it goes. In a fleet that sails at a level this high you pay dearly for every error and this time around we were the team making errors. We can't help being proud of Azzurra and her team for never giving up and both I and the entire Yacht Club Costa Smeralda wish to thank the Roemmers family for their unfailing support."

Guillermo Parada, skipper: "We started and ended this week on a positive note but in the middle- for various different reasons- we made too many errors and we paid for them in terms of points. Today again we made a mistake that cost us one penalty that we can understand and a second one that we don't think we deserved, but it's useless to dwell on it. I'm proud of the recovery we made: three positions when you're that far back is really good. We'll try and look on the bright side and arrive in Puerto Sherry for the next event concentrated and in a positive mind set."

Santiago Lange, tactician: "We did some good things and some pretty bad things and you just can't afford to sail like that when your competition is this tough. We have to sail more consistently, that's what we'll be working on."

The next and second event in the 2019 52 Super Series will be held in Puerto Sherry, near Cadiz, Spain from June 17th to 22nd.

Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week Overall Results:

1. Platoon (GER) (Harm Müller-Spreer) (5,2,6,3,7,2,2,1) 28pts
2. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (6,3,3,1,8,3,1,4) 29pts
3. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (8,5,4,2,1,1,7,6) 34pts
4. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto/Pablo Roemmers) (2,1,1,7,10,7,8,2) 38pts
5. Bronenosec (RUS) (Vladimir Liubomirov) (1,7,8,10,2,10,6,3) 47pts
6. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (4,11,2,5,6,8,4,7) 47pts
7. Phoenix 12 (RSA) (Tina Plattner) (7,4,7,8,9,4,3,8) 50pts
8. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (9,8,5,9,4,5,9,5) 54pts
9. Phoenix 11 (RSA) (Hasso Plattner) (3,10,11,6,5,6, DNF12,DNS12) 65pts
10. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) (11,9,10,11,3,9,5,10) 68pts
11. Team Vision Future (FRA) (Jean Jacques Chaubard) (10,6,9,4,11,11,10.9) 70pts