Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S-Series LEADERBOARD

2019 D-Marin ORC World Championship at Sibenik, Croatia - Day 2

by ORC Media 5 Jun 2019 14:58 PDT 3-8 June 2019
Breezy conditions produced tight racing throughout today's two inshore races - 2019 D-Marin ORC World Championship © JK Val

In postcard-perfect 13-17 knot southerly winds under sunny Croatian skies, the three classes of the 2019 D-Marin ORC World Championship today enjoyed close competition in two races now added to the series scoreboard. And in three races - yesterday's long offshore and today's two inshores - new leaders have emerged in the series.

Racing on the northern Bravo course area due west of the harbor at Sibenik, Class A's fastest-rated boat - Marco Serafini's 2011 Botin-designed TP52 XIO - made it look easy with wins scored in both races. But a closer look at the detailed results tells a different story: their margins of victory were extremely close in the 1 hour of racing time, only 33 seconds in the first race over yesterday's race winner, Roberto Monti's Judel/Vrolik-designed TP52 Air is Blue, and only 40 seconds in the second race over Giovanni Labini's GS 46R Luduan Reloaded.

"There's no margin for error at all," says XIO navigator Ian Moore. "We cannot make any mistakes because we are not racing our rivals directly, we are racing the clock, and there's plenty of talent in this class, especially in conditions like today," referring to the moderate steady breeze, flat water, and relatively uncrowded open course area for the 13 teams competing in Class A.

Class B on course area Alpha to the south of Sibenik had what course area PRO Denis Marinov said were two "perfect" races. "The wind built slightly from the morning, but it was steady and stable, we started on time, there were no individual or general recalls, no course changes needed. There may have been a slight half knot current from the south, maybe this kept everyone back, but the line was really square, and everyone was on it with space at each starting signal. I was really surprised, but pleased because we got two great races done today."

As in Class A, there was one team winning both races in Class B too: Andrea Rossi's Swan 42 Mela. And like XIO in Class A, the margins were tight...in fact, very tight in the first race, with the runner-up - yesterday's long race winner Massimo De Campo's Swan 42 Selene-Alifax - overlapped at the finish and losing by a mere 9 seconds in corrected time.

"We sailed really well today, with strong starts and executing our game plan in each race," said tactician Enrico Zennaro. "This was to go left, tack with a small margin to the lay line, and cross everyone, and it worked." The teamwork on Mela was also helped by their active participation and success in class one-design racing, where they earned their title as European Champions in last year's class championship in Porto Cervo.

"The class racing pushes us to know the boats well, and they do well in ORC anyway, so its no surprise we are all three [Swan 42's] in the top rankings in this class," said Zennaro. And despite their strong results today, the team's 11th place in the non-discardable long race yesterday means they still trail rival Swan 42's Selene-Alifax and Albert Franci's Digital Bravo by several points in the standings.

"We still have a lot of work to do," admitted Zennaro.

Class C on course area Alpha was not nearly as well-behaved as Class B, with race manager Ariane Mainemarie having to pull out the Black Flag to tame this largest crowd in the regatta with 50 boats. Former Olympian Lorenzo Bodini, tactician on Aivar Tuulberg's custom Cossutti-designed 37-footer Katariina II, the reigning ORC European Champion, said the starts are really tough.

"If someone messes you up, you can protest, but what's the point, you just need to get off the line clean because if you are not, the race is impossible to catch up," he said.

Today's leader in the class seemed to avoid this problem by having clean lanes to let the boat do the work and good tactical calls to emerge with an impressive score of 1-2 on the day. Zdenek Jakoubek's red-orange M37 Hebe V may be hard to miss on the crowded start lines, but skipper Petr Fiala would also credit the windy conditions today for their success, which nonetheless was by a small 28-second margin in Race 1. In contrast, their loss to yesterday's long race winner Ott Kikkas's Italia 11.98 Sugar 3 in the second race was by 1:12 in over an hour of racing.

"We are very good in this breeze," he said, "and the crew knows the boat well. We expect windy conditions again tomorrow, so we hope to have another good day."

Tomorrow's forecast suggests even windier southerlies of up to 20 knots, so race organizers have opted to schedule three inshore races for the day and push the next short coastal race to Friday, whose forecast at this stage is not so promising with very light wind predicted. A final buoy race will conclude the series on Saturday when the new World Champions will be crowned.

More on ORC rating systems, ORC certificates and events can be found at www.orc.org.

Related Articles

Solaris Cup 2025 concludes
Eighty yachts, four days of racing and celebrations The 11th edition of the Solaris Cup concluded with great success, welcoming 80 Solaris yachts and nearly 1,000 participants to the stunning waters of Porto Rotondo from May 29 to June 1. Posted on 3 Jun
Getting excited for the Van Isle 360
Quoting a famous line from Pink Floyd's "Time" As I pack for the first half of the 2025 Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race, I find myself thinking about the last time I did this race, a certain Pink Floyd song, and the great adventuring, sailing and time with friends that awaits. Posted on 3 Jun
Sailors look ahead to 20th Ida Lewis Distance Race
PHRF will have its own share of excitement this year Set for its 20th running in 2025, the annual Ida Lewis Distance Race has solidified its reputation as a well-organized, competitively challenging overnight offshore event. Posted on 29 May
The Spanish Navy set for 43 Copa del Rey MAPFRE
With four boats on the starting line The 43rd edition of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE will see a strong presence from the Spanish Navy, which will deploy a four-boat squadron across multiple classes, reaffirming its long-standing ties to high-performance sailing. Posted on 29 May
78th Annual Block Island Race
A test of grit, teamwork, and offshore strategy The 78th edition of the Block Island Race, hosted by the Storm Trysail Club, delivered classic Northeast spring conditions and a course that tested every sailor's resilience, tactics, and teamwork. Posted on 28 May
Copa del Rey MAPFRE surpasses 100 entries
Still almost two months to go until the start The Copa del Rey MAPFRE continues to exceed expectations — and this year, it's doing so well in advance. Posted on 23 May
IMA Maxi Europeans Inshore Series overall
Bella Mente by Hap Fauth crowned the Champion 2025 in Sorrento With the overall victory of Bella Mente, owned by American Hap Fauth and skippered by Terry Hutchinson, the curtain falls on the Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2025. Posted on 22 May
Block Island Race preview
Most of the fleet will tackle the traditional 186-nautical-mile course from Stamford This year's start time has been moved up two hours from prior editions to take advantage of increased daylight and potentially fairer conditions in Long Island Sound. Posted on 21 May
IMA Maxi Europeans Inshore Series Day 3
North Star & Proteus win today's races, while Bella Mente holds a solid lead overall It was an intense day on the water for the Maxi fleet in the penultimate act of the IMA Maxi European Championship, the last stage of the 2025 Tre Golfi Sailing Week. Posted on 21 May
IMA Maxi Europeans Inshore Series Day 2
Bella Mente wins on corrected time in the coastal race The second day of inshore racing at the IMA Maxi European Championship delivered another spectacular show in the Gulf of Naples, with breathtaking scenery and challenging weather conditions. Posted on 20 May
RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERDoyle_SailWorld_728X90px_GP BOTTOMRooster 2025