M32 European Season starts in Italy
by M32 Class 21 Apr 2021 01:03 AEST
Biscayne Bay, Miami will host the 2021 M32 World Championship © M32World/Felipe Juncadella
The M32 European season will start in Sanremo in May. After the Italian regatta the fleet will head north to Holland and Denmark to return to Italy and Riva del Garda for the European Championship in September this year. m32world.com/calendar
Old and New Teams
Rejoining the fleet for this season is Andrea LaCorte with his team "Vitamina Rapida/Cetilar". This year the team is adding a second boat, "Vitamina Veloce/Cetilar", helmed by Marco Radman.
Andrea LaCorte, a skipper with long experience from many high level racing classes is looking forward to the season start and comments: "Every time I come from another boat I always wonder why the M32 is not the only boat I drive... I'm 60 years old, and believe me, even at my age the boat is very steady, with two or three good crew anyone from monohulls and slow boats can enjoy some very fast sailing... The fun you are going to have on this boat is absolutely outstanding".
Some of the M32 veterans will also be seen in Sanremo, like "Inga from Sweden" and the "Vikings". Jakob Wilson, managing the Vikings, comments, "It feels great that we finally will be back racing. The factory team, Cape Crow Vikings, are ready and will bring a demo boat down to Italy to be leased out to a team that wants to try the thrill of the M32 sailing."
World Championship in Miami
Ending the season is the World Championship in Miami. Being sailed 15-21 November, it gives the teams plenty of time to ship their boat and get acquainted to the waters of Biscayne Bay. For those teams wishing to stay in the sun and fun, the very popular Miami Winter Series starts in January with one event each month until it's time to head back to Europe in April. Miami is well known by sailors for being a city with easy logistics, housing, and plenty of opportunity for entertainment. m32world.com/m32-world-championship
Racing in a Pandemic and Post Pandemic
The last year has been tough for the European fleet, with only three events sailed the previous season. The M32 class and other circuits are getting more refined in managing the pandemic challenges and looking forward to the post-pandemic future.
Class manager Mattias Dahlström comments, "We are simply getting used to a new way of organising events. We all want to go racing, and we will do our best to do so when possible. The M32 class is lucky to have simple logistics for teams and organizations that allow flexibility. Close cooperation with boat owners, yacht clubs, and federations is essential. With their help, it is possible to host events while keeping an eye on the ever-changing regulations. We look forward to getting back out on the water in 2021."
New Boats Being Built
The M32 builder, Aston Harald Composite, on the island of Hönö outside Gothenburg is in the process of finishing a batch of new M32 boats to meet the demands of growing fleets both in the US and Europe.
"In the end of last year we decided to build and finalise another 9 boats to be ready for delivery, and it's been a great feeling to see more boats being built in the factory again," says M32 product manager Jakob Wilson. m32world.com/sales
Distance Racing in the M32
Although the M32 is known for its action-packed around-the-buoys regattas, distance racing is strong. After all, distance racing was on the mind of designers Goran Marstrand and Kare Ljung when the boat was first developed.
"We wanted to design a boat that you could sail with three people on the classic distance racing and still make record speeds," says Goran Marstrand. He adds, "Distance racing is more suitable for sailing with your friends, and you don't need to bring in pro sailors to keep up."
- Around Tjorn Race
Most popular up north is Sweden's west coast's largest regatta, the Around Tjorn Race. This 30nm race with its classic archipelago course has had many multihulls and M32 racing in it over the years. In 2018, the course record was set by M32 veteran Hakan Svensson after beating the decade-old record set by a 60ft trimaran.
- Trofeo Gorla
The classic race on Lake Garda in Italy with strong winds and fantastic scenery should be on every sailor's bucket list. The multihull culture on this lake is strong and both M32s and Extreme40s have shown themselves capable of line honors. This year's Gorla is combined in time with the M32 European Championship to help logistics for teams wanting to do both. In 2019 team Midtown Racing set their speed record during the Gorla with 31,2 knots.
"The Gorla was sensory overload in a good way. Not only are you pushing an M32 against some of the most high-performance boats in the world, you're doing it in a totally spectacular location. We ended up 2nd to finish and are looking to return with the thought of improving one spot," says Dave Doucett, crew on M32 Midtown Racing in the Gorla.
The perfect introduction - M32 Demo Boat
The M32 Demo Boat is the perfect way to get introduced to M32 racing in a way that is tailored to your background in racing and other classes. Maybe you have your own racing team and just need a few hints on M32 specifics; or maybe you need help with setting up an M32 experienced crew and start from the beginning with multihull racing.
This is the way most of our class members got introduced to the boat. The most common answer to the question "Why did you start racing the M32?" has always been, "I tried it, and then I was hooked." The demo boat will be available on most regattas to give you a chance to join the fun. m32world.com/demoboat