Spectacular weekend on Garda Trentino for the 44th Torboli Trophy / 4th Autumn Meeting Optimist
by Elena Giolai 11 Oct 2021 05:00 PDT
9-10 October 2021
Unexpected conditions for the autumn season at the 44th Torboli Trophy organised by Fraglia Vela Riva: driven by the bora wind that swept through Trieste, for three days on Garda Trentino there was a southerly wind of 18-20 knots and great sunshine.
- Emilia Salvatore and Vittoria Berteotti were first in the Juniores and Cadets categories respectively.
- The Torboli Trophy won by Fraglia Vela Riva with the best two Juniores and the best two Cadets; Leonardo Grossi, first in 2010, wins the Trofeo del Porto
These were certainly challenging races for the over 300 helmsmen from 20 nations, who raced with determination and great skill. There was a full programme for the Juniores category with nine races and on Saturday the Gold Fleet, which saw a sporting duel between the usual opponents, Lorenzo Ghirotti from Fraglia Vela Riva and Erik Scheid from Circolo Vela Torbole, both racing in their "home" waters.
The final score of the two opponents was very close with two points between Ghirotti and Scheidt, in favour of the former, while the third, the American James Pine was 13 points behind. Fraglia Vela Riva took the lead in the following positions with fifth, sixth and tenth places respectively for Mattia Di Lorenzo, Giovanni Bedoni and Victoria Demurtas, second female; the first two fragliotti contributed to the victory of the Torboli Trophy together with the first two of the club classified among the cadets, with Andrea Demurtas and Vittoria Berteotti, fourth and seventh respectively, first female.
The cadets completed eight races and the winner, as is now the case in all major Optimist regattas in the category, was Artur Brighenti, from Club Nautico Brenzone, who took six first, one second and one third places, giving him a 15-point lead over Zhakov from Russia. The other Brighenti, Adam (CN Brenzone) was third ahead of Andrea Demurtas (Fraglia Vela Riva).
The young sailors had no problems with the strong wind and sailed with confidence: in both categories they entered the top 10 with Emilia Salvatore from Fraglia Vela Desenzano, who won ahead of Demurtas with an excellent seventh overall and three first partials; third place for the Ukrainian Shapovalova. Among the youngest, excellent seventh place overall for her daughter Vittoria Berteotti (her father is the Optimist coach for Fraglia Vela Riva), first female by just one point ahead of Irene Faini (Fraglia Vela Malcesine); third Margherita Giannantonio (CV Bellano), all three in succession in the overall classification.
Special prize to the youngest junior, who won the Trofeo del Porto: to Leonardo Grossi, again an athlete of Fraglia Vela Riva, the satisfaction of this victory.
But the satisfaction was shared by all the organising staff of Fraglia della Vela Riva, who archived a wonderful edition of the autumn regatta dedicated to the youngest Optimist sailors, a class that the club presided over by Alfredo Vivaldelli is very fond of due to its long tradition and not least because one of its historic athletes, members and managers was the unforgettable and unforgettable Norberto Foletti, the equally historic secretary of the Italian Optimist class, who passed away this summer. Fraglia Vela Riva's commitments are not over yet: they are preparing for a grand finale with the 29er European Championships at the end of the month and the Laser Class Paola Trophy in November, the last regatta on the busy Garda Trentino sailing calendar.
View results here...