EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship - Gold for Italy
by Doris Gstatter / EUROSAF 27 Jun 2023 19:25 AEST
EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship start © MMNRT / MMelandri
The 2023 EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship ended with a victory for Andrea Caracci and Roberta Fazzana (ITA).
The fifth edition of this young but promising sailing discipline, included in the seasonal calendar of the Marina Miitare Nastro Rosa Tour, was sailed in Italy, from La Spezia to Genoa.
From the beginning, Caracci/Fazzana took the lead to pass the Island of Elba. They crossed the finish line after 2 days 9 hours and 55 minutes of sailing, 1 hour and 30 minutes before Lydia Barber and Josh Dawson (GBR).
"We were good at interpreting the weather and tried to sail as fast as possible. The highlight of our regatta was the passage of the Giraglia: the wind was tense and I was expecting a 4-5 knot strengthening due to the orographic relief, but instead we found 13-15 knots more. I must admit that we experienced some challenging moments and I thought of Snoopy and the beginning of his stories: It was a dark and stormy night...," said Andrea Caracci right after the race.
The podium was decided in a photofinish: Giacomo Nicchitta together with Arianna Liconti arrived in Genoa about 10 minutes after the second. They secured the bronze medal by 2 minutes ahead of Melanie Aalburg and Fabian Kennis.