International 5o5 Euro Cup Leg 2 at Riva Del Garda, Italy

Podium International 5o5 Euro Cup Leg 2 at Riva Del Garda, Italy © International 5o5 Class Association

Between May 29th and 31st, 41 505's from 10 countries arrived in the small town of Riva at the Northern end of Lake Garda in Italy for leg 2 of the 2025 505 Euro Cup series.

Lake Garda, for those unfamiliar, is one of sailing's great venues, stunning scenery, fresh water and great breezes making the sailing amazing, while ashore there are equally good restaurants and bars along with accommodation for every budget. As seems to be always the case at 505 events these days, plenty of teams arrived early to practice and enjoy the ambience of Riva, so by the time race 1 came around, everyone was ready.

Racing at the Northern end of Garda in the 'Era' wind presents opportunity and obstacles for sailors. Speak to most people who have raced there and you will hear "hit the cliffs!" This is true, to a point, and judging where and when is key. On day one it was clear that some teams understood this better than others. Jan-Phillip Hofmann and Felix Brockerhoff from Germany, fresh from their win in round 1, made it look easy, scoring 3,1,1 for the day to take the lead. Back in the class after a long break, Paul Brotherton, sailing with James Fawcett from Great Britain posted an impressive 4,2,3 to lie in second and Ian Pinnell and Charles Dwyer also from Great Britain were in third with a 1,14, 2. The races were sailed at the lighter end of the Garda wind range, but still fun sailing.

For Day 2 the wind had increased a little, around 12-16 knots for the most part, but with some dangerous holes and spicier puffs. Proving that their form on day 1 was no fluke, JP and Felix took complete control of the event with a 2,1,1 scoreline. They were chased hard by French team of Philippe Boîte and Marin Carnot with 1,2,15 score. Elsewhere everyone was having good races and not so good.. Leaving the event wide open, with the exception of the top spot. In second place was the USA team of Howie Hamlin and Jeff Nelson, Paul and James had dropped one place but were still in 3rd. It would take some major drama for JP and Felix to lose their grip on the event.

With the sun shining brightly on Day 3 the Ora built in quickly and a classic Garda day was in store. By the start the wind was in the high teens with some gusts into the 20's. All the golden rules for Garda were in place. Get a good start and get to the right as fast as you can! JP and Felix were first to the top mark, but by the bottom mark Mike Holt and Rob Woelfel from the USA had got past to take a lead that they extended to the finish. JP and Felix though had no trouble holding on to 2nd to take the event for the 2nd year in a row with a race to spare this time. Taking 3rd in this race was the Canadian team of Bob Tenant and Steve Bourdow. With the other podium contenders having a poor race 7 the 2nd through 8th places had become very unpredictable and was going to go down to the last race. This time, with 2nd on the line, Howie and Jeff took the lead at the top of the first beat, a lead that they held until the bottom of the run when Mike and Rob squeezed past to take their 2nd win of the day, moving them up to 3rd overall. Howie and Jeff crossed in 2nd that put them in the runners up spot overall. Philippe and Marin finished the race in 3rd, to place them 4th for the event, Paul and James rounding out the top 5.

Another great 505 Riva Cup and Round 2 of the Euro Cup was done and dusted and JP and Felix worthy winners and have a clear lead in the Euro Cup series. Round 3 is in Warnemunde in Germany, July 5-7.

Overall Results: