5.5 Metre Multi Nations at Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy - Day 2
by Robert Deaves 11 Sep 13:12 PDT
10-13 September 2026
Otto (NOR 68, Bent Christian Wilhelmsen, Lasse Berthelsen, Herve Cunningham) lead the 5.5 Metre Multi Nations at Malcesine after three races were sailed on Friday.
Marie-Françoise XXII (SUI 233, Jürg Menzi, Jürgen Eiermann, Christof Wilke) is second with New Moon 3 (BAH 25, Jürg Ryffel, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov) in third. The race wins went to Otto, Marie-Françoise XXII and Aspire (POL 17, Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Kilian Weise).
After Thursday was lost with bad weather the fleet were keen to get racing. So keen in fact that it took tree restarts and six boats black flagged before the first race could get away. With a strong northerly, Otto led all the way for the win, though the leading three all converged on the final mark together for a very close finish.
An attempt was made to start the next race but the wind was rapidly disappearing so the fleet was sent back to the club for an hour before a light Ora developed. Race 2 was sailed in a very patchy 5-9 knots. Caracole (SUI 214, Bernard Haissley, Nicolas Berthoud, Daniel Shampfli) made a great start towards the pin and pulled away for a nice lead at the first mark. However, on the second upwind they went too far inshore and Marie-Françoise XXII rounded ahead to lead down to take the win. The wind increased for the final race with Aspire soon into the lead and extending for a big win.
The bowman on Aspire Kilian Weise, said, "The last two days were very unfortunate with the bad weather. That's not what we're used to. But we started off today very unlucky as well. There was a little sunshine, this was not the weather. We had a BFD, and then a fourth in the second race, and winning the last one with some sunshine, typical Garda weather, to finish off the day. It's nice to race here, it's plenty of boats and we're really enjoying the company, the camaraderie with all the people.
"It's a cool boat to sail. We had light winds in the beginning. But it was still dynamic, bigger breeze in the afternoon, which made it even more fun with hiking and racing. It's a great fleet and we really look forward to tuning up for the worlds, which will come up in three weeks and looking forward for good racing there."
In the lighter winds the classics are often holding their own against the modern boats. Manuela V is in fifth overall, while Rabicano (ITA 55, Roberto Benamati Arancia Malaspina, Michele Ferrari) took two top ten places after a BFD.
Arancia said, "We had a beautiful day because we had good wind in the morning, which was strong, but we went out around 10, so it was already going down. And we had amazing conditions. Only one race of course, after a lot of black flags, general recalls, and in the end, we started the race. And then we got in the afternoon the light Ora, which picked up later. And then we had two races. But we couldn't ask for any better conditions with a typical Garda day, sunny, and good weather, good atmosphere, super cool.
"I would say the 5.5 is my favourite boat. Every time I have to come and race the 5.5, I'm really looking forward because of the way it sails, the shape of the hull, the way it floats on the water. And then the fact that it's an open class for me is the best because you don't have the issues of the one design where in reality you never reach the super good one design, that there are always differences in the boat.
"Here you are allowed to have different sails, so in the end the boats are more equal than one design, but on the other side you are not competing in rating. And I love the class because it's this kind of old style class. We have a lot of old boats, but also the moderns, with the narrow boat, with the spinnakers, so it's really close racing, really fun downwind. I love sailing the 505.
"Compared to the moderns, I think we can be competitive in wooden boats when we don't have to pull on a lot of runner, because the boat for sure is not built to support the same amount of load you can have on the modern. It's not as stiff as a fiberglass boat and you don't have trim tab. It was tough to start with the modern because they are higher, a little bit faster, so you are always drifting into them. So that's a bit painful, but it's good to be in the modern fleet because the level is super high and you are sailing against some of the best sailors."
Racing continues on Saturday with the first warning scheduled for 09.00, with four races scheduled conditions permitting.
Results after Day 2: (top five, 3 races)
1. Otto (NOR 68, Bent Christian Wilhelmsen, Lasse Berthelsen, Herve Cunningham) 6pts
2. Marie-Françoise XXII (SUI 233, Jürg Menzi, Jürgen Eiermann, Christof Wilke) 8pts
3. New Moon 3 (BAH 25, Jürg Ryffel, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov) 11pts
4. Aspire (POL 17, Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Kilian Weise) 24pts
5. Manuela V (ITA 36, Guido Tommasi, Matteo Barison, Filippo Togni) 25pts