Melges 32 Fleet
Claudio Recchi’s Team 93 (ITA) remains in first place overall with three races having been run in the Audi Melges 32 World Championsip 2009, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Pieter Taselaar’s (New York, N.Y.) Bliksem (USA) took a bullet in today’s only race and climbed from yesterday’s third place to sit in second place overall ahead of Stefano di Properzio’s Mataran (ITA). Red (GBR), owned by James Woods, slipped from second overall to fourth after taking sixth place in today’s race. Recchi, who is one of the most experienced Melges 32 owners, also has aboard with him former Melges 24 World Champion Federico Michetti and American two-time Olympic medalist (’84 gold in the FD, ’00 bronze in the 49er) Jonathan McKee (Seattle, Wash.). Victory, however, is by no means assured to any of the current leaders, since there are three more days of racing to go and a possible seven more races to be held with a discard coming into play after race six.
The start of racing today was delayed as the Race Committee headed to the regatta course to see whether this morning’s rain storm would pass over Porto Cervo and allow the games to commence. After recording winds of 15-17 knots accompanied by widely spaced swells coming in from the southeast and wind-driven waves coming in from the northeast, the Committee, headed by Principal Race Officer Peter “Luigi” Reggio deemed that racing would be challenging but secure, and the first warning signal was given at 12.30 p.m.
“It was blowing at around 18 knots at the start; the seas were a bit messy but the conditions were not a problem for this class,” said Reggio on his return to Porto Cervo Marina. “As the race went on, the wind picked up to 25-26 knots and the seas were building. This is an owner-driver class and these conditions are tiring, and we decided that for the safety of all, it was better to send the fleet home. We still have three more days of racing left.”
The windward-leeward course set today was again approximately 7 nautical miles and it was Taselaar, with Australian brothers Jeremy (tactician) and Nathan (the 470 Men’s 2008 Olympic Gold medalist and three-time world champion) Wilmot on board, who led the fleet across the finish line ahead of Team 93 and Mataran. Francesco Martino’s Pilot Italia (ITA) took fourth place ahead of Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino (ITA).
Melges Fleet Racing Off Porto Cervo, Italy
Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, Friday 25th September, at 12 midday with a maximum of three races to be held on each race day. According to the forecast, conditions should improve tomorrow with light rain in the morning giving way to sunshine and northerly winds of approximately 14-18 knots.
Audi Melges 32 World Championship 2009
Melges 32 – Summary Results – as of 09/24/09 at 15:47
Place, Boat Name, Helmsman, Owner, Nation, R1-R2-R3-Points
1. TEAM 93 Claudio Recchi Claudio Recchi, ITA,2,1,2, 5.00
2. BLIKSEM Pieter Taselaar Pieter Taselaar, USA,6,2,1, 9.00
3. MATARAN Stefano Di Properzio Stefano Di Properzio, ITA,7,4,3, 14.00
4. RED Joe Woods Joe Woods, GBR,1,6,11, 18.00
5. MASCALZONE LATINO Vincenzo Onorato Vincenzo Onorato, ITA,12,3,5, 20.00
6. PILOT ITALIA Francesco Martino Francesco Martino, ITA,8,8,4, 20.00
7. ARGO Jason Carroll Jason Carroll, USA,10,10,6, 26.00
8. FANTASTICAAA Lanfranco Cirillo Lanfranco Cirillo, ITA,9,5,13, 27.00
9. BAGUA Andrea Cecchetti Andrea Cecchetti, ITA,5,7,18, 30.00
10. UKA UKA RACING Armando Giulietti L. Santini & A. Marinelli, ITA,4,11,19, 34.00
11. JOE FLY Giovanni Maspero Giovanni Maspero, ITA,3,12,20, 35.00
12. BITIPI Savino Formentini Savino Formentini, MON,11,17,9, 37.00
13. SEI TU 32 Antonello Morina Antonello Morina, ITA,15,14,15, 44.00
14. CALVI NETWORK Carlo Alberini Carlo Alberini, ITA,13,20,14, 47.00
15. MATRIX Luigi Melegari Luigi Amedeo Melegari, ITA,21,13,16, 50.00
16. OPUS ONE Wolfgang Stolz Wolfgang Stolz, GER,20,9,22, 51.00
17. JANAS Pietro Fois Roberto Pardini, ITA,16,30(DSQ),8, 54.00
18. TORPYONE Edoardo Lupi E.Lupi & M.Pessina, ITA,23,21,10, 54.00
19. RUSH DILETTA Mauro Moccheggiani Mauro Moccheggiani, ITA,17,16,23, 56.00
20. TEASING MACHINE Jean Francois Cruette Jean Francois Cruette, FRA,26,24,7,57.00
21. HIGHLIFE Dave Cowell Peter Rogers, GBR,19,26,12, 57.00
22. BRONTOLO Filippo Pacinotti Filippo Pacinotti, ITA,14,15,30(DNF), 59.00
23. TEAM BARBARIANS Fred Kemp Stuart Simpson, GBR,18,19,24, 61.00
24. BLACK MAMBA Martin Knetig Martin Knetig, CZE,27,22,17, 66.00
25. BIG BANG HUBLOT Cesare Curtis Battistella & Curtis, ITA,22,18,26, 66.00
26. SHAKEDOWN Geoffrey Pierini Geoffrey Pierini, USA,24,23,25, 72.00
27. FRA MARTINA Edoardo Pavesio Edoardo & Vanni Pavesio, ITA,25,28,21, 74.00
28. I.NOVA2 Carlo Pesenti Carlo Pesenti, ITA,28,25,28, 81.00
29. LEA Ernesto Faraco Aamalia De Lana, ITA,29,27,27, 83.00
Melges 32 At Audi Melges World Championship (Photo Courtesy Of The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda)
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s sailing season in Porto Cervo is about to close in style with the twelfth and final event of the season being an inaugural ISAF World Championship for one of the most exciting and rapidly expanding one-design classes around. The Audi Melges 32 World Championship 2009 began officially on Sunday 20th September with registrations, measurements and official checks on the 30 participating boats and crews, but the tension will truly rise when racing starts tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd at 12 midday. Racing will continue through Sunday 27th September with a maximum of ten races scheduled.
Although approximately two-thirds of the fleet is Italian, seven other nationalities – Australia, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Monaco and the USA – are also represented. The teams to watch are numerous and no one boat is seen as a favourite for the championship, so competition is sure to be fierce.
Carlo Alberini’s Calvi Network (ITA) has performed well this season, winning the Audi Melges 32 Sailing Series after four legs in Italian waters. Peter Taselaar’s (New York, N.Y.) U.S. entrant Bliksem showed excellent form in the final two legs of the Sailing Series gaining three bullets and four second-place finishes over 13 races and boasts four-time 470 World Champion Nathan Wilmot of Australia aboard. With three professional sailors allowed on each crew, sailing superstars are not in shorMatrix Cortina t supply. America’s Cup Sailor Ray Davies is calling tactics on Luigi Melegari’s D’Ampezzo (ITA) while Pietro D’Alì, 2007 winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre, is sailing on Rush Diletta (ITA) and Adrian Stead is tactician aboard Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino (ITA). Onorato is a former World Champion in the Farr 40 and Mumm 30 classes and will be looking to establish a name for himself in the Melges 32 class.
The fleet completed a practice race in light winds of approximately 11 knots and lumpy seas today, but many boats were clearly keeping their tactics under wraps until racing starts in earnest tomorrow. Normally sunny Porto Cervo has been experiencing unsettled and stormy weather over the past few days, and conditions look to remain variable for the first few days of racing. Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio is confident, however, that the YCCS Race Committee will manage to fit in the full quota of 10 races, or close to it.
The first signal is scheduled for 12 midday tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd September, and the forecast predicts east to northeasterly winds of 8 to 10 knots.
Emirates Team New Zealand ( Photo by Ian Roman/Audi MedCup)
Emirates Team New Zealand became the first team ever to win three consecutive MedCup Circuit regattas when they clinched the Portugal Trophy for the TP52 Series today off Portimao, winning by just 1.5 points from Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis.
With wins in Marseille, Cagliari and now Portimao, the Kiwi team, skippered by Dean Barker, now lead the Audi MedCup Circuit by 52 points heading to the final regatta of the season, next month in Carthagena, Murcia Spain.
The GP42 Series saw the first regatta win this season for Caser Endesa (ESP), skippered by Juan Luiz Paez. Their third place today was enough to secure the Portugal Trophy on countback from Roma Mk2 (ITA), but Islas Canarias Puerta Calero (ESP) still lead the Series.
Seventh for Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) to Artemis’ (SWE) disappointing tenth in today’s one and only race was enough for the Kiwi team to prevail, but the final contest was a difficult one to call throughout with a streaky 5-9 knots of sea breeze mixed with some north westerly gradient wind, especially towards the windward mark.
With a 1.5 points lead in the regatta Artemis, missing tactician Paul Cayard (USA) for the final day, could only make a modest opening at the pin end of the start line, while Bigamist 7, the Portuguese entry lead to the windward mark.
On the first downwind the Russian pair Valars and Synergy mined the left, inshore line and passed the Portuguese team with the Synergy winning from Valars, the first time the two Russians have taken the top two places.
The key move for Emirates Team New Zealand was on the second beat when they were able to halt the recovery of Artemis, tacking on top of them and bouncing them above the lay line, but even down the final run the breeze looked shaky, ready to shift or collapse at any minute.
Relief, once again, rather than elation was the mood among the hard working New Zealand outfit. As the time limit expired at 1600hrs and with it the chances of a second race, general satisfaction with another job well done was evident. The steely, professional face drops when the champagne comes on board, and they are getting rather used to it.
With Artemis in second for the regatta, Terry Hutchinson’s Quantum Racing finished in third, just 1.5 points ahead of Bigamist 7, who finished fourth overall for the third time this season.
Emirates Team New Zealand lead the Audi MedCup Circuit, 52 points astern are Matador (ARG) on 170.5 points but only five points behind them are Quantum Racing, third, and Artemis, fourth, both on 175.5 points.
Winning skipper Dean Barker (NZL) commented that throughout the regatta they had never felt like they were sailing as well as last month’s win in Sardinia, confirming that they still have plenty to work on before Carthagena, Murcia, a venue which proved extremely challenging last year.
CEO and mast-man Grant Dalton (NZL), agreed:
“We are relieved. It was a pretty tough regatta. I think we identified that as soon as we got here, that this was going to be tough, and I think we also identified Artemis as the boat which could beat us. And it felt that all the way. So we are just pleased to have got through another one really.”
He continued: “It’s a big lead now, but we know what can happen, you can still sail badly, it changes pretty quickly. There are always improvements to be made and we made plenty of mistakes in this regatta.”
GP42 Series: Endesa wins the battle
Today’s single race in the GP42 Series was never easy to predict, as the lead changed several times depending on who was where on the shift cycle, the game of tactical chess, and lanes of leftover pressure in the dying seabreeze.
Caser-Endesa (ESP), for example, seemed to have a horrid start, late on the line by three lengths and having to tack early to port. But that move may have been fortuitous, as a right shift on the first beat got them right back into the game. That very same shift benefited Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) even more, as they vaulted beyond the tacking duels into a commanding lead at the top mark, one that would never be challenged except by Roma 2 (ITA) on the final fluky run into the finish.
And Roma’s runner-up finish was remarkable in itself, as they were no better than last around the first top mark, redeemed only by having split from the pack to the left on the second beat to vault into second.
Caser-Endesa’s two victories to Roma’s one wins them the Portugal Trophy, but Islas Canarias Puerto Calero’s win gets them tied up in the war for the lead in the overall GP42 Series. With one event left, Roma 2 and the Kids from Canarias are now tied on 82 points, making for a final showdown at Stage 5 in Cartagena.
“We think for the excitement of the circuit, this is a really good scenario,” says Daniel Calero (ESP), owner of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. “But it means the pressure will really be on in Cartagena!”
Audi MedCup Circuit 2009
Portugal Trophy
TP52 Series
Overall – Final
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 2+3+6+3+1+3+7= 25 points
2. Artemis (SWE), 3+4+2+2+4+1,5+10= 26,5 points
3. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+1+4+8+3+6+6= 29 points
4. Bigamist (POR), 5+5+1+1+8+7,5+3= 30,5 points
5. Bribón (ESP), 6+2+3+7+8+10,5+5= 40,5 points
…
GP42 Series
Overall – Final
1. Caser Endesa (ESP), 3+1+3+2+1+3= 13 points
2. Roma (ITA), 2+2+2+1+4+2= 13 points
3. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), 1+3+1+5+5+1= 16 points
4. Turismo Madrid (ESP), 4+5+4+3+2+5= 23 points
5. Airis (ITA), 5+4+5+4+3+4= 25 points
Audi MedCup Circuit 2009
Overall (4 events)
TP52 Series
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 38+27,5+28+25= 118,5 points
2. Matador (ARG), 36+47,5+42,5+44,5= 170,5 points
3. Quantum Racing (USA), 40+41,5+65+29= 175,5 points
4. Artemis (SWE), 37+62,5+49,5+26,5= 175,5 points
5. Bigamist (POR), 46+55,5+57+30,5= 189 points
…
GP42 Series
1. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), 20+23+23+16= 82 points
2. Roma (ITA), 22+17+30+13= 82 points
3. Caser-Endesa (ESP), 33+27+26+13= 99 points
4. Airis (ITA), 21+38+28+25= 112 points
5. Turismo Madrid (ESP), 35+35+43+23= 136 points
