(Anzio, Italy)- Over the past weekend, the town of Anzio (south of Rome
on the Mediterranean coastline) turned into a festival of sailing: one
hundred and twenty sailors, sailing enthusiasts and many, many curious
passers-by enjoyed the summer-like weather.The competition was strong and the excellent turnout of twenty-two J/24s made for a lot of fun and many lead changes! After seven races, it was clear that Ignazio Bonanno on PUNTO J sailing for Centro Velico Marina Militare won in a convincing fashion with a 2-1-2-1-2-5-4 scoreline for just 12 pts. Second was Fabio Delicati on DJKE from Sezione Velica Anzio (the local sailing club) with a 4-3-4-ocs-4-1-2 for 18 pts. Fabio was a contender for the regatta lead until their unfortunate OCS in Race 4. In third on the podium was Francesco Cruciani steering AVOLTORE from Vela Club Tarkna sailing to a 1-4-5-3-1-11 for 19 points. Francesco basically lost any chance of wining the regatta or getting second by bombing their last race. Instead, they just won out on a tie-breaker to get third, beating Pietro Diamanti racing JAMAICA that sailed to a 7-8-3-2-3-3-1 scoreline also for 19 pts. Fifth was Paolo Rinaldi on AMERICAN PASSAGE with 35 pts.
During the Awards ceremony the "Prize Cruciani" went to the crew that got the best finish in four events that constituted the Italian J/24 Circuit (Spring Trophy Argentario, Pasquavela, National Championship and Italian Cup)- the winner was Francesco Crucianin on AVOLTORE
The Race Committee, composed of Riccardo Maurizi, Luciano Crocetta, Stefano and Paola Rizzo Piozzi, managed to run seven races in three days despite the wind never exceeded 7 knots! "The presence of a large turnout of J/24 teams for the Italian Cup and the meticulous checks by the J/24 class measurer, Cesare Cislaghi, contributed to the prestige of the event," said Paul D'Aloisio. Furthermore, sailed Paul, "Anzio has now become one of Italy's most important spots for racing in one design and collaboration between the J/24 Class and the Italian Navy League in Tiber, Remo and Rome means many more J/24 sailors can join in the fun! Next season we expect thirty boats! This is a great signal and shows how important this class is still alive in Italy and that does not matter the age of things but the ability to make them be alive." We could not have said it any better than that, in Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Chinese or French! For more J/24 Italy Cup sailing information.
