Sunday, September 28, 2014

J/80 Italian Nationals Preview

J/80 sailboat rounding mark (Loano, Italy)- Big names in international sailing are going to take part in the J/80 Italian National Championship, being held in Loano from 25th to 28th September.  The regatta is organized by YC Marina di Loano in collaboration with Blueproject, the J/80 Italian Class, and Marina di Loano.  The program includes three days of racing for a total of eight races.

Fifteen teams are already registered; most of them are Italian boats and some foreign crews.  Among the Italian crews there will be some famous sailors such as Tommaso Chieffi (offshore & one-design champion), Francesco de Angelis (past J/24 World Champion and America’s Cup champion), Simone Ferrarese, Lorenzo Bressani, Francesco Ivaldi, Fabio Ascoli, Giorgio Benussi, Anne-Soiciz Bertin, Massimo Rama (past J/80 National Champion), Paul Montedonico, Stefano Ferraro and Taito Sanchez. This group of sailors assures the fleet of a very high level of competition.

Expert sailors participating for the first time in the class include: Edoardo Lupi, Michele Galli, James Loro Piana (of the famous fashion house- Loro Piana), Alberto Signorini, David Albertini Petroni, Stefano Polti, and Santiago Cow.  On the Blue Project Team is the Match Race Champion Anne-Soiciz Bertin with Andrea Trani, Martino Tortarolo, Mattia Capurso, and Fausto Surini.

Blue Project is partners for the event with its nine J/80s all equipped with brand-new sails by North Sails. Michele Rayneri from Blue Project commented: "Our company was specifically founded with the aim to supply the top racers with the best equipment possible. Our philosophy is excellence and technological leadership in sailing. We believe in the J/80 class and we want to develop it in Italy. That's why we chose to equip our International J/80 class boats with the best sails by North Sails, the worldwide leader in sailmaking."  For more J/80 Italian Nationals sailing information