Saturday, February 4, 2017

PRIMO CUP XXXIII Preview

J/70s sailing off Monte Carlo, Monaco in Primo Cup (Monte Carlo, Monaco)- As part of its proactive sailing policy and bringing life to the harbour, the Yacht Club de Monaco is expecting an armada of one-design elite sailors for the 33rd Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse, from the 2nd to 5th of February. With 800+ sailors from 15 countries expected, the event brings together top European teams and enthusiastic amateurs. A spectacle on the water and après-racing ambiance ashore are guaranteed.

Always ready to innovate and improve, the 33rd Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse sees a major change in format, as it will run over one single weekend for the first time since its launch in 1985. Three courses will be set in the bay of Monaco, another first for the Primo to give each class more space and opening up the choice of tactical possibilities compared to previous years where up to six classes were sometimes rounding the marks at a time.

Top J/70 Russian woman sailor- Valerya Kovalenko sailing MonacoThe J/70s, who have established their winter base in the Principality since October 2016, have many participants from Northern and Eastern Europe in their 40-plus fleet; by far the largest class in the regatta. They will be battling it out for precious points at this Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse, a key stage for the J/70 in the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series before the final weekend in early March.  Nine nations are competing from across the continent; including Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Hoping to defend their series leading position will be the Russian crew of ARTTUBE, led by top Russian woman sailor Valeriya Kovalenko (photo at right).  Chasing them hard are a rogues gallery of competitors, such as Stephan Molle’s GRUN SOFTWARE AG and Karsten Witte’s J-WD from Germany; Thomas Mellano’s PAPREC LE HAVRE NAUTIC from France; Massimo Rama’s JENIALE EUROSYSTEM and Petr Nosov’s JESSIE TANTA from Italy; Krempec Krzysztof’s EWA from Poland; Jean Luc Leveque’s WATCH from Switzerland; and Anders Rosenberg’s DYNAMANT RACING from Sweden.

Defending the home turf for YC Monaco are Stefano Roberti’s PICCININNA, Fabrice Papazian’s JOKER, Pierrik Devic’s PAGET and Herve Maiano’s SOPWITH CAMEL.

Another special feature of the Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse is that all crew members in the first three boats in each class receive clothing from SLAM’s Advanced Technology Sportswear!  For more J/70 Primo Cup/ Winter Series sailing information