(Riva di Traiano, Italy)- The first major offshore event of the
Mediterranean sailing season for Italian sailors is the Corsica Offshore
Race. This 540 nm distance race, along with the famous Rolex Middle
Sea and Rolex Giraglia Races, is one of the most important offshore
competitions in Mediterranean. The race starts from Riva di Traiano,
crosses the gate of Ventotene Island, heads off to round the Island of
Lipari in front of Sicily, then back to Riva di Traiano. The course is
oriented with the two predominant winds from SE & NW, therefore
depending on the weather fronts, is easy to sail at least half of the
race up-wind and against considerable seas. When all the boats crossed the finishing line and the final tally's were in for handicap scoring, the Winner in IRC, with all kind of weather conditions and with a record of top-Speed down wind of 18.8 knots, was the J/122 CHRISTINA III sailed by Alessandro Brighenti.
In the same race, the J/111 J-STORM sailed their first major offshore race and crossed the line in fourth, missing the Podium by just a few minutes! All in all, it was a great showing and result for both the J/122 and the J/111 in very demanding wind and sea conditions. Thanks for this report from Paolo Boido in Italy.
