Wins Three-way Tie for First Over World Champions!(Loano, Italy)- There was no question the J/80 Italian Nationals had attracted some of the big names in international sailing circles that recently took place from the 25th to 28th of September in Loano, Italy. While many of them did well, as anticipated, it was Giacomo Loro Piana (of the famous fashion house- Loro Piana) that provided all the drama on the final day, flying to the top of the standings with one race to go and, while holding onto their breath in the last race, just held on for dear life to win a heart-stopping, dramatic, three-way tie for first! Needless to say, for the Loro Piana fashion house, Paris, Milan and New York runways have far less drama than this experience for Giacomo’s team!
How did the top three get determined by a three-way tie-breaker? Well, it had a lot to do with the fact that on Saturday there was no wind. Therefore, it was decided to start early on Sunday and get in as many races as possible. The teams themselves had no idea how close the racing was until they arrived ashore and found out what happened!
After the first three races, the very experienced J/80 team led by Massimo Rama (the J/80 Italian Nationals winner in previous years) had compiled a 1-5-3 to be leading the regatta. In the meantime, Loro Piana’s team with Francesco Ivaldi as tactician started slowly with a 7-2-2. Alberto Signorini’s crew that included the famous tactician Tommaso Chieffi had posted a 2-3-7 and Michele Galli with J/24 World Champion and America’s Cup winner Francesco de Angelis as tactician were sitting on a 6-1-5. It was clear the skippers and tacticians across the fleet were “feeling” out the boats, their speed and boathandling capabilities as well as who would be competitive going forward.
The next three races proved to be the determining factor for the regatta. At this point, Loro Piana’s crew drove into high-gear and knocked out a 7-1-1 to grab the series lead. The Galli/ de Angelis combo sailed nearly as well, accumulating a 2-7-3, while Lupi Edoardo and Lorenzo Bressani together posted a very steady 4-5-4 to stay in the game. The only other top scorer for this series of races was Anne Soizic Bertin and tactician Andrea Trani, sitting on a 1-3-7, the second best score at this point.
Finally, the last race provided more than enough drama and emotions for the top teams; you could nearly feel the electricity in the air as the teams struggled off the starting line. In the end, Loro Piana nearly lost the regatta, posting another 7th while Rama/ Coppa won the race followed by Edoardo/ Bressani in 2nd and Galli/ de Angelis in 3rd and Alberto Signorini with Tommaso Chieffi in 4th. As a result, Loro Piana won the tie-breaker on most 1sts, Gallie/ de Angelis took 2nd on most 3rds over Edoardo/ Bressani. Settling for 4th was Signorini/ Chieffi and in fifth overall was Rama/ Coppa sitting on 26 pts.
It was readily apparent the teams all had a fantastic time sailing and the event organizer, Giorgio Benussi (General Manager of Yacht Club Marina di Loano) and his staff and Race Committee did a terrific job hosting the sailors for the weekend. Finally, Michele Rayneri from Blue Project commented, “Thanks to all the sailors for the beautiful atmosphere. Please know that our J/80s can be chartered for our Winter Series at Marina di Loano from November 2014 through April 2015.” For more information please contact- info@blueprojectsailing.com For more J/80 Italian Nationals sailing information
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