(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- After the success of the 3rd edition, which last
year attracted 30-plus J/70 teams, the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series
2016-2017 is back to liven up the waters off the Principality this
winter. Divided into five Acts scheduled once a month from October 2016
to March 2017, these regattas are designed to give experienced
professional and amateur crews a chance to prepare at the highest level
for the upcoming season’s big meetings.
Beautiful
weather greeted the 150+ J/70 sailors competing in the Monaco
Sportsboat Winter Series, organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco in
collaboration with technical clothing manufacturer SLAM. The J/70s put on a show worthy of a big regatta. The thirty-three teams consisting of Brazilians, Turks, Russians, Italians, Norwegians, Austrians, Germans and French all fought hard all weekend-long in the wide variety of weather conditions that ranged from light to moderate breezes to fresh onshore winds with enormous swells.
In the end, the Monegasques know their race area well and wasted no time demonstrating that to other contestants. Leading after the first weekend of racing with an astonishingly consistent record of 2-2-1-2 was TEAM JUNDA- BANCA DEL SIMPIONE- their skipper is Ludovico Fassitelli from the YC Monaco. Russian sailor Valeriya Kovalenko was not only the Top Women skipper, but she and her crew were 2nd overall on ARTTUBE and were the only team to post two 1sts, scoring a 5-1-4-1 for 11 pts! In a first for the J/70 class, Emir Icgoren’ AMEERA JET from Turkey sailed fast and consistent, posting a 4-8-2-3- for 17 pts to hold on to third place.
Rounding
out the top five in this highly competitive group were Mario Beraha’s
SASAH GREY from YC Chiavari in Italy with 23 pts and sitting in fifth
place is a very famous Italian offshore sailor- Vincenzo Onorato’s
MASCALZONE LATINO (renowned for being a top Italian J/24 sailor, Farr 40
World Champion, Melges 32 Key West Champion, and America’s Cup
contender). Watch a beautiful YC Monaco introductory sailing video for their Winter Series here For more J/70 Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series sailing information
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