Monday, March 13, 2017

Russians Win Monaco J/70 Winter Series!

J/70 Russia Kovalenko team wins Monaco seriesYC Monaco's Fassitelli Wins Act V Finale
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The curtain has fallen on the 2016/ 2017 Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series organized from October to March by the Yacht Club de Monaco in collaboration with clothing supplier SLAM. The Monegasque race area lit up for the final Act which attracted 250 sailors on 70 boats.  Various shades of blue were to be observed throughout the event as sun, spray and a steady westerly provided favorable conditions for a superb ending.

J/70s sailing off MonacoWith a total of 21 races held from October for more than 250 sailors from 14 nations in the J/70 class, the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series has established itself as a major event for many teams from eastern and northern Europe who establish their training base in the Principality to prepare for the upcoming season.

With a total of 69 international teams competing this winter, the Principality has become a mecca for the J/70 class. A highly-motivated Monaco J/70 Class Association, presided over by ‎Michel Boussard, saw 17 Monegasque teams sailing in the event; proving they are a great asset in this fast-expanding fleet.

J/70 Monaco Act V winnersBarely a year since he first sailed a J/70, YC Monaco’s Ludovico Fassitelli, sailing JUNDA- BANCA DEL SEMPIONE, proved he has the golden touch. Having started in 4th at the end of the first day, he went home with the Act 5 trophy in his pocket after three days and five races, two of which he won. The Monegasques managed to upset the order, overtaking Englishman Charles Thompson’s BRUTUS who was 2nd. Despite some tightly-fought duels on the downwind legs and round the marks, the Swiss crew on JURMO, skippered by Stefan Seger, had to be content with 3rd position, just one point in arrears of the silver!  Taking 4th place for the weekend finale was Mario Garcia Soerensen’s MANDA-CHUVA from Brazil and in 5th was Nelson Mettraux’s APROTOTEC CER 1 from Switzerland.

The ladies were not to be outdone, with Russian woman sailor Valeriya Kovalenko skippering ARTUTUBE.RU to the top of the overall ranking for the season- a significant milestone for women in the J/70 class (alongside Claudia Rossi’s win of the 2016 J/70 Europeans)!  She finished ahead of the J/70 Russia- Arttube.ru crew interviewBrazilians on MANDA CHUVA, skippered by Mario Garcia Soerensen.  And, taking the bronze for the series was Ludovico Fassitelli’s JUNDA.  Rounding out the top five for the series were Nicolas Groux’s Swiss crew on APROTEC-CER3 in 4th place and in 5th position was Stefano Roberti’s YC Monaco crew on PICCININA.

Valeriya’s ARTTUBE.RU Sailing team is comprised of Igor Lisovenko, Alexander Bozhko, and Sergey Avdonin.  They will also be competing in the Russian Sailing Federation’s National Sailing League in J/70s from April 8th to October 17th.  Those events take place on the Black Sea resort of Sochi, on the river off St Petersburg, and northwest of Moscow at the Konakovo River Sailing Club.

J/70 sailing videoHere are nicely produced sailing videos of YC Monaco’s J/70 Winter Series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZczvTL3adhE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybNtWCMIdW8

For more YC Monaco J/70 Winter series sailing information.
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