ENFANT TERRIBLE Triumphs @ Italian J/70 Cup I

The famous Italian Rossi yachting family makes history!
(Sanremo, Italy- The first Italian J/70 Cup saw epic sailing for the fleet of fifty-nine boats from eight countries across Europe sailing off the “Garden City” of Sanremo and hosted by YC Sanremo.  The fleet was treated to steadily building winds over the three days, culminating with cancellation of all racing on Sunday due to the Mistral blowing in excess of forty knots!  In the end, a famous, familiar name in Italian yachting circles stood atop the podium after five races, Alberto Rossi’s ENFANT TERRIBLE- ADRIA FERRIES, a name most often associated with winning multiple Farr 40 World Championships.  There’s was not an easy win as a rogue’s gallery of Italy’s top sailors were fighting hard to be atop the leaderboard.

Day One- Light and Shifty
The first day started under light wind conditions and the YC Sanremo RC and PRO managed to get two races off for the very aggressive fleet.

Chaired by Fulvio Parodi, the YC Sanremo Race Committee promptly started the fleet at 1230 hrs in the “levante” breeze of 8-10 kts, a breeze that ultimately kept decreasing all afternoon.

Leading after the first day was Gianfranco Noe skippering CALVI NETWORK- LIGHTBAY SAILING TEAM, their 1-2 score gave them a three point lead.  Sitting in second place was Alberto Rossi’s ENFANT TERRIBLE team with a 2-4 for six points.  Winning the second race was Valerya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE team from Moscow (Taganrog), Russia; they were sitting in the third position with a 12-1 for 13 pts.

Rounding out the very talented top five was Franco Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN Italian crew with a 4-10 (they are two-time winners of the Italian J/70 Cup) in fourth place and the fast Polish crew of MAG EWA with Krzysztof Krempec as skipper posted a 5-8 to secure fifth.

The Corinthians Division saw Gianluca Lamaro’s JERIATRIA leading (12th overall), following by Paolo Tomsic’s SOCIETE NAUTICO GRIGNANO and Alessandro Zampori’s BOBERASCO.

Day Two- Strong Winds, Big Waves
In the morning, the fleet was greeted by 15+ kt winds and enormous waves rolling into the bay.  By the time the racing started just before midday, the breeze kept building with gusts over 22 kts.  Fortunately, three more races were added to the overall scoreline and crews could now discard their worst race for their total “net scores.”

Relishing the big breeze and big waves was none other than Alberto Rossi’s ENFANT TERRIBLE team, posting a 1-1-3 to dominate the day’s standings and, as a result, win the coveted GARMIN CUP- a special trophy given for Saturday’s racing.  Holding on to second place was Noe’s CALVI NETWORK with their 3-2-BFD, throwing out their BFD to sit just one point back from ENFANT TERRIBLE.

Rossi commented, “I am extremely pleased with today's outcome, as well as yesterday's. The crew is new, compared to last year, and things on board are going well. Today's conditions, though very wet, have been extremely fun. I also want to thank and give recognition to the YC Sanremo Race Committee that produced great racing today in strong winds to bring home three races on a beautiful day of sailing.  Another reason for my satisfaction today is the amazing series of top three races by my daughter- Claudia and her crew on PETITE TERRIBLE! It brings me great pride to see she found her rhythm, knowing how to recover and get back in the game.”

The third victory of the day went to Claudia’s PETITE TERRIBLE Sailing Team.  Her 2-3-1 scores were added to her 9-29 from day one to give her 15 pts net and the bronze position on the podium!

In the Corinthians Division, the leader after the first day, Lamaro’s JERIATRIA, slipped to fourth place after posting 45-45-49 for a total of 110 pts.  After a slow start, Tomsic’s SOCIETE NAUTIC GRIGNANO posted good scores of 15-16-12 to leap into the lead with 51 pts net.  Similarly, Edoardo Meroni’s GIJETTA added a 27-13-19 to take over the silver position on the podium with 89 pts net.  Then, sliding into the bronze slot was Marco Schirato’s JOSETTE with a 15-50-17-26-18 tally for 94 pts net.

On Saturday evening, during the cocktail hosted by Royal Hotel Sanremo, the crew of ENFANT TERRIBLE was awarded the Garmin Trophy and a Garmin Quatix 5 smartwatch.

Day 3- Game Over
As the sailors woke up on Sunday morning, they were greeted by the spectacular view of monstrous waves rolling in from offshore, crashing on the beaches and breakwater, tops getting blown off in 40+ kt gusts.  Needless to say, it was not unexpected as the mistral kicked into high gear, forcing cancellation of the days racing.  As a result, the leaders after day two did not change.

What is notable about the regatta was the phenomenal comeback by Claudia Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE team on Saturday.  It may be the first time in one-design yachting history that father & daughter skippers lead their teams onto the podium (1st and 3rd) in any ISAF/ World Sailing one-design class!

“It is always a pleasure to host the huge J/70 fleet at our yacht club. With these five races at the beginning of season, we hope to have satisfied your hunger for sailing after the long winter break.  We wish you fair winds and God Speed for the rest of the season.  We hope to be able to host you again in Sanremo in 2019,” commented Beppe Zaoli, President of YC Sanremo, during the award ceremony.

Next, after the Sanremo event, will be the Italian J/70 Cup Act II in Porto Ercole, hosted by YC Argentino from May 11th to 13th.  Facebook sailing video- Alberto Rossi’s ENFANT TERRIBLE off San Remo  For more ALCATEL J/70 Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.