(Malcesine, Italy)- The Fraglia Vela Malcesine welcomed the second act
of the Italian Sailing League, on the splendid setting of Lake Garda.“With 18 crews at the start, many of them with great ambitions, we opened the second seasonal selection of LIV tonight,” said Roberto Emanuele de Felice, President of the Italian Sailing League. “Thanks to the Fraglia Vela of Malcesine for their hospitality and the organization of an event that takes place in an exceptional setting. The weather conditions of Lake Garda will allow the crews to express themselves at their best. 45 races are expected in three days of racing. We know that the goal is the selection of the top Italian teams for the SAILING Champions League to be held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia later in September."
The first day of racing after eight long hours on the water produced twenty-four races. The day started at 0800 hrs for the first flight of teams (after the morning briefing at 0700 hrs!) and ended at 1600 hrs. It was only possible to get in so many races because the strong Pelèr breeze was blowing up to 20 knots early in the morning!
In
fact, the Pelèr winds were way above the average; it blew well beyond
midday, making the race course perfect and extremely tactical- lots of
puffs and wind streaks roaring down the lake from the Italian Alps!Then, at 1300 hrs, the Pelèr stopped and, immediately, the Ora came in from the south! Crazy weather conditions on such a beautiful sunny, clear day! The new race course was so close to land that many swimmers and tourists were intrigued by the tight maneuvering of the boats right along the shoreline!
Winning the day easily was Societa Canottieri Garda Salò six 1sts, a 2nd and 3rd. Six points behind was Circolo Canottieri Aniene with three 1sts and four 2nds in the scoreline.
Then, tied for third on 20 pts each were three teams- Compagnia Della Vela of Venice, the YC Gaeta and Circolo Della Vela Bellano
The secret of success, according to the Società Canottieri Garda Salò, was getting good clean starts."These are short races,” explains Enrico Fonda, “our goal in every race was to start fast and lead at the top mark. However, sometimes it does not always work that way!” (he said laughing).
The Società Canottieri Garda Salò has a team composed of ten sailors that rotate into the various regattas to represent the club.
"We did not train a lot together, but we are all expert sailors and we know the J/70’s well. Plus, Lago di Garda is perfect for racing, and the Pelèr, which is shiftier and puffier, is much more tactical, something I prefer to beat our opponents!”
On the final day, nine more races were sailed to complete the regatta. In the morning, the Pelèr did not show up! But around midday, the Ora blew in from the south around 10 kts for a fun and exciting finale for the regatta.
The
Società Canottieri Garda Salò team (Pietro Corbucci, Stefano Raggi,
Diego Franchini, & Enrico Fonda) won the Act 2 in Malcesine. Second
place was Circolo Canottieri Aniene (Luca Tubaro, Simone Spangaro,
Matteo Mason, & Davide Tizzano- who was Olympic Gold for rowing).
Third place went to Compagnia Della Vela of Venice (Paolo Acinapura,
Salvatore Eulisse, Alessandro Banci, Andrea Tedesco, & Jacopo
Paier)."Our victory”, commented Enrico Fonda, “came thanks to a fantastic and prepared team. We had a goal, to always start well and win, and we were always focused to achieve it, this was the key to guaranteeing the consistency of content necessary to conclude in first place.”
"The second stage of Lega Italiano Vela selection,” commented President Roberto Emanuele de Felice, “goes into the history books after a set of extremely closely fought races, perhaps the hardest battles in the history of LIV. We have experienced challenging conditions, fast racing, and choppy waves- fantastic sailing!” Follow the Italian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook, watch sailing video highlight here For more Italian J/70 Sailing League sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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