Fall Italian J/24 Class Report

(Lecco, Italy)- The Italian J/24 Class continues to see good participation in many of its fall/ winter series championships across the country.  In particular, some of the fleet locations, like Lecco, Marina di Carrara, and Taranto, have been blessed with nice sailing conditions, from the Lakes District north down to the warm, sunny Mediterranean.  Here is one of those reports from Lecco.

Lecco (Lake Como)
ITA 499 Kong Griffin II, skippered by Marco Stefanoni, ended up winning the famous Interlaghi- Trofeo Canottieri Lecco- with a score of 1-3-1-2.  The regatta is a classic for the end of the season in the lakes district north of Milano, the first edition of the regatta started back in 1980 for the J/24 class.

Taking second place was ITA 476 DEJA VU, skippered by Ruggero Spreafico, posting a 4-4-2-1.  And, rounding out the podium was ITA 498 NOTIFYME-PILGRIM sailed by the fleet champion Lario Mauro Benfatto.

Five races were held over the weekend. On the first day, rain and bad weather did not stop the crews from racing.  Faced with a strong wind from the South that, at times, reached 16 to 20 knots, the fleet completed four races in about six hours on the water. At the end of a full and tiring day, the delicious aperitif in Canottieri, prepared by chef Alberto Galbani, was welcomed and inhaled in minutes by the hungry crews!

On Sunday, it was a completely different story.  The first race was held in very strong gusty winds from the North that were already hitting 20-plus knots, with big rain showers rolling across the race course.  However, as the winds built in squalls up to 25-plus knots, the Race Committee was forced to cancel the second race for safety reasons.

In addition to the winner of the regatta, a very special award was handed out- the Gino Cicardi Trophy (reserved for the oldest sailor). This year, it was awarded to Sergio Agostoni (born in 1938), helmsman and owner of the J/24 ITA 469 Bruschetta Guastafeste, fourth in the overall classification J24.  For more Italian J/24 Class sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.