As has been the case for the entire 2021 sailing season in Europe, many prestigious regattas in the spring were either postponed or canceled if they could not reschedule later in the fall this season due to the pandemic restrictions by various countries. That was the case for the J/24 Verbano Championship sailed on Lago Maggiore. Fortunately, the Lega Navale Italiana Meina on Isla Borromee was able to reschedule and hosted the fleet of a dozen boats over the October 23-24th weekend. After a near windless, but gorgeous first day of sailing, the LNI Meina RC/PRO team wisely postponed the racing until Sunday. Sunday itself brought a beautiful day of sailing with gentle adiabatic winds of 6 to 8 knots, enough to run three races. Thanks to two victories and a second place for the day, the runaway winner was Lario Mauro Benfatto’s COLIBRI II of SAILLIFE team. However, behind them it was quite another story. In second position, with a very consistent 2-3-3 record, was Marco Giuseppe Iovino’s team. Then, taking the final step on the podium with a 5-5-1 tally was Davide Morelli’s CAPTAIN NEMO. He had to win a three-way tiebreaker at 11 points each over Davide Garbi’s RAMBO and Alberto Terzi’s VIOLENTA. “It has been a few years since the J/24s have returned to racing on Lake Maggiore. There are not many boats in the water, but you can still have fun with a dozen J/24s that show up at the start of the regattas,” explained the satisfied Capo Flotta J/24 del Lario Fleet Captain Mauro Benfatto. “I would like to thank the organizers and participants for the beautiful event. Thanks also to SAILife which supports the Fleet with its boats and those of its members. SAILIFE is a non-profit amateur sports association, affiliated with UISP, born from a group of sailing friends who decide to start a common path in order to spread the culture of sailing by offering everyone the opportunity to get closer to this fascinating world.” For more Italian J/24 Class information, visit https://www.j24.it/.
International Class Association
