After the first two days of competition in which more than 30 crews completed six races in the waters off Cala Galera/Porto Ercole, LA SUPERBA is now leading the XXXV edition of the J/24 Championship organized by Club Nautico and Argentario Sailing. Ignazio Bonanno’s crew on LA SUPERBA are leading with 7 points net total due to a 1-2-1-1-2-8 scoreline. They are followed by the German ROTOMAN team led by the President of the German J/24 Class Jan-Marc Ulrich and skippered by Tobias Feneherdt that have 13 points net due to a 4-10-2-2-3-2 scorecard. In third was past Open J/24 Italian champion Keith Whittemore from Seattle, Washington sailing FURIO with a 9-3-5-6-1-1 tally for 16 points net. The racing is close, and there is little room for error amongst the top boats. On the Italian Championship side of the ledger, it was JAMAICA skippered by Italian J/24 Class President Peter Diamonte who was second with 23 points net due to a 21-1-4-9-6-3 record. They are followed by defending champion MOLLICONA, skippered by Massimiliano Biagini and Giacomo Carrara, with 27 points from a 7-7-6-3-14-4 scoreline. “The first day was marked by high pressure weather that brought plenty of sunshine and a light wind Sirocco, beginning around 5-8 knots, then increased to 10-12 knots,” explained Massimo Mariotti. “In the first race, LA SUPERBA came off the line almost immediately ahead of the group and finished the race with a big gap on the rest of fleet.” The second race, however, was won by JAMAICA that beat LA SUPERBA by a few meters, as well as the fast closing Americans on FURIO. In the third race, the wind rose to 12 knots and the winner was LA SUPERBA, followed by the German ROTOMAN team and Giuliano Cattarozzi’s team on INDAFARA. The next day of sailing was marked by even more beautiful weather, with winds initially from the South. Ultimately, the breeze turned into a “Libeccio” with increasing intensity (in the first race around 6-8 knots and increasing to 10-12 knots in the following). The ideal weather conditions made it possible to play all three scheduled races: the first was won by LA SUPERBA, then followed by the Germans in ROTOMAN and the Americans in FURIO. The second race was led by FURIO followed by LA SUPERBA and ROTOMAN. It was also a good race for AVOLTORE helmed by the young champion from Porto San Stefano—Ettore Botticinis who finished fourth. The sixth and final round of the regatta saw an exciting duel between the last race winner Whittemore on FURIO and Tobias on ROTOMAN, with the former getting the better of the latter. They were followed by JAMAICA and Mollicona’s AVOLTORE. The Italian J/24 Championship consists of four days of racing and ends this coming weekend. For more J/24 Italian National Championship sailing information, visit http://cnva.it/.
International Class Association
