Swiss into the lead

After day one of the Sardinia Rolex Cup

In brilliant blue skies and winds between ranging between 16 to 20 knots from the west, seven teams from six countries sailed the first two races of the Sardinia Rolex Cup, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

Two races, held in winds that increased to 18 to 21 knots during the course of the day saw fierce competition between the teams which had boats ranging in size from 40ft to 58ft. The Swiss team, which includes Madina, skippered by Dario Ferrari, Papastilla, skippered by Fabio Montauti and Sailing Planet, with Gabriele Benussi at the helm, took first place with four points.

The Spanish team, composed of Bribon Telefonica Movistar, sailed by Pedro Campos, Nerone Meridiana skippered by Antonio Sodo Migliori and Vertigo Meridiana, sailed by Alberto Signorini, claimed second place with eight points.

The USA team and Italy Blue are tied for third with eleven points. At the present time, protests are pending.

"Our boat was extremely fast down wind today," noted Ferrari of Madina. "We were never the first boat to the windward mark, but we were able to gain time downwind which was critical to our winning both races today."

According to Campos of Bribon Telefonica Movistar: "The sailing conditions were spectacular, a steady strong breeze under clear skies. However, there is discussion among the fleet regarding a separate start for the IMS fleet. Team racing is typically done in the same or similar classes of boats. Here we have two fleets, the Swan 45s and the Farr 40s, which are fairly similar in terms of performance. What we have seen today is that the larger IMS boats have been able to significantly impact the results in both races."

The jury is now considering a request that results from all boats per team be included instead of taking the best two finishes from each team.

According to Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the US boat, Talisman: "We had an excellent start in the first race and were table to take advantage of the fact that Sailing Planet had sail problems. In the second race, we were involved in a tacking duel and lost time to the smaller boats. We need to do the best for our boat, but at the same time, contribute to the team performance, all part of strategy for team racing."

Pos Sail nr. Yacht Owner Team Type Points Team

1 ITA4038 MADINA Dario Ferrari SWISS FARR 40 OD 1 1 2
1 ITA545 PAPASTILLA Fabio Montauti SWISS SWAN 45 OD 1 1 2
1 ITA121 X-PROZAC Stefano Spangaro SWISS GRAND SOLEIL 56 R 0 0 0
Team points = 4

2 ITA2272 NERONE MERIDIANA Massimo Mezzaroma SPAIN FARR 40 OD 0 2 2
2 GBR23R VERTIGO MERIDIANA Marco Salvi SPAIN SWAN 45 OD 3 0 3
2 ESP7010 BRIBON TELEFONICA Pedro Campos SPAIN EVENTO 46 2 1 3
Team points = 8

3 ITA14525 JEROBOAM CA NOVA Vittorio Codecasa ITALY BLUE SWAN 45 OD 2 3 5
3 ITA235 QQ8 WORLD CARGO Roberto Maffini ITALY BLUE EVENTO 46 4 2 6
3 FRA007 TWINS 2 Erik Maris ITALY BLUE FARR 40 OD 0 0 0
Team points = 11

4 ITA21210 MASCALZONE LATINO Vincenzo Onorato USA SWAN 45 OD 0 0 0
4 USA482 TALISMAN Marco Birch USA B/C 58' 1 3 4
4 USA52104 BAMBAKOU John Coumantaros USA FARR 40 OD 3 4 7
Team points = 11

5 ITA14351 SEAWONDER Vittorio Urbinati GERMANY MC 46 0 0 0
5 GER5055 STRUNTJE LIGHT Wolfgang Shaefer GERMANY FARR 40 OD 4 3 7
5 GER5245 OPUS ONE Wolfgang Stolz GERMANY SWAN 45 OD 4 2 6
Team points = 13

6 ITA2945 DSK Danilo Salsi ITALY RED SWAN 45 OD 0 0 0
6 ITA149 ORLANDA Alessandro Pirera ITALY RED FARR 53 3 4 7
6 ITA13711 TWT Marco Rodolfi ITALY RED FARR 40 OD 2 6 8
Team points = 15

7 ITA1161 SEVEN Cristian Frers ARGENTINA FARR 40 OD 5 7 12
7 ITA14545 CUORDILEONE Freccia Blu srl ARGENTINA SWAN 45 OD 5 5 10
Team points = 22