Sparkling conditions

Swan 45s, Farr 40s and IMS underway at Rolex Capri Sailing Week

The opening day of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week was blessed with excellent sailing conditions, with a southwesterly breeze ranging from 14 to 20 knots, choppy seas and plenty of sunshine mixed with clouds. The Race Committee, headed by Sandro Ricetto, was able to complete three windward/leeward races instead of the scheduled coastal race, with a last minute change of program due to the weather conditions.

The Farr 40 class, with sixteen entries, provided plenty of action with very close racing. Marco Rodolfi's Italian entry TWT, with Tiziano Nava calling the tactics, was able to score two victories, in race one and three respectively, with a fourth placing in race two.
Nava commented: "It was a great day, with fantastic racing conditions. We had two very good starts - and in such close racing that is when you gain the lead - and we were able to stay ahead of the fleet throughout the two races. In the second race of the day we didn't start so well, however we played well with the shifts and we were also quite lucky as the wind seemed to follow us around the course."

In the second race of the day it was Mascalzone Latino, owned by Vincenzo Onorato - head of Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team, challenger for the 32nd America's Cup - to take line honors. Tactician Adrian Stead was very happy with his day: "We had a good day, our guys sailed very well and the conditions were fantastic. It's the first time we've sailed since the Farr 40 Worlds in Sydney last March and it was good to blow out the cobwebs. We also have a few new people on the boat. We kicked off with a fifth, then we had a good second race with a first. In the last race we had a good lead, but the wind died a little and we should have sailed a little better - we ended up second. There are 16 Farr 40s here in Capri, every regatta seems harder and harder, it's a great challenge to race in this class."

Italian favorite Nerone owned by Massimo Mezzaroma, winner of the Deutsche Bank Farr 40 Sailing Trophy 2004 and Farr 40 World Champion in 2003, with Lorenzo Bressani calling the tactics, scored a second and a fourth but fell behind the leaders in the second race with a twelfth placing.

German entry Opus One, owned by Wolfgang Stolz, also faired well, with two thirds and a twelfth scoring. America's Cup sailor Kelvin Harrap, calling the tactics, commented: "I think Capri has a reputation for being very light and today was just perfect, 14 to 18 knots, we really enjoyed the racing. We had two thirds and a not so good one, I think it was a twelfth, but overall we had a very good day. In the Farr 40 class it's pretty easy to get a bad result and I think we've had ours today..."

Among the Swan 45 class (six entries), Cuordileone owned by Leonardo Ferragamo completed the day first on the scoreboard with a second, a first and a third placing. "It was a beautiful day in Capri, it's not often that you get a nice 15 knots wind for three races in one day here, it was really fantastic," commented Paul Cayard, tactician on Cuordileone. "The races were very competitive and very close. In the last race I felt we were over early at the start, we had a little talk on board as to whether we were over or not and I kind of insisted that we go back. Unfortunately it was a long way back as we had to get around the ends of the line. Then I saw that the flag went down, so it was us over the line, and I was glad that we still had a chance to stay in the regatta."

Vittorio Codecasa's Jeroboam, with Furio Benussi as tactician, was able to take line honors in the last race of the day. "We had a good day, scoring two thirds and a first. In the second race we were ahead, but we lost the lead when our spinnaker got tangled and it took us a very long time to get back in shape. For amateur owners like me, today's conditions were very tough, especially having an amateur mainsheet trimmer on board as well."

In the IMS Class, with eight entries in total, Andromeda took two firsts and a second, followed by Vahinè 5 and Lusi. In the first race of the day the fleet was somewhat confused as to where the finish line was and only Andromeda completed correctly the course.

Racing resumes tomorrow at noon. According to the weather forecast, a low pressure system should move over Capri during the night. A light northwesterly breeze should turn into a westerly breeze of 10-12 knots by midday.

Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2005 - Provisional Results after Day 1 (Top three)

Farr 40
Pos, Yacht Name, Country, Owner, Points
1. TWT, Italy, Marco Rodolfi, 6 (1-4-1)
2. Mascalzone Latino, Italy, Vincenzo Onorato, 8 (5-1-2)
3. Fiamma, Italy, Alessandro Barnaba, 16 (4-2-10)

Swan 45
Pos, Yacht Name, Country, Owner, Points
1. Cuordileone, Italy, Leonardo Ferragamo, 6 (2-1-3)
2. Jeroboam, Italy, Vittorio Codecasa, 7 (3-3-1)
3. DSK, Italy, Danilo Salsi, 8 (1-2-5)

IMS
Pos, Yacht Name, Country, Owner, Points
1. Andromeda, Italy, Antonio Ronconi, 4 (1-1-2)
2. Vahinè 5, Italy, Daniela Raponi, 14 (9-4-1)
3. Lusi, Italy, Vincenzo Clericò, 15 (9-2-4)