Light n shifty

Farr 40s, Swan 45s commence battle at Rolex Capri Sailing Week

The 35 boats competing in the second edition of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week battled with light and shifty winds on this first day of racing. The Organizing Committee set windward-leeward courses for the Farr 40 and Swan 45 classes of around 7 nautical miles with separate starts which saw the Farrs set out first and the Swans follow 10 minutes later. The Mini-Maxi and Comet divisions on the other hand followed a coastal course of around 30 miles starting just off Capri and crossing the Gulf of Naples to Ischia before rounding the mark between Ischia and the Isle of Procida and heading back to Capri. Conditions when racing started at around 12.30 were slightly overcast with a south-westerly wind of around 6-8 knots.

The One Design classes completed three windward-leewards in total. Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino, with Russell Coutts calling tactics and Adrian Stead on the mainsail, took first place in the first and third races for the Farr 40 class while last year’s winner TWT, owned by Marco Rodolfi took victory in the second. Stead was pleased with the team’s progress so far, “It was another great sailing day in Capri. Good steady conditions in the the first race, in the second the wind faded a little and the third race was very tricky, we were sixth at the first mark and we were able to win. Vincenzo and Russel did a great job.”

The Swan 45s were dominated by Leonardo Ferragamo’s Cuordileone which took advantage of excellent starts to win both of the first two races and took fourth place in the third race after a wind-shift left them trailing behind the rest of the fleet. Stefano Polti’s Mintaka took first place in the third and final regatta of the day. “Today’s racing was good fun. I’m very pleased with having won two races out of three, “ commented Leonardo Ferragamo.

The Mini-Maxi division was led at the half-way mark by Massimo Violati’s Ops 5 which went on to win in real and corrected time. At the same buoy the Comets were led by Nur, owned by Guido Morisco which crossed the finish line off Capri first in real time. At the time of publication the corrected time results were not yet available.

The final classification, after this first day of regattas, sees Mascalzone Latino in first place for the Farr 40s on 9 points followed by Wolfgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light and Gianluigi Serena’s Enfant Terrible on 13 and 14 points respectively. The Swan 45s are led by Cuordileone on 6 points with Mintaka in second place on 9 points and Marino Francesco’s T…Too in third with 13 points. The Mini-Maxi Division, after one regatta, has Ops 5 in first place followed Giorgio Ruffo’s Aleph and Morina Antonello’s Sei Tu II.

Tomorrow’s forecast gives southerly winds of between 8 and 12 knots with overcast skies. Racing is due to start at 12 midday.