Teams Spain & Italy turn up the heat in Sardinia

20 June 2008

The duel between teams Spain and Italy is heating up as Spain sits in first place just one point ahead of home-team Italy after today’s distance race in the Sardinia Rolex Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

The Race Committee set an Island Race today which took the 15-strong fleet (each team is composed of a Farr 40, a Swan 45 and a TP52) north up the stunning Sardinian coastline using the islands of the La Maddalena Archipelago as natural buoys and rounding the Barretinelli islands before a final long downwind run for a total of approximately 30 nautical miles. Conditions were impeccable once again with west north-westerly winds of 15 to 20 knots and blazing sunshine providing picture-perfect racing.

Team Spain’s best result came from Massimo Mezzaroma’s San Miguel Telefonica Nerone which took first place among the Farr 40s ahead of Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino. The same Nerone was disqualified from yesterday’s final race due to a collision with Mascalzone Latino three minutes after the start. Jose Cusi’s TP52 Bribon Telefonica, helmed by Pedro Campos got off to a strong start and provided some spectacular match racing maneouvres with Platoon upwind, but then slipped back during the downwind leg to finish third. Marco Salvi’s Telefonica Vertigo came fourth in the Swan 45 Fleet.

It was the Transpac 52s that provided some of the most spectacular action today: a close-fought duel got underway between Platoon and Bribon Telefonica as they headed north up the Sardinian coastline through the strait between Capo Ferro and the Isole delle Bisce (Island of the Snakes).

Team Southern Europe is in fourth place, seven points ahead of team Russia, despite having only two competing boats after Serguei Chevstov’s TP52 Valars broke the top of her mast during a downwind run yesterday.

Friday’s forecast predicts more of the same conditions and racing is scheduled to start at 12 midday.

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