Italian AIRIS grabs victory of the Giraglia Rolex Cup

Nothing should be taken for granted in the extremely competitive GP42 fleet and each and every race should always be considered as the most crucial of any regatta.
The first race started after a 1-hour postponement and with AIRIS being fourth up to that point, everybody’s attention was focused on Near Miss, Canarias Puerto Calero and Desafío, at 17, 19 and 20 points respectively. Yet, an unfortunate event forced Swiss Near Miss out of the race for supremacy. The start of the race was clean and immediately Desafío and Near Miss headed to the left, approaching dangerously the coast. The Swiss boat was seeking space in order to tack in front of the Spanish but they had no option but continue on the same course. They went aground and as a result, lost all options.

Desafío stayed ahead of the fleet during the entire race but it was again Canarias Puerto Calero that made the greatest recovery. From the start they opted for the right side of the course. It didn’t pay in the first leg, rounding the top mark at 6th place but from there on they climbed to second spot. José Maria Van der Ploeg’s did a great job as well and stole third position ahead of AIRIS.

At that point, Desafío was leading the overall leaderboard, tied with Canarias Puerto Calero but with more victories.

With the breeze building up to a good 7-8 knots, the race committee fired the gun a few minutes after the last boat had crossed the line. After the start the whole pack went to the right side but the youngest tactician of the GP42 class onboard Canarias Puerto Calero, decided to bet once more on the left. AIRIS and Near Miss led easily, at their shoulders all the boats arrived together and there were many protest flags.

AIRIS, the Italian boat helmed by Sandro Montefusco, didn’t feel threatened at any moment by the rest of the fleet. Not only did they manage to stay ahead, they increased their advantage to almost 1:30 minutes at the leeward mark. The true fights were taking place right behind them. With Desafío and Canarias Puerto Calero tied at the top of the table, each and every boat length was crucial. The Canarians worked once again their way up the fleet, to the point of overtaking Near Miss in the last downwind leg. The last leg was also the theatre of another Spanish battle. MADRID, helmed by José Maria Van der Ploeg, did an excellent job in defending their lead over Desafío.

AIRIS crossed the finish line first, more than a minute ahead of second-placed Canarias Puerto Calero. Near Miss was third, followed by MADRID and Desafío. The overall tables had changed and it was the turn of the Canarians to be first.

The start of the third race was given right after the finish of the second one. Canarias Puerto Calero needed just to finish no worse than 4th to be crowned winners in Saint-Tropez. Their young age, youngest crew of the fleet, proved to be their weakest point. AIRIS and Desafío had a very good start, clear from the rest of the fleet and led till the end, waging a tough match race between them. The first to cross the finish line would also be the winner of the event. Roberto Benamati aboard AIRIS made perfect tactic calls and the Italian team held on to leadership. Third to cross the finish line was another Italian, Seawonder 007. Canarias Puerto Calero and Near Miss, 6th and 7th respectively, definitely lost any chances of winning the event.

AIRIS is first overall with 28 points, tied with Desafío. Both teams have three victories but the Italians have one second place. Third is Canarias Puerto Calero, one point behind them at 29. The two Spanish teams will have the opportunity for revenge on home waters, during the Trofeo de la Reina, held in Valencia from July 10 to 13.

Quotes:
Roberto Monti, owner of AIRIS: It’s great for a new boat to win the second event it participates. I felicitate the designer, the boat yard and of course the crew. The key to victory was to stay concentrated during the entire event and for that reason we started 4th in the last day but finished 1st. I feel this boat has great potential, don’t forget it’s only her third month! The organization was perfect and I call more boat owners to come to the GP42 class because racing is spectacular.

Santi López-Vázquez, Tactician aboard Desafío: Well, you are never happy when you lose victory in the last race but we have clearly shown we are a team that can win. In addition, you should consider that this is a circuit of 6 events and we are currently leading it with the same margin we did after Santa Margherita. It’s normal that the fleet becomes more equal and the boat that supposedly was one of the weakest ones started the day 4th overall and finished first. Everyone expected Canarias Puerto Calero and Near Miss to be the favourites this morning. This is the beauty of this fleet. The team that commits fewer errors is the winner.
I wouldn’t say that what has changed this year is the increased level of sailors; we already had excellent teams last year. We were probably better prepared than the rest but this changed this time, in particular compared to the new boats. You shouldn’t take it for granted that we can win every event and without doubt it will be tougher every time.
Finally, I would give a perfect score for the organization of this regatta. Although the wind was not always as strong and steady as we had liked, the race committee did an absolutely excellent job in this event. Even if we were inside a narrow bay, they set up a perfect race area. Ten out of ten for the organization.

José Maria-Ponce, helmsman aboard Canarias Puerto Calero: What can I say? We lost the event in the last race. We started very well but it seems we had a speed problem. AIRIS and Desafío overtook us and we stayed behind other boats as well. From that point we had few options left and we got stuck. We tried to take risky decisions and go as close to the Saint-Tropez coast as possible but unfortunately, we didn’t have any chance. The race area was good, although we would have liked a little bit more wind.