Melges 20 Sailing Series at Porto Ercole - Day 1

Rombelli handles early lead

Three races were completed on the first day at Sailing Series® Melges 20 event with Rombelli in the lead, Homann leading Corinthian division

It was a difficult day in Porto Ercole for some, but not so much for Alessandro Rombelli's STIG, a former Class Gold Cup Champion and reigning Melges 32 World Champion. Rombelli's steady 3-2-1 daily scoreline places him atop the 40-strong Melges 20 fleet, trailed closely by Guido Miani helming Out of Reach. Lauro Bonora's Camay gradually improved his results as the day progressed to sit third by a wide margin.

The first race of the day fostered light air conditions and a fierce battle amongst some of the best teams in the fleet. From Portovenere MVP Miani and Corrado Agusta's Customly, to Michael Illbruck's Pinta and Rombelli, it was quite a show. A constant fight for position from start to finish ended in Miani's favor, with Agusta second, Rombelli third, Illbruck fourth and Achille Onorato's Mascalzone Latino finished fifth.

Race Two of the day got underway in about 6.5 knots of breeze out of the Southwest with Richard Davies on Section 16 looking a little more groovy with a great start, leading Igor Rytov on Russian Bogatyrs and Rombelli around the track. The race was shortened at the second windward mark giving Davies a semi-easy win. Rombelli was second, while Rytov came third.

In an even lighter and shifting breeze Rombelli put it on wax in Race Three making it a wire-to-wire win. Onorato had his best race of the day to finish second, followed by Bonora in third. Miani and Rytov rounded out the top five respectively.

Wilma Homann on Fantastichina leads the charge in the Corinthian division ahead of Austria's Klaus Schober on N.N. and Florian Rixner on Mojito.

On light air days, stars can shine and when they do, it's radiant. This is true for Krzysztof Krempec's Tiny Mag who scooped up a top ten finish (eighth) in Race One. Matteo Marenghi Vaselli's Raya had a fantastic moment in Race Two to land fourth, and Alex Mikhailik on Alex Team proudly nailed a seventh place finish.

More racing is scheduled for Saturday with three more scheduled heats.

Racing Coverage

As with other Melges 20 events in Europe and around the world, racing updates will be posted online at the Official Melges 20 Facebook Page. Tune in for the latest racing information, results, video interviews, and photos. Race reports, press releases and photos will be made available online each day post racing at melges20.com.

Results after Day 1: (top ten, 3 races)

1.) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG; 3-2-1= 6 pts
2.) Guido Miani, Out of Reach; 1-5-4= 10 pts
3.) Lauro Bonora, Camay; 10-8-3= 21 pts
4.) Corrado Agusta, Customly; 2-13-7= 22 pts
5.) Michael Illbruck, Pinta; 4-9-10= 23 pts
6.) Richard Davies, Section 16; 20-1-6= 27 pts
7.) Dario Levi, Fremito D'Arja; 14-6-8= 28 pts
8.) Achille Onorato, Mascalzone Latino Jr.; 5-22-2= 29 pts
9.) Igor Rytov, Russian Bogatyrs; 22-3-5= 30 pts
10.) Alexander Ezhkov, Pirogovo Yacht Club; 9-12-9= 30 pts

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