X-41 World Championship at Maremma, Tuscany - Day 2

Day 2 of the X-41 worlds © Max Ranchi

The day of racing at the X-41 World Championship, organised by Italian Yacht Club and by the Club Nautico Scarlino with the help of X-Yachts Italia, saw harsh weather conditions in Maremma Tuscany.

The first race kicked off at 12:00 with heavy sea and steady north westerly breeze ranging from 18 to 20 knots. Pier Vittor Grimani’s Siderarcordis (with Daniele Cassinari calling tactics) crossed the line on the pin end, immediately taking the lead. Gianclaudio Bassetti’s WB Five (with Alberto Signorini at the helm and Tommaso Chieffi as tactician) and Mati Sepp’s Lexus were in hot pursuit.

Siderarcordis stayed in control throughout the whole race, rounding each mark first and winning race 1. Just behind WB Five and Pasquale Orofino’s Raffica fought it out for second position; Raffica was overtaken by Vertice 360-Benalmadena owned by the Spaniard Javier Dominguez, with Luis Doreste (winner of two Olympic gold medals) on board. Eventually Vertice 360 finished third behind WB Five, second.

The second race started at 13:30, with the same weather conditions. WB Five crossed over the line early and had to restart. The battle was on between Joe Borghetti’s C-MAP and Pasquale Orofino’s Raffica for the lead, leg after leg, mark rounding after mark rounding. Raffica crossed the finishing line first, C-MAP second and Piergiorgio Ravaioni’s Lady X-41 with tactician Lorenzo Bressani finished third.

Thanks to the great weather conditions and race area, the Race Committee fired the gun for Race 3 of the day. The fleet crossed the line at 2.45 p.m. with the breeze having dropped to 6-17 knots. Siderarcordis took the lead from the start, choosing the Committee Boat side of the line. During the first upwind leg Lady X-41 made up the distance sailing on the left-hand side of the course and rounded the windward mark in first position followed by Javier Dominguez’s Vertice 360-Benalmadena and by Mati Sepp’s Lexus. The Spaniards sailed aggressively and took the lead winning the race. Lady X-41 crossed the finish line second and WB Five third.

Results after Day 2: (provisional after 5 races, 1 discard)

1. Sideracordis, Pier Vettor Grimani-Daniele Cassinari, 2-1-1-(5)-4, 8 points
2. WB Five di Gianlcaudio Bassetti-Tommaso Chieffi, 1-2-2-(9)-3, 8 points
3. Vertice 360-Benalmadena di Javier Dominguez-Luis Doreste, (8)-6-3-4-1, 14 points
4. Lady X-41 di Piergiorgio Ravaioni-Lorenzo Bressani, (5)-4-5-3-2, 14 points
5. C-MAP di Joe Borghetti-Matteo Simoncelli, 6-3-(8)-2-6, 17 points

Sailing will continue until Saturday, September the 19th.

Tonight’s Owners’ Dinner Party

In the evening the Owner’s Dinner will be held at the Relais Vedetta, a B&B jewel dedicated to excellence in hospitality. Relais Vedetta is situated on a hilltop overlooking the Gulf of Follonica and the Islands of Elba and Montecristo, near the medieval village of Scarlino in Tuscany.

The party is hosted by Niels Jeppesen, Chairman of X-Yachts, X-Yachts Italy’s President, Piergiorgio Ravaioni, apart from Atlante Group’s President, Simone Anichini, also Club Nautico Scarlino’s adviser.

Quotes of the day

Daniele Cassinari, who is calling tactics on Siderarcordis, back on the docks said: "All and all a great day. We had good pace upwind and in race 2 and 4 we were also fast downwind. Whoever manages to climb out of the pack, sails free. It’s to early to make any predictions, were are at the halfway mark. What I can say is that in addition to WB Five, today I clearly saw Doreste’s team making important gains on the fleet (Luis is calling tactics on Vertice360- Benalmadena). North Sails are always the fastest (Mancini owner of North Sails North East).

Cassinari also spoke of his crew: "It 'a big group of friends from Venice. They have found an owner and his two daughters who have a great passion for sailing. They began racing in IMS and last year switched over to the X-41 class."

It’s the first time that Luis Doreste, Olympic Gold and Desafio Espanol’s skipper in the last edition of the America’s Cup , visits La Marina di Scarlino: "We are pleased with our results: at the moment third overall and in the standings and is now third, fourth and first place. This is a really great race course. The Committee is doing a great job and we played five tests with winds from all quadrants. On land and sea we found the highest availability and efficiency of the organizers (the Italian Yacht Club and Club Nautico Scarlino). We see that in this structure all work in the same direction to ensure the success of the event.”

Event Partners

The X-41 World Championship is sponsored by BMW, Atlante Marinas, Dab, Maremma Tuscany, Relais Vedetta, North Sails Italy sailmaker, Vela Mania and Nexus.