5.5m IC World Championship at Yacht Club Santo Stefano

Details on writing and sending reports to us can be found here

5.5m IC World Championship at Yacht Club Santo Stefano - Overall

by Tessa Wiechmann 27 Sep 2014 07:03 BST 22-26 September 2014

Day 5 of the 5.5m IC World Championship © Pierpaolo Lanfrancotti

Marazzi (SUI224) on Ali Baba crowned World Champion in Tuscany

On Friday, the 5.5m World Championship 2014 came to a close in Porto Santo Stefano, Tuscany. Beautiful sunny skies, the Islands of Elba, Montecristo and Giglio as a backdrop, but unfortunately the wind was too light and shifty to race. After five races with no discard, Swiss Flavio Marazzi on Ali Baba is the 2014 World Champion 5.5m IC.

Second place for Norwegian Kristian Nergaard on Artemis XIV and third for Gavin McKinney on John B from the Bahamas.

The Race Committee used every minute up to the 2.30 p.m. time limit to set down a fair course. The 37 crews Bahamas, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Italy crossed the starting line at 2.28 p.m. but at the end of the first beat, a massive wind shift forced the Race Committee to abandon racing. The Awards Ceremony was held at the 16th century Spanish Fortress of Porto Santo Stefano overlooking the wonderful bay of Argentario.

Marco Poma, Sports Director of the Yacht Club Santo Stefano, back on the docks stated: "The last 15 days have been very intense for all of us. The 5.5m IC World Championship was preceded by three other important races of the same class. Most of the competitors therefore stayed in the Argentario area for a long time. The staff of the Yacht Club Santo Stefano together with local authorities and sponsors worked tirelessly to ensure the best possible hospitality. My thanks goes to all those who have made this possible; the Race Committee, the International Jury, the International 5.5m IC class and the Italian Class. Last but not least, a final thank you to the 37 teams who have honoured us with their presence. We have received very positive feedback from them and this obviously gratifies us more than anything else does. Our only regret is the weather conditions that have marked the past 5 days... Unfortunately we are still unable to control the elements!"

Former Swiss Class President Hans Peter Schmid racing on Pugin (SUI213) back on land shared his thoughts on the Championship: "The fact that there were 37 yachts from 7 different nations on the starting line here in Porto Santo Stefano was truly remarkable! And having competitors from the Bahamas here in Tuscany was great as well. This is my first time in Porto Santo Stefano and I must say both the organization and hospitality were excellent: accommodation is diversified and there is much to do on land for those who are not sailing. Sailing was great but the weather was challenging at times because of the big wind shifts."

Commenting on the future of the Class, Kaspar Stubenrauch, President of the International 5.5 Metre Class Association, stated: "I was truly happy to see boats of such great age difference racing closely together as in the case of Sinewave who made it to the front ranks. However, in construction class, the latest designs have the upper hand and this is why owners are looking into new designs to have even more of a competitive edge as in the case of Ali-Baba (SUI224), Shaolin (SUI226) or Cinque Cinque (SUI227)."

Overall Results: (top three)

1st Ali Baba – Flavio Marazzi, Jakob Gustafsson, Christoph Burger (SUI224) 6-6-3-3-6/24pts
2nd Artemis XIV – Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli-Saether (NOR57) 2-2-5-1-15/25pts
3rd John B - Gavin McKinney, Lars Johannsen, Thomas Hallberg (BAH19) 3-3-2-16-4/28pts

Other Awards

Roni Pieper Trophy (4th place overall in World Championship) – Clark Kent – Peter Fjeld (NOR64)
DEB Cup (winner 1st race) - Mission Possible - Markus Wieser (GER79)
Peter Frazer Memorial Trophy (winner 2nd race) - Sinewave – Tomas Muller (GER82)
H.R. Symonette Trophy (winner 5th race) - Mission Possible - Markus Wieser (GER79)
Frank Tolhurst Perpetual Trophy (best Evolution) - Sinewave – Tomas Muller (GER82)
Quail Cup (best Classic) – Cybele II – Armando Daldini (SUI100)

Day 5 of the 5.5m IC World Championship - photo © Pierpaolo Lanfrancotti

The World Championship of the International 5.5 Metre Class was organized by the Yacht Club Santo Stefano, with the patronage of the Region of Tuscany, the Province of Grosseto, and the Municipality of Monte Argentario and with the support of the Pro Loco of Porto Santo Stefano.

Sponsors of the event included Tenuta Agricola dell'Uccellina, NYL FTS and Argentarola srl, the Cantiere Navale dell'Argentario, the Chamber of Commerce of Grosseto and the Nurseries Garden Vivai Mediterranei. The Consortium LaMMA provided detailed weather forecasts for the racecourse.