31st Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse at Monaco Weekend 2 Day 1

by Isabelle Andrieux 6 Feb 2015 20:40 GMT 30 January - 1 February 2015

Monaco Primo Cup second weekend day 1 © Stefano Gattini

Brisk westerly sets tone for the weekend

A steady westerly filled in to kick-off the first day of the second weekend of the 31st Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse, which saw 94 teams divided into another five classes (Longtze Premier, Platu 25, IRC, J/70 and Melges 20) on the water.

Two races for all classes were held in a fresh 12-plus knot wind, providing a wonderful spectacle from Larvotto Beach to the Rock, orchestrated by the Race Committee led by Thierry Leret and Philippe Enel. Each were umpiring a different area of the course, supported by around 20 boats who were there to ensure safety, the press and back-up for the Race Committee.

The battle is well and truly on, with some fiercely fought starts particularly in the Melges 20 and J/70, as evidenced by the general recalls for the first race and individual recalls in the second - an excess of zeal among the top sailors in both these classes, like for example Marc Pajot (Le Havre Nautique) in the J/70 and Lucas Russel (Shimmer) in the Melges 20, all keen to get away from the pack of more than 30 participants in each fleet.

This evening, American Lucas Russel (Shimmer) in the Melges 20, sailing with Harry Melges and Federico Michetti, tops the provisional ranking ahead of two Yacht Club de Monaco members: Corrado Augusta (Customly), lying second after two second places, and in 3rd Guido Miani (Monaco Racing Fleet).

Congratulations to Jacopo Carrain (Carpe Diem) who in the J/70 pulled off the best upwind leg. Having started last in the second race he and his team managed to overtake the whole fleet of 31 one-designs to cross the line first. However it's the sailor from Le Havre Ludovic Sénégal (Lulu la Nantaise), who leads this class in the provisional ranking, clearly determined to retain his title from last year.

In the IRC and Longtze Premier, the quickest classes, the course was long with an upwind leg of more than 1.5 nautical miles and a total of six miles covered in less than two hours for the leaders. Jean-Jacques Chaubard (Team vision future) dominated the IRC this afternoon, with the German Jarno Wieland (Shensu), second last year, already making his ambitions known in the Longtzes.

Participants are braced for tough conditions tomorrow with 20 to 25 knots forecast and racing scheduled to start at 11.00am.

Provisional Ranking after Day 1: (top three, 2 races)

Longtze Premier
1. Shensu (Jarno Wieland, 4 pts)
2. Tendrisse (Laurent Abignoli, 6 pts)
3. Petit dragon (Marc Mallaret, 8 pts)

Melges 20
1. Shimmer (Lucas Russel, 4 pts)
2. Customly (Corrado Agusta, 4 pts)
3. Monaco Racing Fleet (Guido Miani, 13 pts)

J/70
1. Lulu la Nantaise (Ludovic Sénéchal, 3 pts)
2. Carpe Diem (Carpe Diem, 7 pts)
3. Uji Uji (Alesio Marinelli, 8 pts)

Platu 25
1. Ursa Minor (Markus Sigrist, 3 pts)
2. Amica (Michael Haacke, 4 pts)
3. Spirit of 25 (Wolgang Renz, 6 pts)

IRC
1. Team Vision Future (Jean-Jacques Chaubard, 2 pts)
2. Geranium Killer (Daniel Pithois, 9 pts)
3. Esparlica 4 (Olivier Maubert, 9 pts)

Programme for the 2nd weekend:

Saturday 7th February