33rd Garda Optimist Meeting - Day 1
by Elena Giolai 3 Apr 2015 09:49 BST
1-5 April 2015
Spectacular but challenging conditions were present on Lake Garda, Trentino for the first day of regattas in the 33rd edition of The Garda Optimist Meeting with waves and southerly winds of 22 knots. Only the 676 juniors who were divided into 5 heats, were able to race three races, while the younger cadets (9-11 years) were sent back on land as soon as the wind strengthened.
There is a new staring formula for juniors with the Committee boat positioned at the centre of the starting line marked by two buoys on extensions positioned opposite the Committee boat. This precise method allows for regulated starts in the shortest time. While the results after the third race are still being processed, we can give you the preliminary results after 2 races.
The best performance of the day was of Schupbach of Switzerland, who won the first two races then came fourteenth, which puts him seventh overall in the preliminary standings. Much more consistent, however, was MO Zahn Cecimo of Germany with 1-2-3 partials and who is actually in first place, followed by Riccardo Sepe (CV Roma), Italy just six points behind. He came seventh in the first race, won the second and came fourth in the third and last race of the day. Third place overall is held by Emil Kjaer of Denmark (5-7-1). An excellent result came from another Italian, Matteo Chiereghin of Veneto (CN Chioggia 4-3-6), puts him in fourth place. Charlotte Lorenzen of Denmark is the first of the girls (3-3-10) and eighth overall but is being hotly pursued by Italian Gaia Bergonzini from nearby Fraglia Vela Malcesine who was first in the third race. The first among the sailors of organising club Fraglia Vela Riva is Giorgia Cingomani, 22nd overall with an excellent second in today's last race.
Today the cadets will start at 9 in the lighter wind conditions and calmer waters that usually accompany the north wind which blows in the morning on Lake Garda, Trentino. The juniors will start racing after 13.00.
The organisational machine of Fraglia Vela Riva has once again shown its ability in handling the new technical recommendations on the first day of the event, appropriate for the needs of the participants. After the hundreds of registrations (not a mean task if you calculate that as well as the 863 registered, there are also all the coaches – around 250 – along with their rubber dinghies) and the managing of all the starts (5 per regatta). The entire part on water was coordinated by a staff of regatta judges from the Federazione Italiana Vela e Giuria Internationale who assisted the technicians in setting the regatta course.
Among the well-known names in the international sailing world who are present at Riva del Garda is Francesco Bruni, this time on Lake Garda, Trentino in the role of father. Bruni was an Olympic athlete and tactician in the America's Cup and this afternoon he saw the official announcement of the withdrawal of his Team Luna Rossa from the America's Cup in protest over the distortion of the rules by the other Teams. But here on Garda, Bruni is focused on his 9 year old son Ubaldo, competing in his first great Optimist event.