Please select your home edition
Edition
Noble Marine 2022 YY - LEADERBOARD

ORC Worlds Trieste 2017 starts tomorrow

by ORC Media 2 Jul 2017 22:09 BST 30 June - 8 July 2017

A total of 115 entries from 19 countries are starting the week-long competition with offshore racing

After over a year of preparation, a consortium of organizers from six regional clubs near Trieste, the Porto San Rocco Marina, and the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) are pleased that 115 entries from 19 countries have accepted their invitations and come to compete at the ORC Worlds Trieste 2017. This fleet is divided into three classes - 17 entries in Class A and 49 entries each in Classes B and C - with World Champion crowns to be awarded in each class after the conclusion of racing on Saturday 8 July.

Racing starts tomorrow on offshore courses set for each class, with the starts scheduled for 1400 local time on the waterfront of downtown Trieste and a course set to do laps along the Adriatic Italian and Istrian coasts. Each class will have courses designed in length to keep them at sea for at least 24 hours, and for the first time in the past 17 years of ORC Worlds history the fleet will be sailing in the waters of 3 nations: Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.

Principal Race Officer Giancarlo Crevatin explains another interesting feature of this race is that it is two races in one: "The fleet will pass through an intermediate scoring gate at Pirano to complete the Short Offshore Race scored as 1 point, and carry on to complete the course and get scored also 1 point as the Long Offshore Race. If the wind looks like it will go light and they will not be able to complete the course, we can shorten the race at a few different points."

The remaining races in the championship will be windward-leeward course races held in two areas: one to the south off the Slovenian coast where Class A and Class C will compete on the same course area but in different races, and another closer to the harbor in Trieste for the teams competing in Class B. Seven races are planned, scored at 1.0 points each.

This year's event will also feature more interaction with the audience through Live Streaming hosted on the event website, and through the use of the TrakTrak system which will give a graphic depiction of the positions and movements of the boats while racing.

The mood among the teams is upbeat and excited, with many months of planning, preparation, training and racing leading to this week. There is one team in particular - Bjorn Erik Bjornsen's Aquatich 40 - that is particularly excited, since it is brand-new, just launched next door by the builder Ocean Tech next door in Slovenia.

"This boat is Humphries design, a fast racer/cruiser, and we are learning this as a new crew on a new boat every day we sail," says Bjornsen, who is from Stavanger, Norway. "So far things are going well, the boat is nice, it feels lively and it's fast. This looks like it will be a tough championship, there are many good teams here. Immediately after racing here we are packing up to move the boat to also race at the ORC Europeans in Gdansk, so this is an intense time for us."

Another northern European entry - Jani Lehti's Mercedes-AMG from Finland - is also trying out what amounts to a new boat: their Cossutti-designed Next 37 has new foils, a new taller mast and larger sails, placing it as a fast 37-footer in Class B.

"We made substantial changes to the boat since last season, so the boat is faster than before with bigger sails" says Lehti. "We are looking forward to a good week, the boat goes very well in these (8-12 knot) conditions with flat water."

And another entry more local to Trieste has also been preparing themselves for competition in this large fleet: Maurizio Poser's Swan 42 Sheraa YCH. Skipper Enrico Zennaro, who hails from across the Gulf of Trieste in Chioggia where he won the 2016 ORC Sportboat European Championship last spring, explains their strategy for preparing their entry for the Worlds.

"We decided to make the boat faster on the CDL rating, because Class B will be very crowded and we think we can do better in Class A," he said. "We have been training and racing for the past two months in preparation for this week, and got second last week in the Italian ORC National Championship."

Yet even with this Silver medal performance, Zennaro says it will be a tough championship. "There are a lot of good boats and sailors here. For sure the racing in ORC in Italy now is at a very competitive level, so this will be a very challenging week."

And indication of this was apparent in the Practice Race today: under cloudy skies and in winds reaching 16 knots and shifty, Crevatin and his team on the A-C Course area today said one class was well-behaved on the start lines, but not the other.

"For Class A our line was about 0.15 miles long, and the fleet was all there started well. But for Class C we extended the line to 0.35 miles long, and even with this length nearly all the boats were over the line. I told them this must change for tomorrow!"

The weather forecast for tomorrow and tomorrow night looks promising for wind: a weak offshore Bora system will keep the fleet doing laps in a westerly breeze in the Gulf after their start, and then when headed south to Croatia the conditions will be mixed with the possibility of the wind shifting to the south tomorrow night to bring them back to the finish near Porto San Rocco.

The Organizing Authority of ORC Worlds Trieste 2017 is led by Yacht Club Porto San Rocco and the Offshore Racing Congress along with Yacht Club Adriaco, Triestina della Vela, Circolo della Vela Muggia, Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, TPK Circolo Nautico Triestino Sirena and Yachting Club Portoroz, Slovenia.

The event is sponsored by Mureadritta, Ingemar, Porto San Rocco Marina Resort and Hotel Porto San Rocco.

For more information, visit www.orcworlds2017.com.

Related Articles

Four days to start the 5th AEGEAN 600
The fleet has a wide range of sizes and types represented Nearly all 60 teams are assembled here at the Olympic Marine venue getting ready for the start of the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600, organized by the Hellenic Offshore Race Club (HORC) with co-organizers being Olympic Marine and Region of Attica. Posted on 2 Jul
Some thoughts on provisioning for distance sailing
A new perspective on provisioning and time spent at sea One of the great joys of distance racing unfurls the moment that the dock lines are untied. Suddenly, the myriad packing lists that inevitably define most trip-planning efforts become about as relevant as a tax return from eight years ago. Posted on 1 Jul
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy 2025 Preview
International sailing & ocean conservation unite in Cascais From July 4 to 6, Cascais hosts the biggest sailing regatta of the year with a strong focus on sustainability. The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy celebrates six years of diversity, competition, and environmental commitment. Posted on 30 Jun
From ORC to DH: The XR 41 Delivers Again
All eyes were on the new XR 41 during the Maior Regatta in Kiel All eyes were on the new XR 41 during the Maior Regatta in Kiel, where she convincingly won under ORC. The boat has proven her versatility by taking on Denmark's Fyn Cup — and winning again. Posted on 29 Jun
First-ever ORC North American champions crowned
Fox, Zammermoos and Teamwork win at Block Island Race Week 2025 After completing the full schedule of races - 9 in the ORC 1 class and 10 in the ORC 2 and 3 classes - three new ORC North American Champion teams have been crowned on Friday at the Storm Trysail Club's 31st biennial Block Island Race Week. Posted on 28 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 5
IHG Hotels and Resorts Race Day concludes the event Block Island Race Week's final tent party was abuzz with anticipation and excitement Friday evening, as sailors and spectators awaited the announcement of cumulative awards for the regatta's 60th anniversary. Posted on 27 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 4
Round The Island Race on Mount Gay Rum Race Day Mount Gay Rum Race Day featured everyone's favorite race of Block Island Race Week: the Regatta Craft Mixers Round The Island Race. The breaking of the recent heatwave made for a fast and furious counter-clockwise lap. Posted on 26 Jun
Tight racing at ORC North American Championship
Two days of racing remain before titles awarded in three classes With three days of racing completed over 7 Windward-Leeward courses, the scorelines are filling up for all three classes competing in the first ORC North American Championship at Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week. Posted on 26 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 3
Soaring temperatures on Risk Strategies Race Day Risk Strategies Race Day at Block Island Race Week featured another day of champagne conditions and soaring temperatures. To give sailors a brief reprieve, the Race Committee called for an "early" end to racing (only 2 long races instead of 3). Posted on 25 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 2
Regatta Craft Mixers Race Day turns up the heat Regatta Craft Mixers Race Day turned up the heat at Block Island Race Week—literally. The Island was not spared from the heat wave sweeping the East Coast this week, but that did not put a stop to the action out on the water. Posted on 25 Jun