Please select your home edition
Edition
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - LEADERBOARD

5.5 Metre Alpen Cup at Circolo Vela Torbole - Overall

by Robert Deaves 23 Oct 2021 20:43 BST 21-23 October 2021

With just one more race sailed on Saturday, Girls on Film (GBR 41, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ben Cornish) has retained the 5.5 Metre Alpen Cup at Circolo Vela Torbole that they last won in 2019. John B (BAH 22, Gavin McKinney, Lars Horn Johannessen, Mathias Dahlman) placed second while Momo (SUI 229, Dieter Schoen, Fuitjof Kleen, Thomas Auracher) was third.

The final day started early in the half light before the sun peeked over the Garda mountains, while the northerly wind just seemed to strengthen during the morning. Initially held on shore for an hour, the fleet was sent out in a bitterly cold 18-20 knots with some bigger gusts causing a few problems. There was plenty of action.

While Girls on Film kept their eyes on Momo and John B, Ali Baba (BAH 23, Craig Symonette, Flavio Marazzi, William Alloway) had the best of the very shifty first beat to round ahead and lead all the way to take the win, while Girls on Film followed in a comfortable second, which as it turned out, was enough to take the series win.

After the race finished, the fleet was sent ashore with not too many complaints.

Morton explained the day, "We've had fantastic Garda breezes every day. This morning was quite cold and dark when we first started in the northerly breeze. We just needed to make sure that we tucked up John B and Momo, so we covered them on the first beat and ended up second which was good enough to tie up the series."

On the decision to only run one race, "The wind was getting close to the class limit. The forecast we got was that when the sun came up the northerly would actually increase. By the end it was pretty close to it, and I think they've got plenty on here today with other events so they probably needed to get us tucked away. We were quite happy."

There has been a lot of talk about Morton's new boat. He says it is not too dissimilar to the current fleet, but the second boat that he has been building, due to be launched in a few weeks, is a different story.

"GBR 41 is the first of the new boats. We tested it against our old boat (a 2003 Wilke from Switzerland), which we knew was reasonably competitive, so we were quite confident and this weekend has proved it's a pretty good all round boat. I have to say that all the VPPs and CFDs we did indicated it would be better in a breeze. We've yet to race against the Swiss boats in really light winds and that may be different, but certainly we were very comfortable here upwind and downwind."

The second boat is also nearly finished.

"GBR 42 is something quite different again. That should be ready in about 4-5 weeks and then we'll do some testing in the Solent. It's quite different, a David Hollom design, and you know with David he has some definitive ideas. Certainly all the testing we did, and the VPPs we did, indicate the boat will be stronger in a breeze over 10 knots, but it is quite different to all the other boats. So who knows? We'll be in the penthouse or the outhouse I suspect."

The prizes were presented by Giorgia della Valle, CVT's own ILCA 6 U21 World Champion. Girls on Film not only won the Alpen Cup again, but also the Trofeo Franco Santoni, first presented in 2018 to remember the 5.5 Metre sailor and former President of Cicolo Vela Torbole.

After a few years of disrupted schedules, the hope is that the 2022 season for the 5.5 Metre class will be back to normal. 2022 is shaping up to be another exciting year with the World Championship and Scandinavian Gold Cup heading to Hankø in Norway, and a good range of Category 1 regattas across Europe. It will all start where the 2021 ended, with the Alpen Cup at CVT back in its normal slot in April.

Overall Results: 6 races

1 Girls on Film (GBR 41, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ben Cornish) 9pts
2 John B (BAH 22, Gavin McKinney, Lars Horn Johannessen, Mathias Dahlman) 13pts
3 Momo (SUI 229, Dieter Schoen, Fuitjof Kleen, Thomas Auracher) 13pts
4 Ali-Baba (BAH 23, Craig Symonette, Flavio Marazzi, William Alloway) 19pts
5 Marie-Françoise XXII (SUI 232, Jürg Menzi, Jürgen Eiermann, Christof Wilke) 21pts
6 Otto (NOR 68, Bent Christian Wilhelmsen, Lasse Berthelsen,Luka Strahovnik) 23pts
7 Ali Baba (GER 84, Richter Wolf-Eberhard, Beata Kallkowski, Wolfgang Schreiber, Oliver WeiB) 35pts
8 Forza del Destino (SUI 211, Prapopoulos George, Simon Pfänder, Gil Pfänder) 36pts
9 New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov) 50pts

Event website and results at www.circolovelatorbole.com/en/regatta/detail/195

Related Articles

Sopot success story for 5.5 Metre Worlds
The event was a great success story for the class, opening new avenues and new opportunities The dust may have settled on the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship but the legacy will linger on for a long time. Posted on 24 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship overall
Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairidh Scott on The Jean Genie win the title The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairidh Scott) has won the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, after the final day of racing on Friday. Posted on 13 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship Day 4
Double bullet puts The Jean Genie in pole position The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairidh Scott) produced the best of the day on Thursday in Sopot at the 5.5 Metre World Championship with a 2,1,1 to take a two-point lead into the final day. Posted on 13 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship Day 3
Aspire is new leader in Sopot Aspire (POL 17, Przemyslaw Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Kilian Weise) has taken a 10-point lead at the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, after two more races on Wednesday in a cold northerly between 12-23 knots. Posted on 11 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship Day 2
Girls on Film leads in Sopot after two races in changeable conditions Girls on Film (GBR 41 Louise Morton, Charlie Cumbley, Sam Haines) lead the 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, after two races on Tuesday in very changeable and often wet conditions. Posted on 11 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship Day 1
Strong winds delay the start of racing in Sopot No racing was possible on the opening day of the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, with winds of 30 knots across the bay for most of the day. Posted on 9 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship opens in Sopot
Together with the prize-giving for the Scandinavian Gold Cup The 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship was opened in Sopot, Poland, on Sunday evening together with the prize-giving for the Scandinavian Gold Cup which was completed on Saturday. Posted on 9 Jun
The oldest footage of the 5.5 Metre class
A look back into our video archive of the 1950s and 60s With the Scandinavian Gold Cup currently on in Sopot, Poland, maybe it's time to delve into our video archive to see what 5.5mR footage was recorded by newsreels in the past. Posted on 8 Jun
Scandinavian Gold Cup at Sopot, Poland overall
Jürg Menzi wins third on Marie-Françoise XXII Marie-Françoise XXII (SUI 233, Jürg Menzi, Jürgen Eiermann, Christof Wilke) has won the 2025 Scandinavian Gold Cup in Sopot, Poland, after the event went the full length to seven races. Posted on 8 Jun
Scandinavian Gold Cup at Sopot, Poland Day 2
Three boats are now through to the final stage Three boats are now through to the final stage of the Scandinavian Gold Cup in Sopot, Poland. Aspire, Marie-Françoise XXII and Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne Trond, Solli-Sæther) have each won one race each. Posted on 7 Jun