Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2025 Day 1
by Tre Golfi Sailing Week 8 May 17:12 BST
7-22 May 2025
Arkas Sailing Team wins the opening race, strong starts for wallyrocket51 Team Django and Mascalzone Latino
The Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2025 officially opened today under sunny skies and light breeze, with the first race of the ORC Mediterranean Championship, which also counts as the National Championship for Central and Southern Italy. The event, hosted by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia in collaboration with the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, Yacht Club Italiano, IMA, ORC, FIV, and UVAI, is supported by Rolex Official Timepiece, Loro Piana, North Sails, and several other prominent technical and institutional partners.
Racing got under way in a light westerly breeze of 7-8 knots, which gradually decreased to around 5 knots by the end of the race. The fleet of 30 yachts from six nations enjoyed a clean and regular start just off the coast of Sorrento.
At the head of the fleet in the early stages was wallyrocket51 Team Django, with Vasco Vascotto calling tactics, closely followed by the Turkish crew of Arkas Sailing Team. The duel between the two boats shaped the rhythm of the race from the first windward leg: Django set the pace early on, but between the second upwind and the final downwind leg, Arkas Sailing Team closed the gap and overtook to cross the finish line first.
In corrected time, valid for the National Championship for Central and Southern Italy, Arkas Sailing Team retained the top spot ahead of Team Django, while Mascalzone Latino, the Farr 40 owned by Vincenzo Onorato, climbed into provisional third after a strong showing in the light breeze.
In the ORC Mediterranean Championship ranking - reserved for yachts also entered in the upcoming 70th Regata dei Tre Golfi on 16 May, in which Team Django is not competing - Mascalzone Latino sits in second place, followed by Italia Yachts To Be, owned by Stefano Rusconi.
Batu Zingal, pitman aboard Arkas Sailing Team, commented: "We won the first race and the feeling is good. It was a tough one for us because the wind kept shifting and dropping, but we managed it really well. The key to today's win was communication and staying focused, especially with such unstable conditions. For tomorrow, we need to stay positive - which we already are thanks to this victory - but we also need to remain engaged and work hard. We're planning to go out early before the start to test a few things and get ready".
Racing continues tomorrow, Friday 9 May, with the first warning signal scheduled for 11:00. Forecasts suggest stronger winds, which could allow for the completion of two more races under ideal conditions.
The event is organized by CRV Italia in collaboration with Yacht Club Italiano (Genoa), Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia (Naples), IMA, ORC, FIV, and UVAI, and supported by North Sails, Wally Yachts, Banca Patrimoni Sella, Ferrarelle, Ottogas, Deloitte, Italia Yachts, Le Axidie, Caffè Borbone, Schenker, and Consorzio Prosecco DOC.
Find out more at www.tregolfisailingweek.com