Flukey winds but breathtaking finish
Smallest boat Mariolina triumphs overall

The third day of the Giraglia Rolex Cup was dominated by the smallest boats in the fleet, the larger Class Zero Maxis not featuring in the results at all.

Light winds from the East at the start of the third inshore race saw those boats heading hard for the right hand side of the course eventually benefit from their choice. A shorter 15-mile one-lap windward-leeward style course was set today taking the fleet out to the same weather mark as had been used on the two previous days and back to the finish right in front of the port of St Tropez.

Up until today the predominantly light winds had favoured the Class Zero Maxis with their tall rigs using the air aloft. But today, although the wind was light initially, it filled in relatively quickly and was blowing at sea level where the smaller boats could enjoy it too. The smaller boats also benefited from the fact that their start sequence was as much as ten minutes after the big boats, meaning they sailed in proportionally more regular winds than their bigger sisters for longer. As a result two of the smallest boats in the fleet collected first and second overall today, relegating the star-studded big boats down to the ‘also ran’ ranks.

Andrea La Volpe’s Mariolina, production Beneteau First 31.7 won by nearly two and half minutes on corrected time from Alberto De Martini’s X-332 Elixir, these two almost ten minutes ahead of the first Maxi. Mariolina now leads Class Four overall going into the double points scoring long offshore race.

X-Sport, owned by Stefano Spangaro and skippered by Gabrielle Benussi made a clean sweep of the three inshore races today, winning Class One for the third day in a row. Benussi started on port tack at the committee boat and was the first to the right side of the course in the Gulf of St Tropez. The wind dropped down to 2-3 knots for a period of about 20 minutes before filling in from the right. Surrounded by the Maxis the ‘little red flyer’ was one of the first boats to benefit from the new wind, sailing smartly to win the class.

The bigger Maxis, sailing a stop-start kind of race gave the spectators lined along the St Tropez pier a true spectacle as they approached the finish line. The first two back into the Gulf were the Kiwi Alfa Romeo and the Slovenian Magic Jena, both of them sailing at full speed into a large patch of windless water just 500 metres from the finish line. The five following boats, including the giants My Song, Idea, Enigma and Alexia roared up behind them closing the gap right up and sailing closer to the pier. Alfa Romeo touched some more wind, just managing to squeeze across the line ahead of Idea, the first five boats finishing in just over 60 seconds after nearly two hours racing, class honours today going to the Argentinian yacht Alexia, owned by Alberto Roemers.

Giraglia Rolex Cup - Provisional Results after three races

Class Zero
Pos. Boat Type Owner/Skipper R1,R2,R3/TP
1st Idea Reichel/Pugh 80 Raiola/Bressani (2,1,5/7.75)
2nd Alexia Reichel/Pugh Roemmers/ (4,6,1/10.75)
3rd Edimetra VI Wally 65 Gismondi/ (6,5,2/13.0)

Class One
Place Boat Type Owner/Skipper R1,R2,R3/TP
*1st X-Sport Gd Soleil 56R Spangaro/Benussi (1,1,1/2.25)
2nd Imagine IMX 45 Argelies/ (2,4,6/12.0)
3rd Twins’ Swan 45 Eurl EME (4,3,7/14.0)

Class Two
Place Boat Type Owner/Skipper R1,R2,R3/TP
1st Despeinada Gd Soleil 40R Borrini/ (1,1,3/4.5)
2nd Exploit IMX 40 Ravaioni (1,2,2/4.75)
3rd Ettore A 40 Ettore/ (6,4,1/10.75)

Class Three
Place Boat Type Owner/Skipper R1,R2,R3/TP
1st Alcidia Beneteau First 36.7 R Nicolas/ (2,2,1/4.75)
2nd Key West Beneteau First 36.7 Vaccarone-Francesia (1,3,2/5.75)
3rd Malf Amato C&C 37 Leuzzi/ (3,1,7/10.75)

Class Four
Place Boat Type Owner/Skipper R1,R2,R3/TP
1st Mariolina Beneteau First 31.7 La Volpe/ (3,2,1/5.75)
2nd Ala Bianca Polaris 33 Capozzi/ (2,1,3/5.75)
3rd Dream Away X-342 Poli/ (1,3,7/10.75)

*Overall leader all classes.

The Giraglia Rolex Cup 243-mile offshore race starts tomorrow, Thursday, and will take the fleet around the Giraglia Rock, just to the North of Corsica, and on to the finish in Genoa. The current race record, which stands at just over 24 hours, is in line to be broken. Not only is the weather forecast favourable for a fast time, but the event has never before seen such a powerful line-up of Maxis. Although Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo is the favourite to collect line honours, the presence of several new boats such as Lindsay Owen-Jones’ brand new Wally 95 Magic Carpet2 make it possible for at least ten boats to be able maintain an average speed of greater than 11 knots and beat the reference time.

Giraglia Rolex Cup 2003 – Race Day Three

Quotes:

“There were two opposing breezes today, the trick was in staying in the dominant one. The return leg was heart stopping. We played the bullets of wind well and anticipated the light patches better than the some of the bigger boats. As for tomorrow, we’ll see what the wind brings us. Idea is being prepared now for her third Giraglia Race.” Albert Jacobsone, Pitman on board Idea, 5th in Class Zero class leader after three races.

“With more wind we were much more competitive with the Maxis today. We had a perfect start and sailed in amongst the Maxis for quite a long time. We are really pleased with the boat now, it is going well in all conditions. I have to leave the boat now for the offshore race. I am preparing for the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds next week. Stefano Spangaro will skipper the boat for the big offshore race. ” Gabrielle Benussi, skipper of Gd Soleil 56R X-Sport Class One winner for the third day in a row.

“A very short race. We were happy with the course today. It suited our boat better than yesterday and it has re-mixed the fleet overall. The long offshore race counts for double points and this leaves things wide open for the rest of the Giraglia Rolex Cup. ” Jonnie Higham, navigator Edimetra, second place Class Zero today.