“Did you start the engine in the regatta? No!” reopens the Potestà case

New hope opens up for Carlo Potestà. The yachtsman from Viareggio had been disqualified at GiragliOne based on the allegation that he had started his engine while racing. Put in the pillory, Potestà has always maintained his innocence, and now the Appeals Jury has upheld Potestà’s appeal (without being able, as per ISAF regulations, to go into the content). Now everything will have to be rediscussed, tracking analysis in hand, at the CN Riva di Traiano, organizer of the regatta. Potestà, meanwhile, hopes to return to the race courses soon, and to do so as an innocent man. What do you guys think about the affair?

WHAT HAD HAPPENED
The first edition of GiragliOne, the solo trial that flanked the classic Rome-Giraglia had ended in a blizzard of controversy last year. What is the most infamous accusation for those who do regattas? That of having the engine running during the competition. And that is the accusation levelled by the three soloists Matteo Miceli, Sergio Frattaruolo and Mario Girelli at Tuscan Carlo Potestà, first to cross the finish line at Riva di Traiano aboard his Elan 410 Phantomas. The protest, centered on the analysis of tracking, which was deemed by the Jury to be effectively incompatible with the speeds to be attributed to sail propulsion, ended with the disqualification of Potestà based on the provisions of rule 69 of the regatta rules (governing unsportsmanlike conduct).

DISHONEST SAILOR OR SIMPLY “INCONVENIENT”?
The yachtsman from Viareggio, however, announced his appeal, including through legal channels, both in sports and civil justice: “I have been morally damaged, I hope my accusers are in good faith.” Already at the Rome for One, won by Potestà, there had been dockside rumors about his possible use of the engine (which, however, was spliced by regulation). But another rumor was also circulating: the one about an owner who goes sailing for passion, who wins and becomes “uncomfortable” for those who do sailing professionally and have many interests at stake.