The Long Bolina, great Vani tea and Wasabino!

A beautiful edition of the Lunga Bolina-Trofeo DHL, the offshore regatta organized by Circolo Canottieri Aniene, closed, marked by Vani tè’s double victory. After her success in IRC in 2014, in fact, Mario Aquila’s Grand Soleil 43 BC this year came out on top in both the ORC and IRC rankings, having always maintained itself in the top positions of the ranking during the 133-mile course, a route that proved to be very technical due to the anomalous weather conditions, which in addition to very light wind “gifted” the participants with an unusual Anglo-Saxon fog. Arriving very close to the big boys, he was able to make the most of his rating to deservedly win this record-breaking edition of the Long Bolina-Trofeo DHL., a regatta that found positive approval from all crews, who once ashore declared themselves tired but satisfied, despite the unequal struggle with bonanzas that also caused many retirements.

Also excellent was the performance of Lunatika, Stefano Chiarotti’s Sun Fast 3600, which won in the large classification reserved for crews made up of two people, and Bluone, Leonardo Servi’s First 36.7, which made the podium in both ORC and IRC. Finally, to Guido Paolo Gamucci’s Cookson 50 Cippa Lippa 8 went the 2015 DHL Trophy, reserved for the first runner-up in real time.

THE ESTE 24
Sunday evening also saw the conclusion of the “return” leg of the Coastal Race-Trofeo DHL, from Porto Ercole to Santa Marinella, reserved for the one-designs of the Este 24 class, after the small but very fast one-designs had been engaged in the first leg (Santa Marinella-Porto Ercole) on Friday and had contested a coastal race in Argentario waters on Saturday. To describe this event, valid as the second leg of the Este 24 National Circuit and won by Gianluca Raggi’s Wasabino, we rely on the words of the President of the Este 24 class and skipper of Team Aniene-RideCosì, Alessandro Maria Rinaldi. “It’s hard to tell about our Coastal Race, one would have to live it… Between Circolo Nautico Guglielmo Marconi, which assisted us by sailing along with the fleet, and Circolo Nautico Vela Argentario, which gave us hospitality in Porto Ercole by providing equipment and dock, Circolo Aniene and the Este fleet was pampered along with main sponsor DHL, which enjoyed the spectacle of the 21 boats parading with the yellow gennakers of the famous shipping company. I am happy that it was one of our most present owners who won it, proving that with the Este 24, if you train consistently and methodically you will excel. Wasabino also won the DHL-Speed of Yellow Trophy, the fastest navigator challenge on the Santa Marinella-Porto Ercole route.