World ORC, mamma mia how strong the Italians in Barcelona!

A quick update from Barcelona, where the ORC World Championships are taking place: with the second day in the safe, and four races under their belt, the situation is more than rosy for the Italians. Let’s see, class by class, what is happening. (photo credit: Maria Muina – Sailingshots)

CLASS B – A 2002 BOAT GIVES ALL MODERN RACERS A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY
Super-performance of Flavio Enrico Trusendi’s Giumat +2 (YC Livorno), an IMX45 SD, in Class B: Jeppesen’s boat, a 2002 design, is proving to be more than competitive, and the Italian crew made their opponents eat their dust, winning three consecutive runs after placing ninth in the opening heat. At 13.73 meters long, 4.15 wide and with a draft of 2.5, Trusendi’s IMX has Francesco Cruciani as skipper. Behind him Movistar, the Swan 42 of Spanish sailing glory Pedro Campos, distanced by only one point, in third Koyama, Inaki Castaner’s XP-44.

CLASS A – STRUGGLE AT THE TOP BETWEEN … MARCHIGIANI
In Class A, it’s a close fight for victory between Alberto Rossi’s Enfant Terrible Minoan Lines (Ancona YC), already winner of the rainbow title last year, and Marco Serafini’s Xio (CV Portocivitanova): two Italians, or rather two from the Marche region, aboard two TP52s. Well behind Jean Jacques Chaubard, third on the GP42 Team Vision Future. Of note were the fifth-place finish of Andrea Masi’s (CN Tecnomar) Swan 45 Random Research Ulika, the ninth-place finish of the other Italian TP52 in the race, Roberto Monti’s Airis (skipper Cesare Bressan, Il Portodimare club) and the tenth-place finish of Stella, Stefano Fava’s (YC Parma) Sydney 46.

CLASS C – LOW NOISE VYING FOR THE TITLE
Low Noise II, Giuseppe Giuffré’s Italy 998, the defending world champion (skipper Duccio Colombi, YC Chiavari club), is in third place, just two points behind the two X-37s tied for the lead, Solventis and Hansen, owned by Spaniard Alberto Moro and Michael Mollmann, respectively. Of note were the fourth position of the Estonian NM38S Sugar 2, skippered by Sandro Montefusco, and the fifth position of Vincenzo De Blasio’s Total Lubmarine Scugnizza (CC Napoli), a two-time world champion.