Giraglia del ventone, MN 35 Lann Ael wins (with only two people on board)

Time for verdicts for a Loro Piana Giraglia that in the memory of the sailors who participated will be remembered as one of the toughest editions of this historic offshore race. Conditions were tough, with winds between 25 and 35 knots on the descent to Giraglia and very challenging seas, a difficult race that made selection on the fleet with many withdrawals. An edition won by Didier Gaudoux’s MN35 Lann Ael 3, led by only two people, in the edition in which so many 100-foot maxis did not start due to predicted weather.

The trickiest part was the descent to the Giraglia at full reach, and the first part of the ascent to Genoa where instead the gait was tighter on the traverse. Then the ever-present final becalming coming into Genoa, which never makes the outcome of this offshore race, which this year was dominated by the “little ones,” a foregone conclusion.

Loro Piana Giraglia, all the winners

In offshore races with strong winds, the gap between the larger boats and the smaller ones, both in real time and on handicap, is shortened, especially if the small boats in question are planing boats, designed for the carrying gaits that have been the dominant ones in this Giraglia, and very well run.

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The overall victory of the Loro Piana Giraglia 2024, awarded to the IRC overall classification that had the most entries, goes to Didier Gaudoux’s MN35 Lann Ael., boat conducted in doubles, in front of two JPK, 1180 Talemaque 2 Emmanuel Santelli and 1080 Callisto by Arnaud Vuillein, also in doubles. All three boats from France, the first Italian in the ranking is Gianni Di Vincenzo’s Ker 46 Lisa R, sixth, and long in contention for the podium.

In general, the smaller boats also suffered less from a windless depression center on the way to Genoa, which slowed the outriders down more than the rest of the fleet. And that is also why Black Jack missed the record by a whisker.

NM 35 – What a boat it is

A Manuard-Nivelt design, the NM 35 is a one-off boat, just under 11 meters long, with a semi-show bow, specifically designed to be driven in doubles, with a hull typical of load-bearing, wide-edged gaits. In the conditions of the Loro Piana Giraglia 2024, he found the ideal situation to perform at his best by racing immediately after much larger boats. Also worth noting is the great test of seamanship, for leading the boat in doubles in very tough conditions, a valuable sporting and technical achievement.

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