World 12 Metre Tonnage International: Kookaburra wins with Bertelli’s Dream Team

Patrizio Bertelli is not only the man of Luna Rossa’s ultra-modern and technological challenges, he is also a great lover of racing boats(HERE we told you about his collection), those of yesteryear, which have made America’s Cup history, such as the 12 Metre International Tonnage that just finished the World Cup class in Porquerolles. And Patrizio Bertelli, with a stellar crew and his Kookaburra II the 12-Meter World Championship also won it.

World 12 Meters – Patrizio Bertelli is there

After leading all six rounds of the championship held in Porquerolles June 17-23, the 12 Meters Kokaburra II (KA-12) won the World Championship in the Group 1 Grand Prix.

The boat, owned by Patrizio Bertelli, stood out against other famous hulls that have made America’s Cup history, such as France I, French Kiss, Crusader, South Australia, Kookaburra III and Kiwi Magic.

The second of the three “Kookas” designed by John Swarbrick for the 1987 Cup edition, the 12 Meters sported an outstanding crew, which included multiple Olympic medalists Torben Grael (at the helm) and Santiago Lange (at tactician).

Kokaburra II raced flawlessly all week, contesting hard-fought match races with Kiwi Magic and Kookaburra III, and managed to keep ahead of the fleet at all times, making the most of difficult weather conditions. The passage of several fronts, in fact, involved alternating bonfires and sustained winds, which made the work of the cockpit and tacticians very complex.

Giulio Giovanella, team manager of Kookaburra II, commented on the victory this way, “The crew was outstanding, starting with Torben Grael and Santi Lange who didn’t let even a wind shift slip through their fingers, but in general everyone did great. A heartfelt thank you goes to Patrizio Bertelli who, once again, allowed us all to race together putting us in a position to have a perfect boat to achieve this important result.”

Having closed the Porquerolle World Championship, which the 12-Meter Class organized excellently, managing to race 7 Grand Prix hulls together, the next event will be in Barcelona for the 17th Puig Vela Clàssica Regatta (Sept. 4-7), where the “old ladies” will race in the same waters as the new America’s Cup Generation Z.

12 Metre International Tonnage – A Cult Class

This is the Cup’s longest-lived class of boats, the 12 Meters in fact, actually between 19 and 20 meters long, were used from 1956 until the 1987 edition (also Azzurra so ed.), then in 1992 the IACCs made their debut, of which Il Moro and Luna Rossa were part.

The class actually originated long before the time they were used for the Cup, as early as the early 1900s, and they were also used for the 1908 London Olympic Games. Today there are about 20 in operation, enlivening a class where often racing at world championships or dedicated rallies are the best of yesterday’s and today’s Cup sailors who continue to compete in these boats.