International Mediterranean Championship, three Italian women owners dominate

Let’s start with the basics, for those who may not know: what is the International Mediterranean Championship? Quite simply, one of the most important racing cycles our side of the sea has to offer; an entire season spent between Spain, France, Monaco and Italy in a succession of trials and events in which the most beautiful and important vintage and classic boats participate. There are five classes: Big Boat, Auriche, Epoca Marconi, Classic Marconi and Classic IOR. Now for the hard facts, the news that people like to hear and that bodes well for the future of sailing: 3 out of 5 categories were won by Italian female owners. And there is more, because a good part of the crews is also under 30… all very encouraging data about the directions that (finally) Italian sailing is reaching. After the victory of the “young” Italian teams in the America’s Cup (Youth and Women’s), here, then, are the female owners and boats that instead dominated the 2024 Mediterranean International Championship.

Three female owners dominate the International Mediterranean Championship

Organized and run under the supervision of the CIM(Comité International de la Méditerranée), the 2024 International Mediterranean Championship officially ended with the XIX Raduno Vele Storiche Viareggio, an occasion when the rankings and, consequently, the victories by classes were made official. To dominate, precisely, the three Italian women owners: Alessandra Angelini with Marga (Auriche), Ariella Cattai with Crivizza (Classic Marconi) and Susan Holland with Ojalà II (Classic IOR). A not insignificant result and achieved after a non-trivial series of trials, distributed, in this 2024 season, among Antibes,Argentario Sailing Week, Naples-Ischia, the Balearic Islands Classic, the Copa del Rey in Mahon, the Piug Clasica in Barcelona, the Vele d’Epoca in Imperia, the Regate Royales in Cannes and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, before, of course, the grand finale in Viareggio.

International Mediterranean Championship – The Winners

Let us proceed in order. Dominating in the Auric Category was Alessandra Angelini, aerospace engineer and wine producer (from four different wineries) and, of course, owner of Marga, which you may have already read about(HERE) for her domination in the Epoch A class at the Vele d’Epoca di Imperia, where she also won the elegance award.

Auric Cutter of 1910, designed by C.O. Liljegren, Marga is an exceptional hull, 17.28 meters of sailing history, a combination of passion, shipbuilding excellence and success on the water. With her performance this year, she marked another landmark in her more than 100-year history, leaving behind Chinook and Olympian, respectively, on the next steps of the podium.

On the other side, however, dominating in the Classic Marconi category was another regular in the Classic Boat column, the Bermudian sloop Crivizza, by CERN nuclear physicist Ariella Cattai, who, despite her enforced absence at two of the last events, was still able to dominate the class, also winning the Tirrenia Challenge, a prize intended for the hull that, in 2024, traveled the most miles to reach all the championship race courses: more than 3,000, in this case.

Designed by Alan Buchanan and built by the Apollonio shipyard in Trieste, 11.67 meters long, Crivizza is a 1966 RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) Class II, a classic hull like few others, with her important soaring lines and narrow, very elegant stern. But, above all, she is a little missile, as, once again, she wants to prove to us(HERE find Crivizza’s story).

Closing the line, but absolutely tied with the above, is entrepreneur Susan Holland, owner of another icon of homegrown sailing, Ojalà II, this year’s 2024 Classic IOR champion, as well as, since time immemorial, Holland’s family boat.

Designed by none other than Olin Stephens in 1973, Ojalà II is in fact a classic 1970s aluminum sloop, an 11.54-meter born to win in IOR when, these, were still in their infancy. Qualities that, 50+ years after her birth, she still does not lose, dominating this year over other not unfamiliar hulls, including Sagittarius and Matrero, immediately behind her on the podium.

Overall, splendid boats aside, with this 2024 Mediterranean International Championship a path is outlined that bodes well for the future of sailing, and not only for women’s sailing and its growing presence, but for the spirit of sailing in general. Issues that are still far from being resolved but find a good sign here, as does the growing presence of young people even in the Vintage circuits, where figures from the most diverse fields, including professional ones, are finally converging.