Rome for all, for two, for one: early verdicts, and weather scenarios, of a tough regatta

Tough, very tough Rome for all, for two and for one, a regatta that as per tradition does not disappoint and also this year reserved very tough conditions for the fleet. Over 50 boats started from Riva di Traiano, divided into the category for all, for two, for one, in the reduced version Riva per, and also reserved for the Mini 650 class. The course in the extended version is over 540 miles, with the natural buoy of Lipari to be rounded before returning to Riva. Halved in the “Riva per” version, which uses Ventotene as a buoy instead. Originally planned in the extended version also for Mini 650s, but as we will tell you later shortened due to harsh weather conditions.

There was no shortage of retirements, somewhat in all classes, but there was also evidence of great seamanship and boat handling in very tough conditions, with a lot of upwind to be done in strong winds and hard seas.

Two trials out of all to note, that of Peppe Fornich’s Farr 45 Sagola Spartivento, winner in real time of the Roma per Tutti, and almost certain winner in IRC and ORC as well; and Carlo d’Amelio ‘s Pogo 50 Fast Light , co-skipper Italo Folonari, who, sailing with crew in doubles, in the shortened version of the Riva per regatta (with buoy to Ventotene and back) won the line honors by overtaking even the crewed boats. In the Roma x1 victory for the Figaro 2 Tintorel led by Michel Cohen, in the Riva X1 great performance by Guido Cantini, the only lone starter who completed the race with his Vancouver 34.

In the Riva x Tutti victory in IRC for the Elena S5 Nimbus 2000, in ORC for the First 40.7 Anemos, while the line of honor was taken by the First 45 Jolie.

Among the Mini 650s, which ran the race in doubles, France’s Emma le Clech paired with Pierre Daniellot won among the Prototypes and was the first boat to reach the finish line.

Among the Series, success went to Anywave Ocean by Matteo Bandiera and Federico Theill.

Rome for, weather scenarios and decisions to be made

Rome has never been a historically easy regatta. Many will remember the tragic 2004 edition, and in general it has never been an easy test for crews. The weather in spring is far from stable, in fact there is still no anticyclone in the Mediterranean and depressions, as in these days, can pass very quickly and abruptly. For this reason, for some editions now, the regatta has relied on the weather coach Gianni Bianchini, whom we got to know during our “Trial of the Vendée Globe”, and who plays the role of weather advisor, with the task of analyzing all weather aspects of the regatta and ultimately making decisions regarding any course reductions, which are then made official by the committee.

Gianni told us how this edition was not easy from the point of view of decisions to be made, explaining what were the dynamics that had to take into account a fleet as varied as ever, where there were fast and pulled boats such as the Pogo 50 or the Farr 45, but also the Mini 650s, which are small, without engines, and which by class rules do not have charting gps on board nor cell phones.

“The responsibility lies with the skipper as to whether or not to take part in the regatta, but the weather advisor must provide the correct and necessary information regarding the coming scenarios, as well as also take the responsibility, and moral sensitivity, to decide whether the weather conditions could become prohibitive and dangerous for part of the fleet. The scenario on the eve of the race was looking absolutely chaotic, with discordant models among them, the European and American ones kept pointing to a really difficult scenario. In fact, being a regatta that lasts up to 5-6 days for some boats, it is a very complex test to analyze in the pre-start briefing, because we are talking about a long-term forecast, so with moderate reliability.

However, there were elements that made it clear that something important was coming. A scenario emerged that for the final part of the regatta, especially for the Mini 650s, portended a strong wind blowing first from the southeast and then from the southwest, with the risk of a very challenging return to port, 3.5-4 meters of wave and even over 40 knots of wind. Conditions that those who do such a regatta must be able to cope with, but in the scenario of returning to port in Riva they could become very dangerous, especially so for the Mini 650s that have no engine and therefore need assistance. Hence the decision to shorten the course, but only for the Minis, a decision that had to be made by the Ventotene Gate, the last opportunity to do so. The Minis therefore turned a waypoint positioned about 100 miles south of Ventotene, about 50 miles north of Lipari, the natural buoy of the original course. The critical issue was for the Mini 650s, which we expected to arrive more slowly toward Riva di Traiano, not the first of the fleet, who would face conditions at that point that with the coast nearby could be dangerous.

The windward leg in general for all boats, especially for the Roma per Tutti that made it all the way to Lipari, was intense, with winds between 20 and 30 knots, 35 gusting around Lipari, long, hard, and with formed seas but not impossible. However, there were no objective conditions for a shortening of the course for the rest of the fleet, not least because the return to Riva was expected to be very fast, all to the headlands, with all boats arriving in port, as is happening, before conditions deteriorated further.

Edited by Mauro Giuffrè