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Porto Cervo, 15 May 2025. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's international regatta season kicked off this morning with the RC44 Porto Cervo Cup. This second leg of the circuit saw 11 teams take to the starting line aboard one-design RC44 boats.

The hot topic on the dock this morning was, of course, the announcement of Naples as host venue for the next America's Cup, especially since many of the sailors taking part are top names in America's Cup sailing – Francesco “Checco” Bruni, co-helmsman of Luna Rossa in the past two editions, being just one notable example

The day's racing got underway on schedule at 12 noon CEST, with a breeze of 8-9 knots from the north-east, which would subsequently turn lighter. The Race Committee, headed by PRO Maria Torrijo, got two races in, but were unable to manage a third as the breeze dropped further. The light and unstable airs made for complex tactical work, and almost all the teams had alternating results.

In the first race it was the Swiss team on Black Star, with tactician Cameron Dunn, who took the lead right from the first windward mark, which they rounded in a duel with Artemis, before stretching ahead of the Swedish boat, with Hamish Pepper on tactics, on the first run. Artemis never eased up, making up ground on the right side of the course and crossing the finish line just seconds behind Black Star. The rest of the fleet were somewhat further back, with Team Aqua finishing in third, Team Nika in fourth, after looking strong in the early stages of the race, and an excellent fifth-place finish for newcomer Gemera.

The second race saw the breeze drop to around 6 knots, with patchy areas of pressure that were difficult to read. From the starting line, the fleet split evenly to the right and left sides of the course, with the latter paying off at the first windward mark, where Team Nika rounded first ahead of Aleph Racing and Gemera. The teams that had chosen the right, including Black Star and Artemis, found themselves playing catch-up. Aleph Racing, with Michele Ivaldi on tactics, pulled out all the stops on the second windward leg, sailing to the right and stretching clear of the entire fleet to win the race comfortably ahead of Ceeref Vaider and Team Nika. The light and shifty conditions also led to reshuffles further back in the fleet. 

Points are close after two races, with Hugues Lepic's French team Aleph Racing and Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika from Monaco sitting at the top on 7 points. Christian Zuerrer's Black Star Sailing Team and Chris Bake's Team Aqua both sit just one point behind. They are followed, in order, by Gemera, Artemis Racing and Team Ceeref Vaider - each separated by just one point.

Michele Ivaldi, tactician on Aleph Racing: “It was a very difficult day, because in these light conditions it’s easy to catch an unfavourable shift. I’d like to underline that the RC44s are agile even in light airs - we were sailing at over 7 knots upwind. In the first race we gained a lot of ground in the first part of the upwind leg, then a big shift went against us, we rounded the mark in sixth and stayed there for the entire race. In the second race we did our best to get into first place and get ahead of Nika. We rounded the first windward mark in second, at the leeward gate we were virtually level, but the right side paid off and we managed to gain a significant lead right to the finish. The pressure made all the difference, we probably had a knot and a half more, and that was crucial.”

Checco Bruni, tactician on Gemera: “This first day went very well, the feeling was good yesterday during the practice race as well. Today we had two races with good results, a fifth and a fourth place, definitely positive for the debut of the very young Markus at the helm. He did very well, great concentration and determination, so all very positive.”

Bruni was pleased about the big sailing news of the day on the next edition of the America's Cup being held in Naples: “It was a nice surprise for everyone, including me. It’s definitely a good thing for the whole of Italy. I’m very happy.”

Racing resumes tomorrow, 16 May, from 12 noon CEST, with forecasts of northerly winds in excess of 20 knots.

The event is organised by the YCCS in collaboration with the RC44 Class, with the support of the YCCS technical partner North Sails.

For further information, results, official documents, programme and photos please visit the YCCS website.

Contacts

YCCS Press Office

Marialisa Panu/Giuliano Luzzatto

Tel. +39 345 7938513 - +39 348 5966160

pressoffice@yccs.it 

www.yccs.com