2017 Melges 40 Grand Prix Gets Underway, Hosted by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda
A world premiere event - the brand new Melges 40 takes to the stunning cerulean waters of Porto Cervo racing for the very first time
Porto Cervo, 15th June 2017. The Melges 40 - the largest and most powerful keelboat ever produced by Melges Performance Sailboats will debut in Porto Cervo, Italy at the 2017 Melges 40 Grand Prix starting tomorrow.
As event organizer, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) will baptize the field of competitors racing the new 40-foot carbon, canting keel sailboat designed by Botin Partners.
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Designed to race with maximum performance, everyone is quite curious and excited to check out the numbers produced by the Melges 40. Its initial performances in Dubai over the past few months, show speeds very similar to that of a TP52. For the first 2017 event and the only one to be held in Italy, there are four teams in Porto Cervo. Additional Melges 40s will be launched in the coming months. Alessandro Rombelli's STIG (Melges 32 and Melges 20 World Champion), Richard Goransson on INGA (2016 Melges 32 Series Champion), Valentin Zavadnikov's SYNERGY GT (2014 Audi Sailing Series), and Hannes Waimer at the helm of NIGHTSHIFT from Dubai are the protagonists of the Melges 40 Grand Prix. The current onboard configuration is a crew of nine, including the helm/owner. Tactics will be entrusted to Olympic Gold Medallist Jordi Calafat on STIG, multi-champion Vasco Vascotto for INGA, America's Cup winner Ed Baird on SYNERGY GT, and former Volvo Ocean Race sailor Gordon Maguire for NIGHTSHIFT. The first warning signal commences at 12.00 noon tomorrow with a forecast of medium to light winds. The event concludes on Saturday, with a prize-giving ceremony at Piazza Azzurra at 18.00. |
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See all the daily news, photos, results and official documents from the regattas on our website and via social media using #yccs #yccs50. Contacts: YCCS |