Melges 32 World League 2020 Event 1 at Villasimius, Sardinia - Overall
by Melges World League 24 Aug 2020 20:08 BST
22-24 August 2020
Melges 32 World League in Villasimius, Sardinia prize giving © MWL / Felix Diemer
Another day of strong Mistral winds closed the curtain on the first stage of the Melges 32 World League which, after the seasonal debut with the warm up in Malcesine in July, saw the fleet engaged in the first series of regattas drawing up the season's rankings.
With conditions that during the weekend varied from a light thermal breeze to an intense Mistral, La Pericolosa helmed by Christian Schwoerer, reigning world champion, confirmed to be the boat to beat for the 2020 season.
La Pericolosa scored the bullet today in the only race disputed, the pace of which was dictated by the Mistral, with peaks at 25 knots. Schwoerer's crew was followed, on the finish line, by Homanit, winner of the event in the Corinthian category and protagonist of an excellent performance in today's race, and by G-Spot of Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio.
At the end of the series of six regattas (and one discard) disputed in Villasimius, the ranking is more compact than ever: La Pericolosa, gold medal, is in fact followed with a single point of disadvantage by Caipirinha by Martin Reintjes, and by G -Spot by Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio, in turn one point late.
Christian Schwoerer, owner of La Pericolosa, commented: "It is nice to be back racing for the Melges World League and immediately hit a victory, demonstrating that, despite the months of forced distance from sailing, on board the synergies continue to run well, just like in Valencia, where in 2019 we put the seal on the World title. From Wednesday we have the task of defending this very important title, we will do our best to bring the cup home".
The aforementioned Homanit closes the event in fourth place overall and first among the Corinthians, followed on the podium of the division dedicated to non-professionals by the German new entry Heat of Max Augustin and Startelekom of Waldemar Salata.
The seasonal debut highlighted a very homogeneous and competitive Melges 32 fleet: with the race course of Villasimius regatta course continuing to fascinate for its spectacular conditions, an exciting World Championship is expected, starting Wednesday 25 August.
Melges Europe and Melges World League thank all the partners of the 2020 edition: Helly Hansen, Quantum Sails, North Sails, Garmin Marine, Rocket Performance, Rigoni di Asiago, Azienda Agricola il Ponte, Revi Trento Doc, Loison Pasticceri dal 1938, Dai Dai, Le Formiche di Fabio Vettori, La Thuile, boutique hotel Rifugio Azul (Minorca) and Rifugio hotel Lilla (La Thuile), Cedea, Equilibra, Sabatini Gin, Free Ride Cosmetics e One Ocean; moreover, we thank for the contribution the Team Partners UYN Sports.
Melges Europe and Melges World League support the message of One Ocean Foundation having signed Charta Smeralda.
More information, including full results, can be found here.