Cape 31 Med Circuit Round 5 at Porto Maurizo Yacht Club, Imperia, Italy
by Cape 31 Class 19 Jun 06:55 PDT
14-16 June 2024
Over the weekend, the beautiful coastal town of Imperia hosted Round Five of the Cape 31 Race Circuit in the Med June 14th to 16th.
Over the course of three days, the regatta featured a series of nine awesome races with crews navigating the challenging yet picturesque race area in the Ligurian Sea. The race committee was led impeccably by Fulvio Parodi, with Jury President Marco Cimarosti and the Yacht Club Porto Maurizo.
Visiting for the first time, Imperia did not disappoint - the teams enjoyed a 'perfect' 20 knot day on the first day of the regatta, mixed conditions from 20 knots dropping throughout the races on Saturday and a lighter 8-10 knot day on Sunday. This alongside the quaint bars and restaurants, Imperia made for the perfect venue for the class.
Catalin Trandafir's Essentia nailed this first day of the regatta with a 2,1,1 leading into Day 2, but Shotgunn followed that with an epic three bullet day on Saturday. Sunday's winners were Matteo Marenghi Vaselli and team on Squirt with 1,1,3 - not bad for their first ever regatta in the Cape 31. Dutch team Motions took the win in the final race giving us four different race winners throughout the regatta.
It was Michael Wilson's Shotgunn who came out on top with second and third positions settle on count back between Essentia and Squirt. A close regatta for the fifth round of the season. Meerblick emerged as the first Corinthian team skippered by Gaby and Otto Pohlmann.
Michael Wilson said, "The circuit so far has been great and we've loved racing in so many places. Imperia has been a highlight, I think you'll all agree the conditions could not have been better and the race management was some of the best I've ever seen."
The Porto Maurizo Yacht Club were amazing hosts. The teams enjoyed an amazing meal at La Laterna Blu on Friday evening, with three courses prepared especially for the class. Competitors were also treated to magnums of bubbles and some lovely wine by the Porto Maurizo Yacht Club.
Fulvio Parodi, President of the Porto Maurizo Yacht Club, expressed his satisfaction with the event: "We are proud to have hosted the Cape 31 Class here in Imperia. We look forward to seeing you again in San Remo."
Thank you to our International Class Partners Doyle Sails and Quantum Sails without the support of whom the Circuit in the MED wouldn't be possible.
The next event will be in Sanremo in 12-14th July before the whole European fleet descend on Italy for the European Championship in November where over 20 boats are expected to compete for the title.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 35 | Shotgunn | 1 | ‑3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | 57 | Essentia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑5 | 18 |
| 3 | 15 | Squirt | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 38 | Motions | ‑6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 31 |
| 5 | 63 | Black Battalion | 5 | 4 | (DNF) | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | DNC | 37 |
| 6 | 71 | MeerBlick | 4 | (DNF) | DNC | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 43 |