GENOA, ITALY - Vasco Vascotto and his team from the Circulo della Vela Muggia are the 1999 J/24 World Champions.
The day only produced enough wind to hold one race which ensured that Vasco and crew could not lose as their worst result was a 5th and this kept them on lower points than the next team of Lorenzo Bressani who came second overall.
It was again an early start for the fleet as the race committee tried to hold as many races as possible, but the wind was not forthcoming. The first attempt for a race was held in a northerly that had to be abandoned after one lap when the wind disappeared and then filled in from the south.
When the course was reset there was several abortive attempts at starts with shifting winds & a general recall. The fleet finally went away successfully under the first black flag of the regatta where 10 boats were called out of the fleet at the windward mark.
At the end of a very light wind race Flavio Flavini continued the Italian domination of the top spot with his first win of the regatta to bring him up to sixth overall. Andrea Ribolli was second and Tim Healy was third to give top non-Italian sailor in 3rd overall.
While the wind was not always playing the game every day the race committee set excellent courses and made the most of the conditions. The Yacht Club Italiano were very hospitable to the very international fleet and the pasta and beer provided ashore were appreciated by all.
Complete Results may be found online at Italian J/24 Class Association.
More Information:
Yacht Club Italiano
Worlds Results / Italian J/24 Class Association
Daily press releases / results
J/24 International Class Website
Overall Results (6 races, 1 discard): 1st ITA 456 Vasco Vascotto 13pts 2nd ITA 428 Lorenzo Bressani 18pts 3rd USA 5208 Tim Healy 27pts 4th ARG 4677 Juan Grimaldi 28pts 5th ITA 444 Roberto Martinez 32pts 6th ITA 453 Flavio Flavini 37pts
With cold air and warm water and Genoa in the centre of a localised low pressure system chances of sailing today were limited. Nonetheless the 77 crews at the 1999 J/24 World Championships were sent out for a 10am start to the West of the port. The gradient breeze soon died and the committee were forced to raise the AP and wait for the wind to settle in a stable direction. Soon they decided to move the fleet to the Eastern course area as a scout boat had found a more stable breeze here - this was gone by the time the fleet arrived.
After much waiting, mark laying, practice beats, sleeping & speculation the committee finally postponed racing at 4pm. Instantly the outboard motors were on and all the boats headed for the marina to be first in the queue for the pasta and beer provided by the Yacht Club Italiano.
Complete Results may be found online at Italian J/24 Class Association.
More Information:
Yacht Club Italiano
Worlds Results / Italian J/24 Class Association
Daily press releases / results
J/24 International Class Website
Results after 5 races (1 discard): 1st ITA-456 Vasco Vascotto 8pts 2nd ITA-428 Lorenzo Bressani 13pts 3rd ARG-4677 Juan Grimaldi 23pts 4th ITA-444 Roberto Martinez 24pts 5th USA-5208 Tim Healy 24pts 6th ITA-440 Gianfranco Noe 29pts
GENOA, ITALY - An early start, three races and a shifty wind make for many tired sailors after the third day of racing at the 1999 J/24 World Championships.
The committee chose to race in the Western side of the bay of Genoa which provided a generally more constant breeze over the course with the odd big shift under the shore at the windward mark.
With the northerly wind now established for 3 days the air temperature had dropped considerably. This provided the opportunity to catch up with the schedule of racing as the land could not warm and facilitate a sea breeeze. This resulted in a healthy 15-18 knot breeze throughout the day.
Man of the moment Vasco Vascotto took his second win of the series in the first race. Banking hard right on the beats and displaying some awesome boat speed the Italian boat went on to take a comfortable win. 100 yards behind with their best result of the regatta so far were the Canadian team of David Ogden, with a clean start and some good use of the shifts they worked up from tenth at the first windward mark into the runner-up spot. Putting together a consistent series Tim Healy came third.
The second race went underway at the second attempt after a general recall. The wind at this point was at the highest that it reached throughout the day and some of the crews decided on using their jibs. Still undecided as to which side of the course was paying upwind their was a big split between the left and right sides of the course though few took the central line. Roberto Martinez in ITA-444 who had been consistently in the top ten up until this race took the with another Italian, Lorenzo Bressani second and the Japanese team of Akira Iwade taking their second podium finish of the event in third.
The gradient breeze held through enabling a third race for the day. This again saw an over eager fleet cause a general recall, but the race did get away on the second attempt. The fleet polarised to either side of the course upwind again with places gained and lost. Luigi Ravioli continued the Italian domination of the top spot in ITA-434.
Once ashore crews enjoyed the pasta and beer provided by the Yacht Club Italiano and then readied themselves for the World Championship Dinner.
Complete Results may be found online at Italian J/24 Class Association.
More Information:
Yacht Club Italiano
Worlds Results / Italian J/24 Class Association
Daily press releases / results
J/24 International Class Website
Results after 5 races (1 discard): 1st ITA-456 Vasco Vascotto 8pts 2nd ITA-428 Lorenzo Bressani 13pts 3rd ARG-4677 Juan Grimaldi 23pts 4th ITA-444 Roberto Martinez 24pts 5th USA-5208 Tim Healy 24pts 6th ITA-440 Gianfranco Noe 29pts
GENOA, ITALY - After a stormy night, a light to moderate northerly breeze greeted the fleet as they left the marina outside the Yacht Club Italiano for the scheduled two races.
The race officer once again set a course towards the Genoa coastline with a windward mark close to the shore. During the start sequence the wind increased to gusting above 20 knots. This caused the majority of the fleet to change from the genoa they had set to a jib at very short notice.
Before the start sequence the line looked square but it was soon apparent that the boats at the pin end were gaining an advantage. Several boats were caught over the line and scored OCS. At both ends of the line incidents went to the protest room as the top class fleet jostled to gain the best advantage at the start.
Two boats that decided against changing to the jib were US sailor Tim Healy and Italian Vasco Vascotto - these teams held the extra power and fought for the lead up the first beat. Once again the wind was very shifty as the wind came down from the Ligurian Alps, a delicate balance was needed to gain advantage from these between taking the lifts and not tacking too often.
Down the run the wind came down in bands with large packs of boats moving forward against the rest as the wind reached them. The leeward gate again seemed to have little bias on it and opinion was divided as to which of these marks to take.
The next lap saw more of the same except that on the last run the wind began to decrease. This prompted some of the crews to change back from the jib to the genoa. This wind decreased throughout the last windward leg to the finish and those with the genoa up gained some final places. Vasco Vascotto held off the challenge of Tim Healy to win the race.
The wind at this stage was obviously decreasing as the sea breeze began to fight the prevailing northerly. By 1.30pm there were only small patches of breeze and everyone set about adjusting their rigs to their light wind settings.
The race committee patiently waited for the wind to settle but to no avail as neither the prevailing wind or the sea breeze could take a hold. At 4 o'clock they called it a day and postponed the race until Wednesday. To try and keep to the scheduled nine races the start has been brought forward to an hour earlier tomorrow.
Complete Results may be found online at Italian J/24 Class Association.
More Information:
Yacht Club Italiano
Worlds Results / Italian J/24 Class Association
Daily press releases / results
J/24 International Class Website
Results, Race 2: Pos Sail No Skipper --------------------------------- 1st ITA 456 Vasco Vascotto 2nd USA 5208 Tim Healy 3rd ITA 194 Serguei Chevstov 4th ARG 4677 Juan Grimaldi 5th CHI 5223 Alberto Gonzales Mas
Results, After 2 Races: Pos Sail No Skipper --------------------------------- 1st ITA 456 Vasco Vascotto 2nd CHI 5223 Alberto Gonzales Mas 3rd USA 5208 Tim Healy
GENOA, ITALY - Monday morning was anything but another day in the office as the top J/24 sailors in the world set out for the first race of the 1999 World Championships in weather more akin to mid-summer than October.
The race was set underway in a moderate NNW breeze which provided a very gusty and shifty first beat up towards the Genoa coastline. With the full fleet of 77 boats racing and a virtually square line, choosing which end to start became a commitment before the sequence due to the length between the two committee boats.
On the first beat the boats that played the shifting wind well held the lead which tended towards the left hand side but, as the mountains above Genoa took more of an effect, the right hand side boats on Starboard further inshore were lifted to round the mark first.
Again, the shifts and gusts had a major role on the run with the landside favoured as the wind rolling off the mountains reached those on that side first.
The second beat saw some major changes as the breeze began to faulter. The wind moved towards the left at first making it look like the windward mark could be layed in one but soon shifted back. All the way up the course their were patches of very light winds interspersed with gusty bands of breeze. This caused some major positional changes and very difficult decisions about which windshifts to take across on Starboard.
The shore side again paid on the second run with boats undecided at the leeward gate as to which mark to take. Most boats which went around the Starboard mark tacked over soon afterwards onto the favoured port tack. With the wind dropping all the time all the crews were aiming for the pockets of breeze still falling from the hillside. Those that were lucky enough to find these moved up to make some final gains before the finish.
The home nation dominated with six teams in the first ten. The team to make the best of the conditions were Lorenzo Bressani and crew followed by Vasco Vascotto and Japan's Akira Iwade in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Results, Race 1: Pos Sail No Skipper --------------------------------- 1st ITA 428 Lorenzo Bressani 2nd ITA 456 Vasco Vascotto 3rd JPN 5019 Akira Iwade 4th CHI 5223 Alberto Gonzales Mas 5th ITA 444 Roberto Martinez 6th ITA 233 Andrea Ribolli
More Information:
Yacht Club Italiano
Worlds Results / Italian J/24 Class Association
Daily press releases / results
J/24 International Class Website