CARPE DIEM J/70 Primo Cup Champion

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The J/70 class in Europe continues to grow in strength and numbers and the enthusiastic participation in the 2016 Primo Cup- Trophy Credit Suisse Regatta, hosted by YC Monaco, was a perfect event for teams to get excellent training for their upcoming summer season.  Forty-five J/70s, nearly twice the size of any other fleet in the event, sailed the event from 12-14 February, it was also Act 4 of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series.

In the three years since it was first included in the Primo Cup, the J/70 class has grown rapidly in the Principality, with 18 boats now racing under the Yacht Club de Monaco flag- now it’s largest one-design class!  Fittingly, it was a local Monegasque team that took class honors- Jacopo Carrain’s CARPE DIEM with crew of two-time Olympian Karlo Hmeljak from Slovenia and two Italians- Martino Tortarolo and Enrico Zennaro.

"They were strenuous days during this regatta.  We had to overcome the challenge and the vagaries of the weather which left little room for error for the top boats,” explained Zennaro. “Saturday was the only favorable time for weather (sun & wind!); we were able to race and compete with a fleet that is much more competitive. It is without a doubt the best way to open a season that will take in the J/70 European Championship in Kiel, Germany and the J/70 World Championship in San Francisco!"

It was also the first time that a Monegasque sailor had topped the rankings in a major international one-design class.  Carrain was overjoyed with the outcome, “I am very happy with this result, particularly given the outstanding turnout!”

On Saturday, the fleet had their work cut out for them.  With a building westerly breeze of 20 kts and enormous seas, it was an amazing spectacle.  The conditions were met with great anticipation by the excited J/70 teams. Sixteen of the 45 boats are from Monaco and without a doubt all were the most eager to do battle with two general recalls on the counter.  After the first day of racing, CARPE DIEM was leading with top Russian sailor Mark Kaganskiy from the Konakovo River Club (Moscow) skippering YANIS into second place.  Third was another YC Monaco member, Stefano Roberti on PICCININA.

After another challenging day of sailing on Sunday, Monaco’s Minister of State, HE Serge Telle, attended the final prize-giving to hand out the trophies to the exhausted sailors. As has been the tradition, the loyal sponsor SLAM presented all crew members in the top three with garments from its Advanced Technology range.  In the end, Carrain’s CARPE DIEM took class honors.  The most surprising performance was the top Russian team on YANIS, with Kaganskiy’s crew thoroughly enjoying their victory celebration— as first Russian team to podium in the International J/70 class in a major event!  Third remained in the hands of Roberti’s PICCININA.

As for the balance of the top five, the German’s took the next two spots with Markus Reger’s XENOPHON from Chiemsee YC in 4th position and James Ahlgrimm’s GRUN SOFTWARE AG from Berliner YC in 5th place.  It is clear the Russian J/70 teams are learning quickly, as sitting in 6th place was also the top women’s skipper in the event, Valeriya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE from Taganrog Sailing Club and her colleagues on MOJO, Dmitrii Zaritkckii, taking 15th place and Alexander Markarov’s MAJIC in 17th place in the fleet of 45 boats— - a dramatic improvement for the Russians since 2015.  Sailing photo credits- Sven Jurgensen/ Germany, Carlo Borlenghi and Olena Ekaterina/ Russia.   For more Primo Cup- Credit Suisse Regatta information


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