The first major event of the sailing season will take place as scheduled between Naples and Capri, from 13th to 20th May, with an unprecedented desire to race and on a completely Covid-free island – as confirmed by the administration.

Program

Measurement checks are set to begin in just one month, on 13th and 14th May, before the 66th Regata dei Tre Golfi sets off from the bay of Santa Lucia in Naples at the stroke of midnight on Saturday 15th May, against the backdrop of the sparkling lights of this enchanting Italian city. This year’s edition of the regatta will be valid as the offshore race in the ORC European championship.

The prospect of a further postponement after the 2020 cancellation has therefore been averted, and although competitors will not be able to enjoy the traditional lunch offered by the Circolo Remo e Vela Italia prior to departure, the extraordinary sight and sound of more than 140 boats moored below the Castel dell’Ovo in Naples sounding their sirens to accompany the flag-raising ceremony in honor of the 93 teams (representing 9 nations) doing battle for the title of European Champion 2021, will remain as thrilling a spectacle as ever.

The Tre Golfi regatta is open to multihull, vintage and classic boats as well as double-handed crews, and covers approximately 150 miles from Naples to Ponza, returning to round the Li Galli rocks off Positano, before crossing the finish line in Capri. The fleet will then remain in Capri for the second phase of the European Championship, with three days of coastal racing taking place from Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th May. A total of six races are scheduled, including the offshore race.

“We are very impressed with the responsible manner in which the organizers have coordinated this important championship during these challenging times. With 93 entries, this is the most popular ORC Europeans in the event’s 18-year history. I think this is indicative of everyone’s great desire to get back to competitive sailing” commented Bruno Finzi, President of the Offshore Racing Congress.

A safe island

Alongside the stringent safety protocols put in place by the organizers, the administration of the island of Capri has implemented a rigorous program to safely welcome all participants in the event, which will inaugurate the tourist season in this difficult year. “By the first week of May the entire island will be Covid-free,” declared Marino Lembo, Mayor of Capri “for the week of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week we will create a ‘secure bubble’ around the marina, which will cover the entire Marina Grande area. In addition, thanks to an agreement with the association of hoteliers, all accommodation facilities have implemented a strict safety protocol providing the utmost healthcare assistance.”

Communication

To optimize communication and limit contact between the organizers and skippers, the RCSW will become a paperless regatta. All registrations and communications will take place exclusively via the event website, where participants can use a live chat to contact the organizers.

A weekly newsletter will provide all relevant updates, including those related to the Covid safety protocol.

The first day of mark racing got underway today in ORC European Championship 2021 with a fleet of 62 hulls from 12 different nations taking to the waters off Capri this morning to do battle for the title.

Things got off to a challenging start for the Race Committee, who had to endure a long wait for the weather conditions to stabilise. Finally, at 2 p.m., the starting signal was sounded for the first group with a breeze of around 6 to 8 knots from 235°. First off the line in the starting sequence were the smallest craft, in Group C, who raced on a triangular 5-mile course (upwind-beam reach-downwind), followed by groups A and B, racing on two different windward-leeward courses of approximately 7 miles, positioned in the Bocche di Capri. The first race was then shortened at the end of the second upwind leg due to very light air. At 4:15 p.m. the Race Committee, led by Alfredo Ricci, took advantage of the breeze of 5 to 7 knots, holding steady from 240°, to kick off the second race of the day for all three classes, but the race then had to be cancelled during the first leg.

The win in Race 1 among the bigger boats in Class A went to the Latini 52 Solano, owned by France's Pascal Feryn, in Class B the Swan 42 Fantaghirò owned by Carlandrea Simonelli took the top spot, while in Class C the First 35 Squalo Bianco, owned by Concetto Costa, was victorious.

At 5:11 p.m. as some more stable air of 6 to 8 knots filled in, it was time to start Race 2 again. All three groupings were able to complete the course this time around with victory, at the end of a long day at sea, going to Marco Serafini’s TP52 Xio in Class A, Carlandrea Simonelli’s Swan 42 Fantaghirò in Class B, and Vincenzo De Blasio’s Italia Yachts 11.98 Scugnizza in Class C.

At the end of today's racing, the overall classification for each of the classes is beginning to take shape, with three races in the bag and the championship formally valid given that the Notice of Race requires a minimum of 3 races to be completed, including the offshore competition. Racing in the ORC European Championship continues tomorrow with the starting procedures scheduled to begin at 11:55 a.m.

Complete rankings:

https://www.racingrulesofsailing.org/documents/1730/event

Photos of the day:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1vUPT3A35sApvwnuJZr3DIL8kHLWta0og

This morning the fleet of 62 boats competing in the ORC European Championship took to the racecourse located 4 miles off Capri's Marina Grande. Conditions were somewhat more stable than yesterday, with about 10 to 12 knots of breeze from 180° for the first race of the day. At 11:40 a.m. the Race Committee sounded the starting signal for the smallest boats in Group C, at 11.55 for Class A and at 12 midday for Class B. All three groups were set courses around the cans. For the second race, the committee waited for an expected wind shift, which materialized at around 2 p.m., with the breeze now coming in from 230° and falling below 10 knots. The three groups were then able to get off the starting line for the second race of the day between 2:46 p.m. and 3:06 p.m., with a course adjustment on the last windward leg due to a further shift of about 15° in the breeze.
Like yesterday, today was a long day on the water for the crews as the Race Committee seemed determined to bank 3 more races, commencing the third starting sequence at 5:26 p.m. with a breeze from 290° blowing at 6 to 8 knots. This attempt was eventually abandoned due to constant wind shifts, and at 5:33 p.m. the fleet was sent back to the docks for the day.
The European Championship is always a complex affair in terms of the organisation at sea and ashore which, for an international event of this size, requires more than 50 staff including judges, measurers, mark layers, and support staff.
Taking home the top results in the two races at the end of another long day were:

Race 1
Class A1 Air Is Blue – TP52 – Roberto Monti - ITA
2 Xio – TP52 – Marco Serafini – ITA
3 Fever – Swan 45 - Klaus Diederichs - GBR

Class B
1 Mela – Swan 42 – Andrea Rossi - ITA
2 Bewild – Swan 42 – Renzo Grottesi - ITA
3 Katariina II – Swan 42 – Aivar Tuulberg - EST

Classe C
1 Scugnizza – Italia 11.98 – Vincenzo De Blasio - ITA
2 Sugar 3 – Italia 11.98 – Ott Kikkas - EST
3 Hebe V – M37 – Zdenek Jakoubek - CZE

Regata 2
Classe A
1 Xio – TP52 – Marco Serafini – ITA
2 Air Is Blue – TP52 – Roberto Monti - ITA
3 Freccia Rossa – TP52 – Vadim Yakimenko - ITA

Classe B
1 Mela – Swan 42 – Andrea Rossi - ITA
2 Essentia 44 – GS 44 – Catalin Trandafir – ROM
3 Bewild – Swan 42 – Renzo Grottesi - ITA

Classe C
1 Sugar 3 – Italia 11.98 – Ott Kikkas - EST
2 Scugnizza – Italia 11.98 – Vincenzo De Blasio - ITA
3 Squalo Bianco – First 35 – Concetto Costa - ITA

After 5 races, the overall ranking is as follows:

ClasseA
1 Xio – TP52 – Marco Serafini – ITA
2 Fever – Swan 45 - Klaus Diederichs - GBR
3 Tengher – Swan 45 – Alberto Magnani - ITA

Class B
1 Mela – Swan 42 – Andrea Rossi - ITA
2 Fantaghirò – Swan 42 – Carlandrea Simonelli
3 Essentia 44 – GS 44 – Catalin Trandafir – ROM

Class C
1 Scugnizza – Italia 11.98 – Vincenzo De Blasio - ITA
2 Sugar 3 – Italia 11.98 – Ott Kikkas - EST
3 Topas – Farr 30 – H. Bruening - GER
Tomorrow brings the final day of racing and the assignment of the title of ORC European
Champion 2021 during the prize-giving ceremony at 4 p.m.

Partners
In addition to the title partner Rolex, the Rolex Capri Sailing Week is supported by technical partners Schenker, Slam, Ferrarelle and Coastal.
Organisers

Yacht Club Italiano - Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia - Yacht Club Capri

Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia – Municipality of Capri and Capri Marina

Italian Sailing Federation - International Maxi Association - Offshore Racing Congress

Today marked the final day of racing on the waters of Capri for the boats competing for the title of ORC European Champion 2021. After yesterday's two windward-leewards brought the fleet to a total of five races held, the Race Committee was on the water at 10 this morning to position the course and kick off the closing races of the event. Very light and shifty air, however, meant that racing could not get underway until 1 p.m. when the first start of the day was given in 6-8 knots of breeze from 260°. As the wind filled in to 15 knots, two races were held for groups A and C and one for Group B, thus bringing the total races held to 7 and 6 respectively.

At the conclusion of the ORC European Championship, the overall rankings are as follows:

Class A

1 Xio – TP52 – Marco Serafini – Club Vela Portocivitanova - ITA

2 Fever – Swan 45 - Klaus Diederichs – RORC – C.V. Venezia - GBR

3 Freccia Rossa – TP52 – Vadim Yakimenko – Y.C. Calvi - ITA

Class B

1 Fantaghirò – ClubSwan 42 – Carlandrea Simonelli – C.N. Marina di Carrara - ITA

2 Mela – ClubSwan 42 – Andrea Rossi – C.N. Marina di Carrara - ITA

3 Bewild – ClubSwan 42 – Renzo Grottesi – C.V. Portocivitanova - ITA

Class C

1 Scugnizza – Italia 11.98 – Vincenzo De Blasio – Circolo Canottieri Napoli - ITA

2 Sugar 3 – Italia 11.98 – Ott Kikkas – Yacht Club Tallinn - EST

3 Topas – Farr 30 – H. Bruening – KYC – WYC – RORC - GER

The winners in the Corinthian category for each class also received prizes:

Class A

Tengher – Swan 45 – Alberto Magnani – Yacht Club Italiano - ITA

Class B

Chestress 3 – J122 - Giancarlo Ghislanzoni – Yacht Club Italiano - ITA

Class C

Topas – Farr 30 – H. Bruening - KYC – WYC – RORC - GER

Two special prizes were also awarded: the Trofeo Yacht Club Italiano for the sailing club with the most members on the podium, which went to Club Nautico Marina di Carrara and the Swan Trophy for the best ClubSwan in the largest class by number - Class B - presented to the Clubswan 42 Fantaghirò, owned by Carlandrea Simonelli.

“It was a pleasure to see our waters and our island host an international event of this calibre and in these circumstances" commented the President of the Yacht Club Capri, Achilles D’Avanzo. "Irrespective of the sporting results, which are of course important, I'd like to think that in this long week of sport everyone is a winner: the athletes on the water, the shore staff and all the islanders who have, once again, demonstrated their wonderful hospitality.”

"It was important to have faith right to the end" affirmed Roberto Mottola di Amato, President of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia, "and we managed to organise such an important edition, where the weather helped us a lot, and a lot of work was done to make sure all the participants were safe. We have had 10 days of magnificent racing: from the maxi yachts of the first stage, a windswept 66th Tre Golfi regatta - with its captivating sunset start, and the grand finale with the ORC European Championship. As a sailor, I must also mention our great relief for the crew involved in the accident on Sunday, the boat was lost, but they are all well.”

Jean Dufour, sports director of the Yacht Club Italiano, one of the organisers of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, also spoke of a renewed, deep and ancient bond between Genoa and Naples.

“The organisation of a European Championship, " concluded Bruno Finzi, President of the Offshore Racing Congress "begins with the assignment of the host location two years before the event, and is complex in normal circumstances, and even more so given the difficult months that we have gone through. The Gulf of Naples has a fantastic regatta course, displayed to its fullest during this European championship. If it had not been for the restrictions on travel, we would certainly have had a record number of participants. Last year we had 130 entries and had to cancel for obvious reasons, this year with 62 boats on the water, we can safely say that this regatta marks a return to racing.”

At 6.30 p.m. the prize-giving ceremony for the winners of the European Championship in the 3 classes doing battle for the title was attended by representatives of the organising clubs and the Mayor of Capri, Marino Lembo.

Complete rankings

Photos of the day and prizes here

Partners

In addition to the title partner Rolex, the Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2021 was supported by technical partners  Schenker, Slam and Coastal.

Organisers

Yacht Club Italiano - Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia - Yacht Club Capri

Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia - Municipality of Capri and Capri Marina

Federazione Italiana Vela – International Maxi Association - Offshore Racing Congress

During Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2021 we had the chance to have the amazing Carlo Borlenghi as official photographer of the event.

Here some pics from the races.

Maxi Yacht Capri Trophy 2021

66^ Regata dei Tre Golfi

ORC European Championship 

Here the full album available.