In a couple of weeks, many international crews from all over Europe will be dropping anchor at the Yacht Club de Monaco for Act 1 of the 12th Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series (7-10 November).
With winds nudging 30 knots, autumnal conditions were the order of the first day of the 41st Trophée Grimaldi which did not dampen the enthusiasm of the 50 contesting boats that managed to complete two of the event’s races, those between Sanremo and Ventimiglia.
The result was two very exciting races, the first departing Sanremo to Ventimiglia, with Yacht Club de Monaco members topping the table. Argynne III took the lead in the Classic and IRC categories finishing the race in 2 hours 10 minutes 21 seconds. Hard on her stern, Andrea Statari’s Gorilla Gang XL, entered in the IRC and ORC categories, finished 3rd for this race with Loïc Pompée on Le Joy also competing. His crew of young sailors from YCM’s Sports Section supervised by Thierry Leret benefited enormously from a weekend of racing against the best during these coastal races.
Yacht Club de Monaco’s flagship Tuiga came 6th for this first race to ultimately rank 9th in IRC and 5th in the Classic category overall.
After a memorable crew party at Yacht Club de Monaco, sailors lined up for the second stage, a race back to Sanremo from Ventimiglia.
At the end of this second stage it was Suspiria The Revenge (YCPS) who claimed overall victory by accumulating the fewest points over the two races to be on the podium’s top step in IRC and ORC.
In the Classic category, Argynne III demonstrated that neither size nor sail area count when it comes to a determined crew and came 2nd in the overall ranking in IRC. Finally, Andrea Statari’s Gorilla Gang XL pulled off a solid 3rd place in ORC 1 and 5th in IRC, rounding off a memorable weekend for YCM.
