Next up is Act III of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series scheduled for 6-9 February 2025. With the rankings still close, the stakes and suspense level are high. Who will succeed in maintaining their lead or causing an upset? Answers in 2025!
Sunday 8th December 2024. Act II of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series produced a lovely weekend of racing in Monaco bay. Variable conditions saw the 30 teams of J/70s from seven nations having to combine strategy, precision and flexibility to stay in the game, but one thing is for certain they were set on widening the gap in the rankings.
In a strategy duel, YCM’s Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio at the helm of G-Spot held his own with remarkable consistency. In the end they won three of the five races completed through wise tactics and totally mastery of their local race area.
Behind him, the battle for the podium was intense. While Samuel Poons (Charisma V) clinched a solid 2nd place, Stefano Roberti (Piccinina) grabbed 3rd place after a tightly fought tussle with Moonlight II led by Graeme Peterson, also representing YCM. Indeed, the Yacht Club de Monaco can be proud of this collective performance with six member-run teams in the top ten.
In the Corinthian category (amateurs), the French on Euro-Voiles managed to overtake and make a difference to beat YCM’s Matteo Scandolerau’s Irruenza into 2nd with the Swiss on Rhubarbe coming in 3rd.
While the locals pulled out all the stops, visiting teams have much to be proud of. The Swiss teams came in the first 15 alongside the Italian boats. As for the Hungarians on Rosszcsont they made big progress and show real potential for the next stages of this winter championship. With teams from all over Europe, the circuit continues to provide a tactical challenge and training ground ahead of major events in 2025.
Integration of the Vakaros tracking system again helped both the organisers and contestants to monitor their progress in real time during races and make adjustments. An innovation that is part of Yacht Club de Monaco’s ongoing quest to push the boundaries of technology to improve sailing regattas on every level.
