Star Class Honoring the Past, Leading the Future
Viareggio . Thanks to three victories out of the five races held overall in the three days of competition, Enrico Chieffi and Nando Colaninno (SVViareggina, 5 points, 1,ufd, 2,1,1) won the LIX Trofeo Internazionale Emilio Benetti Historic Event ISCYRA -International Star Class Yacht Racing Association-.
For the managing director of Slam this is the sixth success at the Benetti Trophy: an absolute record in the history of the event which this year saw twenty titled Star Class crews descend into the waters of Viareggio, surrounded by the evocative setting of the Apuan Alps.
On the podium -ex aequo at 9 points- also Giampiero Poggi (winner of 5 editions) with Davide Mugnaini (AVBracciano; 4,1,1,3,4) and Vincenzo Locatelli (present at 40 editions, won 4 times) with Alessandro Sodano (LNI Mandello del Lario; 2,2,3,9,2).
During the awards ceremony held in the halls of the Versilia Nautical Club, the SVV President Paolo Insom, the CNV Secretary and Sports Director Muzio Scacciati, Alfredo Giacon, Italian writer, sailor and navigator of the YCCA, and the Star Class Assistant Silvio Dell' Innocenti also awarded the absolute fourth and fifth classified - respectively the Argentine designer Juan Kouyoumndjian with Fernando Rivero (YCA; 13 points; 5,3,12,2,3) and the Neapolitan designer Alberto Simeone with Fulvio De Simone (Cd Remo and della Vela Italia; 22 points; 8,6,4,7,5) -, the winners of the day (Chieffi-Colaninno and Poggi-Mugnaini), the first Master helmsman (Juan Kouyoumndjian), the first Grand Master (Enrico Chieffi) and the first Exalted (Carlo Buzzi Lni Mandello dL).
The hosts Antonio Balderi and Amerigo Anguillesi, on the other hand, went to the Andrea Bandoni 2023 Trophy.
At the historic appointment well organized by the Viareggina Sailing Company, the Versilia Nautical Club and the Cortina d'Ampezzo Yacht Club, in collaboration with the Versiliesi Sailing Clubs Committee, the Viareggio section LNI, the CV Torre del Lago Puccini, the assistance of the Port Authority of Viareggio and the support of Telemar Yachting Italy-, as every year prominent names of national and international sailing of great technical level took part: among them also the multiple champion from Luino Flavio Favini (who, at his debut in Viareggio and penalized by a ufd and an ocs, he finished 8th overall with Nicolas Serravalle), and the legendary Aldo Migliaccio who, after 32 years returned to racing at the Benetti which he had won in '82 (13th overall in crew with Antonio Rutoli).
“Three days of important and very technical regattas, with beautiful departures and variable wind conditions: the two races on Friday were characterized by a light, decreasing wind, the two on Saturday by wind which, after the storm in the late morning, it turned a bit, while the final regatta held on Sunday took place with the sun and the wind spreading.- Commented the President of the Race Committee, Gabriella Gabbrielli assisted by Carlo Tessi while the CdProteste was chaired by Riccardo Savorani with Jacopo Morelli -The Class Star is always the Star Class… beautiful boats, all very good, congratulations!”
The Viareggina Sailing Company and the Versilia Nautical Club, recalling the next two appointments in Viareggio reserved for the Star Class - the District Championship scheduled from 21st to 23rd July and the Italian Championship from 1st to 3rd September - have renewed their offer to rowers to leave the boat in Viareggio, also in view of the Star World Championship scheduled from 16 to 24 September at the Marina di Scarlino.
