In contrast to yesterday’s strong mistral, relatively calm conditions presided over Saint-Tropez today with the Giraglia Rolex Cup race committee announcing a 17.1-nautical mile course that took the competing yachts around the Tourelle de la Rabiou and the Bouée de la Moutte. Today’s race started with 5-7 knots of breeze which gradually increased after the first start at 12.10 CEST.
Today’s winners were: Alegre (GBR) in Group 0 IRC, Cuordileone (ITA) in Group A IRC, Tchin Tchin (FRA) in Group B IRC and Manida (ITA) in Group B ORC.
It was a particularly good day for Andres Soriano’s Alegre, the first boat to cross the finish line and winner on corrected time. Francesco de Angelis, part of the afterguard was upbeat in his assessment: “It is incredible how strong the wind can be one day and light the next. The wind was light out there but it was a nice race, there weren’t many shifts and we sailed well and fast. It was good to go through some manoeuvres and to sharpen up together ahead of the offshore race.”