Paolo Penco and Manuel Vaccari ITA 2018 National Champions.

ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP A CAT 2018 – Calambrone (Pisa) – 6th- 9th September 2018

The “Centro Vela Sunset” (Calambrone - Pisa) organized the September meeting of the Italian A Class Catamaran Championship: three days of competition with a total of seven races. The Northern Tyrrhenian Sea provided real emotions both for the beautiful sunsets and for the overall wind conditions.

45 ‘A’ Class Catamarans, with crews also coming from France, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden participated in the race: a significant number of sailors, a sign of a good recovery of the class and of a new interest on the part of sportspeople and supporters. The new classification formula, foreseen by IACA (the international governing body of the sailing class), provides in addition to the overall classification the division that includes the classic ‘A’ Class catamarans, those with "C" daggerboards and those with Foiling boards. Both types of catamarans have sailed in harmony, sharing the same regatta courses and the same starting lines.

Paolo Penco of the “Associazione Nautica Sebina” won the Italian title, followed by Giuseppe Colombo of the “Unione Velica Maccagno”. They both sailed on an Exploder AD3. Luigi Camisotti of the “Adriatic Wind Club”, who sailed on a Marstrom M5 modified to Foil, won the third place. In the Classic category, Manuel Vaccari won, followed by the Swiss Bruno Biedermann. Both raced with a Scheurer: but while Vaccari used a traditional  ‘Fat Head’ sail, the Swiss used a Decksweeper mainsail to demonstrate the validity of this design even on A Classic Catamarans.

On the first day, the wind kept the sailors waiting for a long while and it never exceeded 5-6 knots. Two races were sailed, but none of the crews flew, while the Classic catamarans with "C" boards performed better due to the light wind. On the second day, three races were sailed with a fairly constant 10 knot-wind. In these sailing conditions, the foiling catamarans flew steadily and safely. Penco won all three races putting the seal on the Italian title. On the last day, two races were sailed: Penco won the first one sailing with a 8-knot wind and Biedermann won the second sailing day with a 4-knot wind.

The racing committee and its president, Andrea Bimbi, did an excellent job, especially on the first day when it managed to have two full races by taking full advantage of the few hours of available wind. The racing organization was also very good, with an excellent both on and off sea assistance.

The next Italian Title 2019 will be in Maccagno (Lago Maggiore), organised by the Unione Velica Maccagno.

Rankings: http://classeaitalia.it/risultati-campionato-italiano-2018/