Italy: Helmut Stumhofer wins at Siracusa
PRESS RELASE sent by Pier Faccin / Italian Assoc. Remember new 2015 Punta Ala Worlds web url is: http://www.aclassworlds2015.it/
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Siracusa, March 23rd, 2015
Siracusa (SR): Helmut Stumhofer wins the Cat A Italia National Race, organized by the sailing club Ortigia.
The sailing club Ortigia organized the first National Race, which was held last weekend in Siracusa and, very surprisingly, the podium was conquered only by German helmsmen.
That could happen because some enthusiast German sailors took example from a healthy habit of some top Italian sailor. In fact, they used to leave their boat by the sailing club Ortigia and train during the winter too, taking the opportunity offered by the perfect weather conditions of the Gulf of Siracusa.
That’s how Helmut Stumhofer, from Segelclub Chieming, has won by only two points over Bob Baier, from Segelclub Fuessen Fogensee. The thrilling tête-à-tête lasted up to the last race: sadly for Bob, he had to give up on an OCS from the first race. After them, Marco Goetz from Bayerischer Yacht-Club classified 4th. The first Italian was Paolo Giumarra, from the Circolo Velico Ortigia, followed by Pierluigi Biffo, from the same sailing club. From the 6th place on we have: Marco Gaeti, Johannes Kemler, Rainer Bohrer, Antonino Agosta, Georg Reutter and Salvatore Bastante. Only 11 boats signed up for the race: in fact, no top Italian sailors practiced in Siracusa during the winter or joined the race there, but A Cat Italy’s President Marco Gaeti. Moreover, the Sicilian fleet were decimated by the flu.
As usual, three races were held every day for the two days thanks to perfect conditions, wind speed from 10 to 14 knots, as well as an excellent race management.
The Fiberfoam mast confirms to be the mast of choice among the top crews. The material variability is relegated to the mast bending, the platforms and the sails. In particular Helmut raced with his last season’s material, i.e. a Scheurer G7 platform and Landenberger One Design sail. Bob instead used his Exploder platform equipped with special "J" shape boards and Brewin Sails mainsheet, while Mark Goetz, with his Scheurer G6 and Landenberger One Design sail was the first of the so-called "non-flying" boats.
The next appointment for the fleet will be in Cesenatico, from 4th to 6th April, for the 41st edition of Vele di Pasqua, organized by Congrega Velisti. Many A-Class teams are expected to take part, mostly because the 2015 World Championship will be held in Italy, exactly in Punta Ala, in September.
