The three days of practice are behind them and so for the eight teams which will line up off Miami Beach today the Gaastra 52 World Championships get under way this afternoon with two – perhaps three windward leeward races.
A relatively gentle start to the five days regatta is expected with only light winds – almost certainly less than 10kts – but the SE’ly wind direction blowing cross-on to the shore should mean that the direction should be moderately settled, certainly less shifty than the practice days.
While there are two teams here which have won the world titles in the past – Azzurra and Quantum Racing – it’s an acknowledged fact that any of the eight teams have the speed and talent to win races here, as has been proven during the training days.
Francecso Mongelli (ITA) the navigator of Rio confirms the light start to the regatta:
We are expecting only light winds, 6-10kts from the SE and then it will move to the right to the south. If we are lucky we might be able to do three races but some of the models are showing it to be a bit lighter. But I think we can get at least two races.
Everything is good on Rio. We are getting better all the time. This a bit of a special crew as they don’t really fit the model for example of the med professionals. It is a little bit out of that model and I think that in Europe now it is possible to race on the 52 SUPER SERIES with a not fully professional crew. It is nice racing and if you are staying with the fleet.
Can we win races here?….never say never!
Francecso Mongelli (ITA), navigator of Rio
