Tallinn, Estonia - 6 August 2010
Star Studded Fleet Assembles In Tallinn For 2010
Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship
- With several days of pre-regatta registration now completed and on the eve of the official start of racing, all seventy-nine boats
competing at the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship in Tallinn
Estonia, were successfully launched before this evening's six o'clock deadline
and the regatta's Opening Ceremony at the Kalev Yacht Club. This year's
Championship has attracted entries from eighteen nations across three
continents and features crews from as far afield as South Africa and Japan. As
is expected at major Melges 24 championships, the pedigree of the fleet is impressive
as ever, boasting past Melges 24 World Champions, Olympic medallists, America's
Cup veterans, any number of dinghy, one-design and offshore national and world
champions, as well as some of the most talented international Corinthian crews
to be found anywhere.
The meticulous efforts of the competitors readying
themselves for this event has been matched in equal measure by the lengths to
which the organisers have gone to ensure that this regatta runs smoothly and
according to plan. Tallinn of course is no stranger to high profile yachting
events, having been the Olympic Regatta venue for the 1980 Moscow Games and in
more recent times played host to a string of major dinghy and keelboat
championships. Melges 24 World Championships however set the standard for
one-design sportsboat regattas and the preparation for this event began more
than two years ago, involving countless hours of combined effort from the
International Melges 24 Class Association, the Finnish/Estonian Class
Association and the hard working members of Tallinn's Kalev Yacht Club. Based on
the highly positive reaction so far from the competitors about the hassle free registration and launching
process, it appears that everyone's hard work is already being rewarded.
With only hours to go now to the start of the twelve-race
series, the atmosphere around the regatta centre is best described as electric.
Although there are certainly some obvious candidates for the podium positions
here in Tallinn this week, the 2010 World Championship looks likely to be one
of the most open in recent history. The twelve-boat Italian squad is the
largest at the event and perhaps also has the greatest potential to produce a
winner, including as it does the likes of 2008 Melges 24 World Champion Lorenzo
Bressani helming Uka Uka Racing, the highly accomplished Luca Valerio on the
helm of All In, as well as the yet unfilled potential of Alberto Bolzan
steering Hurricane Murphy & Nye. Additionally, rising Italian star Nicolo
Bianchi on Saetta recently won the 2010 Italian Volvo Cup Series and will be
looking to make a further name for himself on the world stage this week.
Strong as the Italian squad is, there are also a significant
number of crews from other countries with the skills and experience to enable
them to mount serious challenges for the 2010 world title.
An Italian sailing
under a Swiss sail insignia, Flavio Favini at the helm of Blu Moon is the only
other helmsman competing this week who has lifted the World Championship trophy
before and he has left no doubt that his intention is to repeat the experience
in Tallinn. Despite only being in his first full season in the Melges 24, South
Africa's Ian Ainslie is said to be on deadly asymmetric form right now, having
narrowly missed out on victory at the recent SB3 World Championship on Lake
Garda. Norway's Star Class Olympic campaigner, Eivind Melleby, who finished
third at last year's World Championship in Annapolis, USA, has also been turning
in some impressive results so far this year and is very unlikely to be phased
by the size of the fleet or the level of competition here in Tallinn.
Melges 24 World Championships are raced as one fleet but
include a Corinthian Division which strictly excludes ISAF Category 3 sailors.
Competition in this division is understandably fierce and with some of the most
talented amateur teams in the world racing here this week, it will be no
surprise to see Corinthian crews getting in amongst the leaders of the index
fleet. Certainly 2008 Melges 24 Corinthian World Champion and reigning
Corinthian European Champion helm Oyvind Peder Jahre steering Norway's Storm
Capital Sail Racing Team has proved capable of winning races in the past and
could well be a index contender in both divisions here in Tallinn. Also likely
to prove potent Corinthian challengers this week will be local heroes Tonu
Toniste on Lenny and Tiit Vihul on Rock City, as well as Italian helm Mario
Ziliani on Fishdog, Switzerland's Sonke Boy on Music 55 and Austria's Christoph
Skolaut on Franz Rocks.
Championship racing runs from Saturday 7th to Thursday 12th August, with up to three
races per day and a maximum of twelve races total scheduled. Five races are required
to constitute a series. When six or more races have been completed a boat's series
score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score.
The first
start of racing each day is schedule for 12.00 except for the final day when the
first start is schedule for 10.00 and there will be no warning signal after 14.00.
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, and in 2011 it will also be the capital of culture
for all of Europe. This will be the biggest cultural event in the history of Estonia.
Welcome to the city of culture!
www.tallinn2011.ee
Further information is available from the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship
Event Website http://r20.rs6.net
The 2010 Melges 24 World Championship is sponsored by:-
title Sponsor & Official Clothing Partner - Marinepool
Fiona Brown
Justin Chisholm
International Melges 24 Class Event Press Officer
Johanna Backas
International Melges 24 Class Association | 3 Palmers Road | Emsworth | Hampshire | PO10 7DL | United Kingdom
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