Wednesday  morning, whitecaps ravaged the surface of Lake Garda but when it was race time, there was barely a ripple. In the light wind, the Persico 69F demonstrated its incredible efficiency by sailing at more than three times the wind speed, or over 22 knots in 6-8 knots of wind. 

Coming into the regatta, Team DutchSail - Janssen de Jong helmsman, Cas van Dongen, was confident that his team would not be penalised by their lack of racing since Act 1 of the YFGC, opting instead for solitary training back home. Yesterday, on Lake Garda, it looked like the Dutch were back home as they sailed all their races alone off the front of the fleet. 

The lighter conditions didn’t favour the rest of the fleet quite so much, and even Team France and Young Azzurra, who finished the qualifiers in second and third place, scored last place in one of the six races yesterday. Team France normally sails with four crew, but experimented with the dramatic step of dropping the engine room of the boat, Tokyo Olympian Emile Amoros, off the boat to be lighter. They quickly brought him back on board however, as even in light winds, the Persico 69F demands a lot from its crew.

Finals - Day 1 results 

46,0  DutchSail - Janssen de Jong 
31.5  Young Azzurra 
23,0  Fraglia Vela Riva 
18.5  Team France 
16.5 Amor 
14,0 Okalys Youth Project

Text Credits: Conrad Colman
Photo Credits: Marta Rovatti Studihrad / 69Fmedia