53° Criterium di Primavera

Sanremo, March 30 – April 1, 2012. The Yacht Club Sanremo, in collaboration with the Circolo Vela Capo Verde, magnificently organized the 53rd edition of the Criterium di Primavera.

This is an historic regatta that for many years marked the beginning of the Snipe season in Italy, after the winter championships, and that often was visited by teams coming not only from our continent but also from North and South America.

In the recent years the economic crisis and the proliferation of other events in Europe have seen a drop in foreign competitors. This year there was a crew from Finland and one from France, but for the Italians the Criterium is one of the most important events due to the beauty of the place, which is the pearl of the Ligurian Riviera di Ponente, and also due to the difficult and selective race area.

The Zaoli family of sailors-sailmakers- Beppe, Gina, Andrea and Vittorio, is a point of reference for the class in Italy. The local yacht club, founded in 1920, is now chaired by Beppe Zaoli, and it is a wonderful place for the social events before and after the races (full results and photos here below).

This year, as often happens, the Criterium was the first “Regata nazionale” – Coppa Duca di Genova – for Italian rankings for the races on Saturday and Sunday. For this reason the participation was more substantial and qualified. These are the selections for the European Championship to be held in Cervia Sanremo in Tirreno, and this was the first leg of a tour that will see Snipes sailing in the Adriatic in Riccione and then on the Lake of Bracciano.

On Friday we started with the first two races, which counted only for the Criterium. In light northerly winds there was a great victory for Paolino Lambertenghi & Silvia Pederiva, followed by Enrico Solerio & Sergio Simonetti and then by the current Italian champions Andrea Zaoli & Davide Ortelli. Pietro Fantoni/Nicola Gerin and Giampiero Poggi/Eugenia Vanni finished fourth and fifth.

In the second race, Poggi/Vanni led the fleet, ahead of the young emerging team from Livorno Francesco Granchi & Matteo Bacchi, who were followed by Lambertenghi, Solerio, Perdisa and Fantoni.

A curiosity: on the water, sailing with the modern Snipes, was the wonderful “Veloce,” a beautiful wooden Snipe built by the shipyard Tamburini of Rimini in the 1960s. Its enthusiastic owner Nicola Rugarli, who restored Veloce, was racing with his wife Annalisa. The passion of the old Snipes built of wood is (thanks to Nicola and Gina Zaoli) growing not only in San Remo, where in September they will organize an event dedicated solely to these beautiful boats, but also in other parts of Italy.

On Saturday the races counted for the Italian national rankings, so all the strongest were on the water. Unfortunately the weather gave light and unsteady wind, allowing for the conclusion of only a single race won by a huge margin by Solerio/Simonetti. Second was Antonio Bari with his young son Alessandro, in front of Lambertenghi, Granchi, Fantoni and Andrea Zaoli.

A sumptuous dinner at the beautiful clubhouse with the dishes of chef Jimmy, and a big screen with the photos of the race taken by Marco Prosperi, made for a friendly atmosphere that characterizes the competitors when it is no fight between the marks.

On Sunday the Levante blew from early morning at 15 knots, so all expected a day “full hiking”.

The race committee was quick to hoist the warning signal of the first race of the day, and Poggi was the author of a great performance, beating Paolo Lambertenghi and Pietro Fantoni. Solerio, Enrico Michel & Stefano Longhi and Carlo Prati & Stefano Selleri, rounded out the top group.

For the second race in the same conditions, Solerio led from the start ahead of Michel, Poggi, Zaoli, Fantoni and Pantano & Fontana. There was an impressive battle between at least fifteen boats for the positions behind the leadersm with only small gaps.

The conclusive race of this Criterium and Regata nazionale was won finally by Pietro Fantoni with Nico Gerin. Next were Poggi, Solerio, Lambertenghi, Francesco Rossi & “Frenk” Filipino and the current Women Italian champions Chiara Magliocchetti & Erica Ferraris. This race was very difficult because of the wind dropping, a strong current and choppy sea, so it was a real credit to the top teams.

Sanremo has confirmed the strength of 5 or 6 teams able to fight for the victory, and a dozen others who sometimes can threaten the top group. The Commodore of the club Beppe Zaoli, aided by the doyen Rossetti and the SCIRA Italy Secretary Andrea Piazza, awarded at the first step of the podium to Enrico Solerio & Sergio Simonetti, who are always consistent and won two races of the series. Certainly this was the best team this weekend and have spent many years at the absolute top of the class in Italy.

Second place were Giampiero Poggi/Eugenia Vanni, winners of a race valid for the Criterium and another valid for the regata nazionale, excellent as always in their boathandling and strategy. At the third step of the podium were Pietro Fantoni & Nicola Gerin, who ended the regatta with the final masterful victory. With this result, Pietro remains firmly in first place in the ranking ahead of Enrico Michel.

At the same level of the three top teams, there is also Lambertenghi & Pederiva (third in the Criterium), Michel and the Italian Champion Zaoli.

We have to mention also Granchi (who builds his sails), Pantano, Rossi, Schiaffino, Milla, Rochelli, Prati and Bari. All of them showed good races but a little bit of inconsistency kept them off the podium.

Technically speaking, the Perssons or Perssons DB Marine by Enrico Michel and the Sidewinder masts monopolized the ranking as usual. Some older Lillias (Rossi & Granchi) proved to be durable and still expressed considerable potential. And there were Proctor masts used by the lightweight teams.

About the sails, Olimpic Zaoli are at the top not only in Italy but in the world and here have been used by many teams. Other sailmakers like Quantum USA, North USA and Japan, Ullman Italy by Daniela Rochelli, as well as the Speed Sails (Jib) from Romet used by Poggi, have very different shapes, but achieve very good results. The real news of these races were the One Sails of Enrico Solerio and the Diamond built by Francesco Granchi, both produced in Italy.

Riccione and Romagna expect the Snipes for the second Regata nazionale in mid-May.

Criterium di Primavera:

1. Enrico Solerio & Sergio Simonetti

2. Giampiero poggi & Eugenia Vanni

3. Paolo Lambertenghi & Silvia Pederiva

Regata Nazionale:

1. Enrico Solerio & Sergio Simonetti

2. Giampiero Poggi & Eugenia Vanni

3. Pietro Fantoni & Nicola Gerin

Italian Ranking List:

1. Pietro Fantoni

2. Enrico Michel