2020 Melges 24 European Sailing Series - A Sparkling Final Takes Altea to the Top

August 09, 2020 - Torbole, Italy - Sparkling final for the Melges 24 European Sailing Series regatta in Torbole, where a fleet of sixteen boats from seven nations has completed a series of eight races to crown the winner of the first event of the 2020 season. 

At the eve of the final day, Altea ITA722 by Andrea Racchelli and Taki 4 ITA778 by Marco Zammarchi were tied in points at the top of the standings and the expectations for the last day of racing were high: the Race Committee was forced to leave the fleet ashore for approximately two hours with respect to the scheduled starting time, waiting for the breeze to stabilize and eventually calling the boats on the race course for the last two races of the weekend.

After a tight duel at only a few lengths of distance, Altea gained the bullet in Race 7, immediately followed by Taki 4 and White Room GER677 by Michael Tarabochia: this way, Andrea Racchelli and his crew gained one-point margin over Taki 4 and started their final run towards the victory of the event.

In the eighth and final race, Altea definitely put the seal on her success: with Melgina ITA693 by Paolo Brescia gaining the last victory of the series and Altea finishing on second place, the crew by Andrea Racchelli was crowned winner of the first event of the 2020 Melges 24 European Sailing Series.

Silver medal, just three points behind, for Taki 4 by Marco Zammarchi with Niccolo Bertola at the helm, also the winner of the Corinthian division, and bronze medal for the reigning Italian champions onboard Melgina by Paolo Brescia. 

The Corinthian ranking, led by the already mentioned Taki 4, sees Miles Quinton’s Gill Race Team GBR694 with Geoff Carveth at the helm in second place and Akos Csolto’s Seven_Five_Nine HUN759 in third.

After the inaugural event on Garda Lake, the Melges 24 fleet will gather again on Attersee (Austria) at the end of the month of August.

Results

Event website at Circolo Vela Torbole website

Photos by © IM24CA/Zerogradinord

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2020 Melges 24 European Sailing Series:

1. August 7-9 – Torbole on Lake Garda, Italy
2. August 28-29 – Kammersee on Attersee, Austria
3. September 11-13 – Portoroz, Slovenia
4. October 2-4 – Trieste, Italy

More information about the history of the series you’ll find at the website www.melges24.com/europeansailingseries