Croatian Melges 24 Cup 2022 kicks off

28.01.2022

January 28, 2022 - Dubrovnik, Croatia - JK Orsan and Croatian Melges 24 class are counting down the hours until the start of the new season of the CRO Melges24 Cup in Dubrovnik this upcoming weekend, on January 29-30.

16 teams have announced their participation, 13 teams registered so far, among of which are 3 Corinthian teams.

CRO Melges 24 Cup is named after the Croatian Champions League.

Croatian sailors - Gaspic, Fantela, Kvestic, Kuret

For more than a decade, Karlo Kuret was among the best sailors in the world in Finn class, who has four times participated in the Olympic Games, and was fourth in Athens in 2004, then third at the 2010 World Championships and second and third at the European Championships. The first Croat in history to lead the world rankings.

Ivan Kljaković Gašpić has silver and bronze from the world championships, he has three European titles, twice he was runner-up, and once bronze, all in Finn class. In Rio, he was third at the Olympic Games before the medal race, but he did not succeed. He was also fifth in London in 2012. In Beijing in 2008, he was eighth at his first Olympic Games. Previously the best optimist in Europe.

Mihovil Fantela competed in the 49-er class with his brother Šim in Tokyo, due to a wrong start in the medal race he was left without a medal, but in 2018 the brothers were world champions. Then Mihovil had to take a break due to a spleen injury, but in 2020 they sailed together again, and sailed to bronze at the European Championships.

Tomislav Bašić competed at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 in the 470 class, and is the owner of a bronze medal from the European Duel Sailing Championships and a member of the winning crew of the 2015 World Tour. Enia Nincevic, who is the national champion with Maria Angelo De Micheli Vitturi in the 49th class, also competed at the Olympic Games. Stjepan Ćesić was the world runner-up in the optimists, Luka Šangulin the national champion in the ORC, the ninth at last year's Melges European Championship.

"After a long time we have a competition on equal terms, therefore, the same type of sailboat. This is like Formula 1, all in the same. The skill of the crew makes a difference," said Marko Mišura, who will be the PRO and Chair of the Race Committee of the Dubrovnik regatta.

By the way, Misura himself was an Olympian. He sailed in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics in class 470 with Ivan Kuret, and 20 years later he was the head of the Croatian sailing team at the Rio Olympics when his greatest success was achieved - Šime Fantela and Igor Marenic then became Olympic winners, and Tonči Stipanović won silver. Both Fantela and Stipanovic are now sailing also in Croatian Melges 24 fleet.

More about the upcoming regatta and Croatian Melges 24 fleet in the article of Dubrovacki Vjesnik.

The Jury of the CRO Melges 24 Cup 2022 - Neven Baran, Alen Kustić, Mirko Ukas and Hrvoje Ban

#BestOfTheBest sailors deserve #BestOfTheBest judges. Neven Baran, Alen Kustić, Mirko Ukas and Hrvoje Ban are the 'Dream Team' of the judges for this season of CRO Melges24 Cup.

Start of the first race 'CRO Melges 24 Cup Dubrovnik 2022.' is scheduled for Saturday, January 29, around 11 a.m., and the announcement of the best for Sunday, January 30, around 4 p.m.