Set and Ready to Go for the Volvo Melges 24 Worlds

Registration has now closed at the Volvo Melges 24 World Championship in Porto Cervo and there is an air of anticipation as everyone awaits the start of the championship tomorrow. Of the 117 teams entered 114 have already registered and one crew has requested permission of the Jury to register late as the arrival of their boat from mainland Italy has been unavoidably delayed.

Although no formal racing took place today more than 70 crews participated in the Race Committee's practise session with many others spending time out in the race area tuning and familiarising themselves with the local conditions. This morning dawned overcast, humid and airless but the weather has improved throughout the day and now we have sunshine and a lovely breeze of around 18 knots.

One team who had a busy day today was the UkaUka crew who had to swop masts after the spinnaker cleat fitting pulled off in practise resulting in serious delamination of the back wall of the mast. When asked if they were now all set to sail again UkaUka's relieved helmsman Lorenzo Bressani said: "Now we are! Finally Tomorrow the World Championship starts. It’s from this autumn that we are working for this appointment. We feel ready. Yesterday we have not succeeded to take part in the two pre worlds’s races for a damage suffered to the mast. But the team has reacted well, replacing it in alone 45 minutes. It has happened yesterday better than tomorrow."

You can follow the progress of the UkaUka team at their web site www.ukaukaracing.com