Strong Winds On Day Two At SNIM - Andrea Racchelli Continues To Lead
The second day of racing at the Easter SNIM Regatta in Marseille brought strong south easterly winds from 25-35 knots making for a day of spectacular Melges 24 racing with two further races being completed before the Race Committee was forced to send the boats home as the wind increased further. “The first race was started in an average of 28 knots of wind, under heavy conditions” explains Corinne Aubert, PRO for the Melges 24s. “We ran two very beautiful starts. At the time of the second start, we had more lenient conditions, but then the wind began to increase again. There were 30 knots and we decided to shorten the course and finish the race.”
Despite the incredibly challenging conditions Italy's Andrea Racchelli. sailing ITA735 Altea, continued to shine winning the first race of the day and taking third on the second race. Added to his three second places from day one he now leads the regatta on 7 points, just two points ahead of Maxime Paul, sailing FRA389 Marsail, with fellow Frenchman Ronan Dreano, sailing FRA193 Cotes D'Armor in third place on 12 points.
With two further days of racing still to come the regatta remains wide open and competitors are hoping for better conditions on Sunday and Monday.