North Star Maxi Peter Dobbins triumphed in Sorrento

After missing out on a win in 2022, when his Maxi 72 Northstar hit a wind hole on the final stretch of the last race, today’s owner Peter Dobbins, tactician Nick Rogers and their crew exacted revenge. Having started the final day of racing in the Maxi League International European Championships in second place overall, their performance of the day pushed George Sakelaris’ Proteus off the top and thus, throwing off the worst result, won the European title by just a quarter of a point. .

The IMA Maxi European Championship is organized by Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia (CRVI) in collaboration with the IMA, the International Maxi Association and with the support of Rolex as Official Watch and Loro Piana.

With its mix of sea, land and cross country racing, the IMA Maxi Europeans presented an intricate race for competitors, making it one of the hardest titles to win in the Maxi Yacht calendar. North Star got off to a great start by winning the Tre Golfi Regatta last weekend. After a disappointing day for all previous Maxi 72s on Monday, when conditions were favorable for smaller boats, North Star continued a very regular practice, finishing fourth as the worst result of the series.

CRV Italia partner Dobbins commented: “The weather was typical English, and I loved it so much!” While rain dominated the weather all week, today the Maxi fleet got a respite and some sunshine.

Sir Peter Ogden’s 77-foot Jetho was the star of the day, but the top-rated North Star hasn’t let its direct competitor far behind. Dobbins continued, “It was a very tense day today. We had to put a boat between ourselves and Proteus and it wasn’t easy, especially when we had to take a penalty. We were lucky to get out of it.”

Regarding the event, Dobbins added, “It’s a great event, I really enjoy sailing in the Bay of Naples.” His yacht was originally Niklas Zennström’s Rán II, winner of the two Rolex Fastnet races, but has since been modified to be able to race this week with just 13 crew instead of the necessary 25.

After the day’s last coaster – a course set by PRO Stuart Childerley, which meanders around the southern Gulf of Naples, between Capri and Punta Campanella – ex-Maxi 72s rounded out the top five: Dario’s Cannonball Ferrari finished third, while Jim Swartz’s Vesper edged out Sir Peter Ogden’s Jetho. , also by a quarter of a point, after the Vesper failed to sail on Tuesday.

After the Maxi 72s, Riccardo de Michele’s Vallicelli 78 H20 finished sixth overall, ahead of the ClubSwan 80 My Song of Pier Luigi Loro Piana and the Wally 60 Wallyño of IMA boss Benoît de Froydmont, which today did an excellent job, finishing fifth overall. general.

Loro Piana and her My Song crew still find the right balance with their radical and relatively new casual. According to tactician Ken Reid, they’ve gained a knot of speed downwind since Monday. “It was a very exciting week,” said Loro Piana. “We had three days of heavy rain, but also good winds, so we were able to work on the boat and apply many of the ideas we had. Little by little we learn how to manage it. This part of the Sorrento coast is very beautiful with Capri, Punta Campanella, Le Galli , etc… There are so many things to discover, which is all the more reason to come here to race.”

Other teams have approached the event as a way to combine an official regatta with the discovery of this exotic corner of Italy and the possibility of enjoying wide sailing. Longest Voyage winners are Terry Clifford and crew on board the Martin 72 Aragon from Tasmania and the United Kingdom. “We had a great week. It was great fun and good company. The weather was challenging but we finished the race on a great day,” said Clifford.

Commenting on this week’s IMA Maxi European Championships, IMA General Secretary Andrew McErvain commented: “Despite the rain, the weather conditions allowed for an exceptional, closely fought race this week. Peter Dobbins and North Star deserved the win – and what a final result! I’d like to I thank CRVI and our partners Rolex and Loro Piana for their help in organizing this fantastic second edition of the European Maxi Championship.” On the sidelines of the award ceremony, it was confirmed that the 2024 edition of the Maxi IMA European Championship will return to Sorrento in mid-May.

If Maxis and the IMA executives leave the Sorrento coast tomorrow, after the end-of-event party at Le Axidie Resort Hotel, the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia will start again tomorrow with the ORC Mediterranean, Intermediate and Low Tirreno National Championships, the final stage of the Tre Golfi race week. The event is organized by CRVI under the auspices of FIV and in collaboration with the Italian Yacht Club, Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, ORC and UVAI.

The Reda of the Commander of the Port of Sorrento, Lieutenant Maurizio Belotti: “I am on the second experience as the Commander of the Port of Sorrento who welcomes this important sporting event with enthusiasm. The Port Authority is as always dedicated to ensuring the safety of navigation and human life at sea also for these leisure tourism activities, in the port Already important in itself, which in this period takes on a new, complex and special aspect thanks to what is being organized by the Chief of the Naval Department of Castellammare di Stabia in charge of all personnel working both on land and at sea, so that this important event continues with the utmost safety for the participants and the tourists who come.

The final list of ORC competitors includes more than 30 teams from 7 countries divided into three categories: 8 teams from Hong Kong, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and of course Italy, in Category A, and 12 teams from Italy and France in Category B. and 10 teams from Italy and Czechoslovakia in Class C. Everyone will start racing tomorrow in the downwind/windward/windward races on the courses that will be held off the stunning panoramic coast of Sorrento. Among these teams there are many world, European and Italian champions, so you can expect fierce competition.

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