The second day of racing at the Second National Selection of the Optimist class, hosted by the Italian Naval League Cagliari from 30 May to 2 June 2024, ended successfully.
Three races were held for all fleets under a strong Mistral wind, with a base of 13 knots and maximum peaks of up to 20 knots.
With the last three qualifying regattas, the final fleets have been defined.
The six races held in the Sardinian waters of Cagliari are added to the five races held in Marina di Carrara, bringing the Selections to a total of eleven races, thus allowing the start of the final phase.
The decisive tests to select the kids who will access the European and World Championships will begin tomorrow. The best seventy of the gold fleet will compete for one of the nineteen places up for grabs to represent Italy in international competitions.
Marcello Meringolo, national coach of the class, declared: “The conditions were excellent and demanding and highlighted the performances of the best. We all had good starts, with few disqualifications. Finally we see the girls racing in front, in a more stable manner and both Sara Anzellotti and Anna Merlo won races today and this is certainly a positive result also compared to the selections held in recent years.”
From the provisional rankings, Leandro Scialpi, of Centro Nautico Bardolino, returns to first position (2-2-7), while Andrea Tramontano, of Reale Yacht Club Nautico Canottieri Savoia, follows in second position (3-8-3); Mattia Di Martino, of the Società Velica Barcola e Grignano is third (2-4-1). Sara Anzellotti of the Italian Naval League Ostia, leads the women’s fleet from tenth position in the general ranking (1-14-4).
Tomorrow the departure will be at 12, to compete in the last three qualifying regattas.
