Suntouched/Sandline Gold Series

ACT 1 - 12/13 May Paignton SC (single - hander Open)

UK Regatta Llangdegfedd SC Wales

D-One Volvo Cup Act 1 at Circolo Vela Erix, Lerici, Italy

D-One Harken UK British National Championships 2011

D-One National Championships

Queen Mary Sailing Club

Final Results

Overall

Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Ratings: PY, Entries: 11, Scoring system: Appendix A

The 1st ever UK National Championships are to be held at Queen Mary SC on Sat 29th, Sun 30th October.

Tom Slingsby, world Laser champion from Australia, wins Sunday's double-point medal race with a formidable lead and claims overallvictory in the second edition of the D-One Gold Cup in Fraglia Vela Riva del Garda. Second and third places go to two British skippers, Nick Thompson and Giles Scott, respectively. Andrea Casale finishes fourth overall and first among the Italian sailors while Fabbio Toccoli, ninth overall, is the best non-professional skipper.

Riva del Garda, July 31st: Tom Slingsby turned the closing race of the 2011 D-One Gold Cup into his own personal parade on the waters off Fraglia Vela Riva del Garda. Going into the medal race that carried double points with no possibility of being discarded the overall score table was still wide open and a few duels were expected within the fleet for the individual podium spots. The first attempt at running a race was short lived and had to be canceled towards the end of the first run when the early-morning northerly (Peler) died down. The intense duel between Thompson and Glinsby would have to be repeated. After a half-an-hour wait, the “Ora” (the southerly breeze on Lake Garda) kicked in earlier than expected and gave the race committee the opportunity to give a second start at 11am.

That race proved to be a non-event, even with a light breeze between 6 and 8 knots. The Australian had a conservative start but thanks to his boat speed and excellent helming, he managed to build a lead of more than 100 meters at the first weather mark over second-placed Giles Scott. Slingsby then extended the lead to over 200 meters at the finish line. A finish in ninth place for Andrea Casale meant Scott was victorious in his duel third podium spot as the Italian finished ninth in the medal race. Argentina's Agustín Zabalua, winner of the 2010 Gold Cup, scored an excellent third place and finished eleventh overall.

As a result, Tom Slingsby wins the second edition of the D-One Gold Cup and proves that the dinghy designed by Luca Devoti, when helmed by Olympic champions, can reach excellent speed and provide an impressive show on water. It is important pointing out that the top five skippers in the overall leaderboard weighed between 80kg and 98kg in a windy venue like Riva del Garda, a very wide range for dinghies.

Slingsby dominates the leaderboard with 8 points (3-1-1-2-1-1-1), followed by Thompson (1-2-2-1-2-2-4) and Scott (2-4-4-3-5-5-2). Andrea Casale wraps up the Gold cup with a brilliant fourth place (4-3-3-4-3-4-9), showing that he still has all it takes to be competitive on a dinghy. Giorgio Poggi is eighth while Fabio Toccoli, with a ninth place is also the winner in the Corinthian division. Riccardo Pontremoli from Genoa closes the top ten. Nathalie Testa wins the title in the women's division while German Eberhard Bieberitz is the best-performing Master.

“It's been a real pleasure racing on the D-One here,” stated a clearly jubilant Tom Slingsby (three-time world Laser champion). “It's a great boat, great people and great class. Having 36 yachts from 11 nations in the second edition of the D-One Gold Cup is a good result. I decided to come here and race because I was definitively intrigued by the potential of this dinghy. The D-One can have a great future and grow very fast. I will certainly train again and race on a D-One, this time bringing many of my friends, to whom I definitely suggest they tried it.”

Cattolica, 12 June 2011: The Volvo Cup D-One continues under the clear domination of Agustín Zabalua. The Argentinean skipper, winner of the first Gold Cup edition in Valencia, scored yet another two bullets on Sunday, after Saturday’s first place. This triple bullet performance put Zabalua comfortably in command of the overall score table of this great event, hosted by the Yacht Club Marina of Cattolica. Second and third places went to Italians Alessandro Novi (2,5,2) and Paolo Rossi (3,3,5). Andrea Magni (9,4,3 and winner in the Masters division) and Nicolò Saidelli (10,6,6), with an excellent performance in Sunday’s two races, close the top five spots. Sunday’s two races were held under a gentle northerly breeze between 6 and 9 knots. On Saturday only one race took place, again with a northerly that started at 10 knots and gradually slowed to 5 knots.

Among the 21 skippers, no less than 5 raced with the smaller 9.5m rig specifically destined for lightweights. Nathalie Testa, from Albenga, was victorious in Cattolica as well, finishing ahead of Francesca Cinque, from Rome, and Valentina Venturi.

The overall level of the fleet is constantly growing, in view of the Gold Cup, scheduled to take place from the 28th to the 31st of July in Riva del Garda. "There will be many Finn Olympic sailors," said Agustin Zabalua,"Andrea Casale, Giorgio Poggi and many non-Italians.The level will be high and conditions demanding, with the usual summer breeze of Garda that tops 20 knots.We will have to prepare well to take advantage of our chances.The level of the class is constantly growing.”

Nicollò Saidelli from Genoa, fifth overall in Cattolica, said: "In the D-One class it’s the friendly ambiance and fun that matter most.We have lots of fun, still, with a technical boat that requires training and sharp skills to set up.We like that the class is so, we are all friends and we enjoy it very much.”

The Volvo Cup D-One, after its three initial stages in Alassio, Bracciano and Cattolica will now move to Riva del Garda (27-29 July), then at the Marina di Scarlino for the Italian National Championship (16-18 September) and finally the Barcolina of Trieste (1-2 October). 

Just one single race was disputed due to the unfavorable weather conditions at Sailing Team in Bracciano, Italy. A total of 26 sailors raced, including three women with the smaller 9.5 rig. The next leg of the Volvo Cup D-One will be in Cattolica in June 11-12, followed by the most anticipated event, the Gold Cup in Riva del Garda at the end of July.

The second leg of the Volvo Cup D-One, organized by Sailing Team Bracciano, ended with just one valid race that took place on Saturday with a westerly wind of 10 knots. On Sunday,  the breeze did not come to the lake on the outskirts of Rome and at around 4:30pm the last slim hopes of having a race faded away under the storm. This event, with only a single valid race, will therefore not count towards the 2011 Volvo Cup. What remains valid however is the important victory by local skipper Alberto Ferrari, ahead of Argentina's Agustin Zabalua, reigning Gold Cup D-One champion, and Alessandro Novi from Genova.

The race within the race of the five yachts equipped with the smaller 9.5 rigs was particularly hard fought and fun thanks to the balance between light weights, wings. Among them there were three brave and beautiful girls, with with Nathalie Testa finishing ahead of Francesca Venturi and Valentina Cinque. In the Masters division victory went to Giovanni Tricarico, followed by Andrea Magni and Guido Falciola. The Immersion watch for the fastest skipper to the first windward mark (Immersion Speed ​​Contest) went to the Roman Stefano Caruso.

What were not absent from the event was the fun, thanks to the D-One spirit, and the opportunity for the skippers to deepen their knowledge with this innovative dinghy with mainsail and spinnaker, thanks to Luca Devoti and Agustin Zabalua, who imparted valuable advice to competitors, especially for the development of the new North mainsails.

This is how the winner of the race, Alberto Ferrari, described it: “Zabalua and I had an amazing duel and I eventually managed to stay ahead. Imagine, I hit the starting line at the last possible second… I was also lucky to find myself immediately on the right side. Now, together with the large D-One fleet in Rome, we will train hard for the Gold Cup in Riva del Garda, where conditions are very demanding but definitely very exciting.”

The Volvo Cup D-One, after the onset of Alassio and Bracciano, will proceed to Cattolica (10-12 June), Riva del Garda (27-29 July), Marina di Scarlino in conjunction with the Italian National Championship (16-18 September) and the Barcolina of Trieste (1-2 October).

After Alassio it’s the turn of Bracciano Sailing Team to be the host of the second leg of the 2011 Volvo Cup D-One. Next Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22, thirty sailors will gather on the green banks of the Bracciano lake on the outskirts of Rome, to battle it out in the usual four races (the last one carrying double points) that count towards the classification of the leg.

Among the 30-strong fleet there are six yachts sporting the smaller rig of 9.5 square meters, particularly suitable for lighter sailors and women. Indeed, among them there are four women skippers, including Natalie Testa from Liguria and Francesca Cinque from Rome. The reduced rig, in fact, allows sailors weighing just 60 kg to be competitive. The typical weather conditions of Lake Bracciano, with a thermal breeze of 10-14 knots in the afternoon, will highlight the performance of these single-handed dinghies with wings, mainsail and spinnaker whose philosophy is precisely based on being a fun boat to sail.

This is how Nathalie Testa describes the wait until the next regatta: “After the first regatta in Alassio where I was the only woman in the race, in Bracciano I will have the opportunity to measure myself on equal terms against other women. Surely we will have a lot of fun because the spirit of the D-One is the right one both on the water and ashore.”

Argentina’s Agustin Zabalua, winner of the D-One Gold Cup 2010, will be challenged by the large Roman fleet, with Alberto Ferrari being the most prominent skipper. Riccardo Pontremoli from Genoa will also be one of the contestants to take into account, especially after his good performance in Alassio.

The Volvo Cup D-One, after the onset of Alassio and Bracciano (20-22 May), will proceed to Cattolica (10-12 June), Riva del Garda (27-29 July), Marina di Scarlino in conjunction with the National Championship (16-18 September) and the Barcolina of Trieste (1-2 October).

The International regatta of the Czech D-One Championship was held in Yacht YC Dyje Breclav on Nove Mlyny Lake from 6th to 8th May 2011.

Mike Maier claimed victory in the regatta ahead of last year's Czech champion Marek Bachtik and Eberhard Miberitz from Germany.

We look forward to meeting you all at the next Czech D-One event, to be held again on Nove Mlyny Lake in the last weekend of May.