The Italian Vaurien National Championship kicked off on the waters of Lake Bracciano on Friday, June 27.
A fleet of 36 boats, including two Spanish crews (ourselves among them) and one German crew in addition to the local Italian fleet, gathered to compete on the racecourse where the World Championship will take place on July 12.

The first day dawned with no wind. The morning was used for boat measurement checks and preparing gear for the afternoon races, as the local thermal breeze—typical of this area—was expected to fill in around 14:00. It eventually built to about 10 knots, allowing the first three races of the championship to be completed. We quickly saw how strong and evenly matched the fleet was, finishing the races in 2nd, 8th, and 4th positions. These results placed us in second overall, just behind the Italian team of Francesco Granchi and Marco Melfa, who were the only ones to consistently finish in the top five in all three races.

-Saturday’s races promised excitement due to the narrow points spread within the top 10, a result of the mixed results from the previous day. The race committee sent us out early with a morning northeasterly breeze, but it died out just as the first race was about to end. This forced the race officer to display the N over H signal, sending the fleet back ashore. It was a shame, as we had managed to recover from a poor start and were holding second place in that race. After nearly five hours of waiting onshore, the fleet returned to the water for two more races sailed in unstable northerly winds, gradually increasing to 13 knots. We posted a 4th and a 2nd place finish. These results were strong, but not enough to hold our second place overall due to the application of the discard, which allowed ITA 36370 to drop a 12th from the first day and move ahead of us.

The first warning signal for the final day of the championship was moved forward to 09:00, since the cut-off time didn’t allow enough room for the thermal breeze to establish itself. This meant the final races would be sailed in the light and unstable morning northeasterly. Tension was clearly felt across the fleet, with several general recalls forcing the committee to use the black flag for the rest of the day. We sailed to two 6th-place finishes and a 4th in a grueling final race that had to be shortened due to the lack of wind. These results allowed us to secure 3rd overall and claim the Junior category title. The overall win went to Francesco and Marco, making them clear contenders for the upcoming Worlds.

This championship has been a great opportunity to get to know the local fleet and familiarize ourselves with the racecourse where, in just a few weeks, we’ll be competing in the World Championship alongside several other Spanish teams who will also be attending. We’re eager to give it everything we’ve got.

See you in Italy.

Sissel & Jorge