151 Miglia – Trofeo Cetilar 2018: the all records edition
It was just past four o’clock yesterday, when the fleet of the 151 Miglia – Cetilar Trophy finally gave life to the ninth edition of the regatta organized by a Committee formed by YC Punta Ala, YC Maritime Republic of Pisa and YC Livorno, with the collaboration of Port of Pisa, Marina di Punta Ala and the partners PharmaNutra, SLAM, Rigoni di Asiago and Acqua dell’Elba.
Divided in ORC International and IRC groups, 196 boats of the 218 initially registered crossed the starting line and sailed upwind to round the first buoy off Marina di Pisa (the Porto di Pisa trophy for the first boat to round this buoy has been won by Miguel Galluccio’s Maxi Vera) before turning bow towards the Giraglia islet. After the Giraglia, the route goes towards the Formiche di Grosseto, leaving the island of Elba on port. Then, once passed the Formiche, here is the last short sprint before the finish line positioned in front of the Marina di Punta Ala.
A lot of Maxi Yachts battled at sea to conquer the 151 Miglia Trophy Challenge for the real-time victory (the second race’s Trophy belongs to the first in the ORC Overall ranking): among these, the aforementioned Vera, Roberto Lacorte’s SuperNikka, Carlo Puri Negri’s Atalanta II and Pendragon owned by Nicola Paoleschi.
A victory at the photo finish with a new incredible record for the 151 Miglia established by Pendragon, who on board could count on the illustrious presence of the 4 times medalist olympic champion Alessandra Sensini, current CONI’s Vice President and Youth Technical Director of the Italian Sailing Federation.Apart Alessandra Sensini, many other great names of sailing took part in the 151 Miglia-Cetilar Trophy this year: from a large group of young Olympic sailors to the former America’s Cup heroes such as Tommaso Chieffi and Francesco de Angelis, and the new phenomenon of the oceans, the Frenchman Ian Lipinski, winner of the last two editions of the Mini Transat. A true stellar lineup which confirms the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar as the most important and followed offshore regatta.
Among the many participating boats, there were also the Baltic 78 Lupa of the Sea owned by Fabio Cannavale, with a crew of the tv show Rai Linea Blu, led by Fabio Gallo, who will make an episode about the 151 Miles experienced “on board”. A regatta that even the fans can follow live at home on the web thanks to the satellite tracking system of YB Tracking and thanks to the real-time info on the 151 Miglia APP, free and available for IOS and Android devices.