IRC BOATS

Alegre Continues Run of Firsts in Capri

The Mills 68 Alegre was unstoppable at the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, taking a clean sweep of all six races in the IMA Mini-Maxi class. Assisted by Francesco de Angelis on tactics this extends her sequence of continuous wins to two events after her Regate Pirelli victory earlier this month.  Andres Soriano, owner and driver of Alegre, was delighted:
 
“It’s wonderful, we ended last season winning the Rolex Middle Sea Race which was a great way to end the season. It was a very tough race but was probably the best sailing achievement I have ever had.  Our success at Rolex Capri Sailing Week is a combination of thought and co-ordination that has improved the performance of the boat. We knew what she was good at from the previous year and a half, and we also knew where the weak points where. We worked closely with Mark Mills, the designer, and we put together a wish list of suggestions to make the boat go better. The keel has been lengthened to improve stability and we have stiffened the mast, but in all we have only added about 150 kg. After the changes, our first event was Palma Vela, then Portofino and now here in Capri, we have got the full measure of the changes that have come into play.”

Karasu Wins Sagamiwan Big Boat Regatta

Karasu the Japanese Summit 40 won the Sagamiwan Big Boat Regatta in a testing mixture of conditions.  She won the 3 day event with three firsts from 5 inshore races and a coastal race, her ongoing success in IRC racing in Japan against strong opposition is a reflection of the strength of the Summit 40 and the growth of IRC racing worldwide.

Alegre Takes Regate Pirelli

Held off beautiful Portofino the Regate Pirelli and its flagship trophy the Coppa Carlo Negri was won by Andy Soriano’s IRC 68 Alegre.  Victory in the 9 boat IRC fleet came over a range of conditions from very light on the first two days to strong winds later in the event in which Alegre validated the upgrades carried out over the winter refit by winning every race, under the tactical guidance of Chris Main.  The Yacht Club Italiano established the regatta in 1945 as a perpetual challenge trophy, using the historic cup donated by Margherita Puri Negri in memory of her fallen brother, wartime pilot Carlo Negri.

Soozal Straight-Bullets 2010 Stone Cup

Dan Woolery’s Summit 40 Soozal continued her run of strong IRC performances by winning the 2010 Stone Cup counting straight firsts.  Run by the St Francis YC the event provided classic cool but breezy San Francisco cityfront conditions.  In a fleet including the RP 45 Criminal Mischief and the A40RC Ciao!, Soozals 4 point total was almost a third of the second place finisher, Brad Copper’s Tripp 43 TNT.