by Eldina Knez
After taking line honours at the offshore Volcano race earlier this week, Esimit Europa 2 victoriously concluded the Rolex Capri Sailing Week in a competitive Maxi fleet by crossing the finish line first at today’s coastal race. The win at the 230 nautical mile offshore race was already the 29th consecutive win for Esimit Europa 2 since its christening in 2010.
Maxi yachts competing at the Rolex Capri Sailing Week today concluded the racing at the 10th edition of the event with an 18 nautical mile coastal race in the picturesque waters around the island of Capri. The course was set from the starting line to Punta Campanella on the Sorrento Peninsula, then across to a mark near Sorrento before returning to the north side of Capri to the finish line. Esimit Europa 2 took line honours at today’s race and thus concluded this event as first across the finish line in the maxi fleet in all organized races. Namely due to a lack of wind, only one out of the three planned coastal races were run at this premiere Rolex event for Maxis in the Mediterranean.
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The highlight of the event for the maxi fleet was the offshore Volcano race, which was the opening race at the Rolex Capri Sailing Week. In the fourth edition of this offshore race, the organizers set the course south of Capri to round the volcano of Stromboli and then Strombolicchio before returning to Capri in a shortened 230 nautical mile course. The sailing started on Monday morning, 19 May, at 10:00 CET with wind of eight to nine knots at the starting line. The wind soon picked up to 10 to 11 knots and led the competitors towards the volcanoes with a maximum speed of 18 knots. After a competitive race among the boats heading towards the volcanoes, Esimit Europa 2 managed to round Stromboli in the night of 19 May. Racing back towards Capri was marked with many wind gaps before the Esimit Sailing Team finally sailed across the finish line as the first boat to finish the race after an elapsed time of 27 hours and 16 minutes, taking its 29th consecutive line honours.
The skipper of Esimit Europa 2, Jochen Schümann, was pleased with the performance of the team and the yacht: “This was a very good start to the season. We have a new mast after our previous one broke at the end of last year’s racing season, and it was important to make sure it all works well. So the team and the yacht are well prepared and we are ready for the next challenges of the season.”
Igor Simčič, the founder of the Esimit Europa project, said: “This was the first regatta and the first win of this season. We have a very fast boat in all conditions and we are looking forward to the upcoming races.”
With its victorious participation in Rolex Capri Sailing Week, organized by the International Maxi Association in collaboration with the Yacht Club Capri, Esimit Europa 2 kicked off its 2014 racing season. The next challenge for the Esimit Sailing Team will be one of the most renowned offshore races in the Mediterranean, the Giraglia Rolex Cup, which will be followed by the opening of the new Clubhouse of the Yacht Club de Monaco, of which Esimit Europa 2 is a proud member.
Esimit Europa 2
Rolex Capri Sailing Week
