At the 2024 5.5 Metre Alpen Cup at Riva del Garda, a second place in the first race of the day was enough for The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairidh Scott) to win with a race to space, the team’s third win at the event in recent years.

After Friday’s drama, New Moon III (BAH 25, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov) put on a solid display to win the first race and then placed third in the next to moved up two places to second overall. Girls on Film (GBR 41, Louise Morton, Sam Haines, Andrew Mills) ended up third.

The final two races were sailed in a very shifty northerly, that shuffled the front of the fleet several times, but was nevertheless interesting racing.

The Jean Genie was the early leader in Race 7, but with the breeze drooping and shifting the downwind proved tricky, followed by a right hand sided final beat. New Moon passed them on the first downwind to lead to the finish.

The final race was quite short with the breeze expected to die, but it held on and even came in stronger in the later stages. Several boats had a turn at leading, but Ku-Ring-Gai III (AUS 66, John Bacon, Joost Houweling, Ed Wright) were just ahead at the final mark to take their second race win at the event, with Marie-Françoise XXII (SUI 233, Jürg Menzi, Jürgen Eiermann, Kim Chabani) a close second.

Morton said, “A little bit tricky this morning the forecast was for firm northerlies but when went out there were northerlies but in the first race it dropped down to six knots and shifting all over the place. But we got a good start and were leading at the first mark. The first run got a bit tricky, and we got passed by New Moon, but it was enough for the regatta.”

This is now his third victory here, though the boats have won four times. “We won it in 2019 in my first boat in GBR 40, and then with the first of the two new boats we won it in the year after covid. I couldn’t make the next year in GBR 42, but Dog and Ruairidh sailed with James Howell, and then last year we broke the rudder, so good to come back and win it again.”

“It was a great regatta. It’s just beautiful in Lake Garda. Stunning.”