Four days of champagne sailing in the Gulf of Naples for the 2022 Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship. The Star is the queen class of world sailing, boasting 18 Olympic participations, including Naples in 1960. Seven races were held from Thursday to Sunday for the 45-team fleet. The winner of this Neapolitan edition of the Silver Event was the reigning world champion Diego Negri, with crew Sergio Lambertenghi. Thanks to the excellent results obtained during the week, the two won with one day to spare and were awarded the trophy on the terrace of the Circolo Savoia, organizer of the event, by the president of the Italian Sailing Federation, Francesco Ettorre, and by the number one of the Santa Lucia club, Fabrizio Cattaneo della Volta.
Francesco Ettorre, president of the Italian Sailing Federation, said: It was a fantastic event, the Star class has maintained its charm, many talented sailors have sailed in this class and still do. My congratulations also go to Circolo Savoia, I saw all the athletes happy, it means that the event has been perfectly organized".
The fight for the podium was decided today: the Italian – and past World Champion - Enrico Chieffi and Ferdinando Colaninno took second place overall, with Hubert Merkelbach and Kilian Weise (GER) finishing third, winning the only race of the day. The Croatians Marin Misura and Tonko Barac, protagonists of an excellent week, let the podium slip away from their fingers and finished fourth. Again today the Gulf of Naples offered ideal conditions for sailing, with Libeccio wind ranging from 8 to 10 knots.
The final word of the president of RYCC Savoia, Fabrizio Cattaneo della Volta: "We are very happy with the success of the event, at sea and on land everything went in the best way. Naples showed its best side with four days of wind, on the dock we opened the doors of the Club to the athletes. The Class, then, is confirmed in good shape despite the age. The Star Championship had been missing at Circolo Savoia for 16 years, we hope not to have to wait so long to see it again here".
"A beautiful regatta, the hospitality of Circolo Savoia was spectacular and also the weather conditions were very nice, with a north wind for two days, before the typical west wind of Naples," says the winner of the event, Diego Negri. "I managed to get the victory with a day to spare, it doesn't happen often: I am satisfied with what I showed at sea, I really cared about this event".
The event was organized by RYCC Savoia, International Star Class and Flotta di Capri, in collaboration with Sezione Velica Marina Militare Napoli, Circolo Remo e Vela Italia and Circolo Canottieri Napoli and under the patronage of the Italian Sailing Federation, Municipality of Naples and Coni Campania. Parthenope University has taken care of the weather reports, strategic the role of coordination of the V Zone Fiv.