Line Honours at the 2024 ORC Double-Handed European Championship goes to Hauraki

The second edition of the ORC Double-Handed European Championship, along with the 30th edition of the La Duecento, organized by Circolo Nautico Porto Santa Margherita (CNSM) in collaboration with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), which kicked off on Friday, May 3rd at 10 am from the Venetian coast, is still underway on the route of Caorle-Grado-Susak and back, but has the first finishers. In a truly remarkable feat, the father-son duo of Mauro and Giovanni Trevisan clinched the Line Honours after sailing for 34 hours, one minute, and seven seconds with their Millenium 40 Hauraki, a testament to their exceptional skill and teamwork.

Despite a start with light north winds, the fleet encountered a dramatic change in conditions as it passed Grado on Friday. The winds descended, leading to downwind sailing and increasing winds, partly due to coastal thunderstorms. This sudden and challenging change in weather posed a significant test for the sailors but also provided an opportunity for lighter and planing boats to cover precious miles for a swift passage to Susak, the race's midway point.

In the intense and closely fought battle for the ORC Doublehanded European Champion title, Mauro and Giovanni Trevisan from Trieste, were the first to round the mark of Susak island, setting sail towards Caorle with their Millenium 40 Hauraki around 2:00 am today, Saturday, May 4th. They were closely followed by Furietta, Riccardo De Roia's Solaris 36 with Andrea Micalli, and Oryx, Paolo Bevilacqua's and Michele Toffano's largest boat XP 50 in the race, rapidly gaining miles. Also, well positioned were Shear Terror, Cesare Salotti and Francesco Vallicelli's Farr 40; and Colombre, Massimo Juris' and Pietro Luciani's JPK 10.80, making for an exciting and unpredictable race.

The second part of the race, with the ascent from Susak towards the finish line in Caorle, continued with the north wind and short waves, blowing with intensity between 15 and 20 knots, forcing boats to tack close to the wind. Later on Saturday afternoon, the wind decreased along Istria to 7-8 knots, significantly lowering the boats’ speed. The first boat of the La Duecento race to finish was Hagar V, Gregor Stimpfl's Scuderia 65 at 17:28 on Saturday, May 4th, to be awarded the Antal Line Honour Trophy.

The second Antal Line Honour Trophy, for the ORC DH Europeans’ first finisher, goes to Mauro and Giovanni Trevisan, a father-son duo with their Millenium 40 Hauraki. Hauraki crossed the finishing line at 20:01:07 on May 4th with an average speed of 5.7 knots over the course of 195 NM. This is close to her rating calculated by the Weather Routing Scoring method that accurately captured wind conditions over the course, based on the weather forecast before the start. This success underscores ORC's confidence in the effectiveness of the innovative and, for the first time, officially used method, guaranteeing a fairer competition for all participants.

Behind Hauraki was Oryx, Paolo Bevilacqua's, and Michele Toffano's XP 50 to cross the finish line one and a half minutes later. 

Arrivals will continue for the smaller boats throughout Sunday, May 5th, with the time limit deadline for crews at 6:00 pm. 

After intense racing, participants and guests will gather at the Sporting Restaurant on Sunday, May 5th, to celebrate the championship's culmination with the Award Ceremony. ORC DH European Champion medals will be awarded to the winning teams in three classes, and teams composed of all amateur Corinthian sailors will also be recognized.