First day of J/24 Range Rover European Championship

A strong Mistral wind, which yesterday had prevented the practice race taking place for the J/24s gathered in Porto Cervo for their European Championship, was blowing even harder today. During the morning briefing in Piazza Azzurra, competitors were informed that the AP flag would be hoisted ashore, pending any drop in the wind. The Race Committee then went out to sea to monitor the situation on the course. Unfortunately the Mistral continued to strengthen, with gusts well in excess of 30 knots, leaving no option but to hoist the AP over A flag at 1.30 p.m. CEST, indicating no more racing for the day.

Tomorrow, Friday 14 June, the starting signal will be brought forward to 10 a.m. CEST to make the most of the waning Mistral and get the first race of the 2024 J/24 European Championship in the bag. The plan is to hold four races.

The event is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda together with the International J24 Class Association and the Italian J/24 Class Association under the aegis of the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) and World Sailing. Range Rover, institutional partner of the YCCS, is title sponsor of the regatta.

The 50 boats taking part hail from 21 nations, with a total of around 250 sailors taking to the water. Outside of the 28 Italian competitors, Germany is the most heavily-represented foreign nation with 9 crews, followed by Great Britain and Hungary with 3 boats each. Two non-European crews are also taking part, one from Australia and one from the USA, whose results will not be included in the scoring for the European Championship. The schedule provides for a maximum of 10 windward-leeward races and a minimum of 4 races will need to be completed for the European Championship to be valid.