Miles Quinton's Gill Race Team with Geoff Carveth helming was the best to read the tricks of the lake collecting two bullets.
 
2018 Melges 24 European Sailing Series - Day One in Luino:
Gill Race Team Nails It With Two Bullets
Miles Quinton's Gill Race Team GBR694 with Geoff Carveth in helm kept the score line straight getting two bullets from today's races. Photo Edoardo Mascheroni
October 12, 2018 - Luino, Italy-  First day of the XV Lino Favini Cup does not betray the Melges 24 sailors as the rainy yesterday turned to sunny and lovely autumn day in Luino today. However, today's conditions were not typical to Lake Maggiore and sailors were facing light and tricky winds. Miles Quinton's Gill Race Team with Geoff Carveth helming from Great Britain was the best to read the tricks of the lake collecting two bullets.

The morning in the AVAV - Associazione Velica Alto Verbano saw the Melges 24 sailors gathering for the Skippers Meeting, where the event's host Flavio Favini was happy to welcome fellow sailors at his home club wishing them enjoyable racing and fun after sails ashore. Miles Quinton, the Vice Chairman of the International Melges 24 Class Association greeted the nineteen teams from seven nations at the final regatta of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series being grateful to all who have been travelling through the season in the series. The Principal Race Officer Enrico Vaccaro explained some important details of the Sailing Instructions and after that the fleet headed to the northern part of the lake to have the first warning signal at noon.

First race started in up to twelve knots wind, but was dropping during the race and the chance to start the second race came only half past four. Due to the fact that expected afternoon wind did not fill in enough, reaching up to eight knots and started to fade again during the race, the course was shortened at second upwind mark.

Miles Quinton's Gill Race Team GBR694 with Geoff Carveth in helm kept the score line straight getting two bullets from today's races. The owner Miles Quinton was content with the teamwork and successful races. "It looked like the Italians went to sail against each other in the first race and we were left on our own. We were using this as our advantage and managed to win the first race. In the second race our position in the start wasn't may be the best, but we took another side the majority of the fleet and it worked out in our favour. We had a great first upwind leg being first in the mark with a nice margin and we managed to keep this success until the finish line."

Marco Zammarchi's Taki 4 ITA778 with Niccolo Bertola in helm was the closest rival to Gill Race Team today, scoring third and second place today. Marco Cavallini's Jeko Team ITA638 follows on third place (2-4 today), German White Room GER677 of Michael Tarabochia on fourth (5-3) and Hungarian FGF Sailing Team HUN728 on fifth (4-5). All but FGF Sailing Team on Top 5 are Corinthian teams.

Flavio Favini helming Gianluca Perego's Maidollis ITA854 scored seven and six today and admitted that sailing after a while on Melges 24 their team is a bit rusty and they made some mistakes having twice two-turn penalty. At the same time he is happy to sail again on his favourite boat Melges 24 with his fellow sailors from Blue Moon.


On Saturday the Race Committee decided to take the most out of the morning breeze and the first warning signal has scheduled for 9 am.
  
Associazione Velica Alto Verbano  is hosting of this international Melges 24 regatta for the fourth time already co-organized by International Melges 24 Class Association, with the precious support of Lino Town Council and of Chamber Of Commerce of Varese
 

MELGES 24 MEDIA
Racing updates from Luino will be delivered to you across the IM24CA social media and you can follow all the latest actions and coverage of the event at the official IM24CA Facebook Page. Racing can be followed also in real time via TracTrac webpage
More information about the event and series available at  melges24.com/europeansailingseries
 



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2018 Melges 24 European Sailing Series consists of the six events altogether. The season opened in Tuscany, in iconic Punta Ala and continued in Portoroz, Slovenia in April that welcomed the Melges 24 class for the fifth time already. Series moved then on to the internal waters, with a double appointment on the Garda Lake: Torbole in July, where the Melges 24 international fleet returned after the 2012 Worlds with the record number of 127 entries, and was in Riva del Garda in August for the Melges 24 European Championship. The season continued with the Melges 24 Italian Championship to on the Como Lake in Domaso, and will end with the Lino Favini Cup, also valid as Swiss Open Championship held in Luino.
 
More information about the series available at  melges24.com/europeansailingseries
 
For further information on the event , please contact:

AVAV - Associazione  Velica  Alto  Verbano
phone:  +39 0332 5316 35 
mail: info@avav.it
web: www.avav.it

Luca Babini
Class Secretary
Melges 24 Italian Class Association

Piret Salmistu 
IM24CA Administrator & Media Coordinator
phone: +372 507 7217
Marco Zammarchi's Taki 4 ITA778 with Niccolo Bertola in helm was the closest rival to Gill Race Team today'sscoring third and second place today. Photo Edoardo Mascheroni
Melges 24 fleet on the starting line on Lake Maggiore. Photo Edoardo Mascheroni
The Melges 24
is designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges Performance Sailboats and holds a unique position among the world's one design sportsboats as one of the most successful classes of high performance yachts. 
For more information please visit the official website of the
International Melges 24 Class Association | Pirita tee 17 | 11911 Tallinn | Estonia