GENOA, June 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - With an elapsed time of 29 hours 11 minutes and 58 seconds of sailing in moderate to light and very light wind conditions, Esimit Europa 2 was the first to complete the 243 nautical-mile course of one of the most renowned offshore races in the Mediterranean, setting off from Saint-Tropez, sailing around the rocky Giraglia Island and returning back to Genoa. By crossing the finish line at 17:27:58 CEST Esimit Europa 2 earned already her 5th line honours victory at the Giraglia Rolex Cup and her 38th consecutive line honours victory since her christening in 2010.
The founder of the Esimit Europa project, Igor Simčič commented: "I am very proud of our yacht and our team that we won the Giraglia Rolex Cup for the fifth time, this victory is another proof that all the right choices were taken by the crew. It is even more of a special reward in the year that marks the 20th anniversary of our project, an occasion we will celebrate on 29 August in Monte Carlo, at our home yacht club, the Yacht Club de Monaco."
After the start at 12:16 Esimit Europa 2 led the fleet out of the legendary bay of Saint Tropez under blue skies in light easterly winds but when the crew reached the mark at La Fourmigue about two and a half hours later, a south-westerly wind began to fill in. "At that point we had a lead of about a 3 nautical miles on Magic Carpet and the wind was filling in just from the rock so it was perfect, we were able to break a little from the rest. Gradually the fleet sailed down behind us with the new wind and the race became very tactical, with crews choosing different sides of the course. We chose the south side of the rhumb line where conditions suited us most, so we came to the rock with a lead of about 24 nautical miles over our main opponent, which was really good. We always knew from the forecast that the fleet would compress as we hit the light air first, so were prepared to have our lead eroded, but we had done a good job getting a good lead over the fleet, so when we left the rock towards Genoa we had enough of a lead, so they were never able to catch us," explained Adrienne Cahalan, one of the world's leading navigators and weather routers who was navigator of the Esimit Sailing Team for this race.
The skipper of Esimit Europa 2, Jochen Schümann said: "We are happy and lucky to come first here and win for the fifth time. This was not the slowest Giraglia Rolex Cup Race for us but it became quite long one, because we stopped twice – first off the northern tip of Corsica close to the Giraglia rock – we struggled to get away from the rock there and also we lost the bulk of our lead which we managed to gain, but also the approach to the finish was very slow for a while. What was important is that we had a very good start and we were able to control the race from the start, fulfil our strategy and defend a good position against Magic Carpet and the rest of the fleet. We had a very good race, also the inshore races that we sailed in good wind conditions in Saint Tropez helped us to prepare well for this race, so everyone was tuned in and we performed very well."
Just before embarking on the offshore race of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, Esimit Europa 2 sailed in the inshore races in front of enchanting port of Saint Tropez in a fleet of 22 yachts. The three inshore racing days were served well by the gods of wind and offered some spectacular sailing in the roughly 30 nautical mile races set in a triangle course over each of the three days. Esimit Europa 2 was the fastest yacht on the water in all three inshore races, completing the first one in 2 hours and 25 minutes, the second in 2 hours and 18 minutes and the final race in 2 hours and 52 minutes.
The 63rd edition of the Giraglia Rolex Cup was organised by Yacht Club Italiano, Yacht Club de France, Yacht Club Sanremo, Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez in partnership with Rolex 1998. The event opens Rolex's European yachting season.
About:
The Esimit Europa project has represented a strong symbol of unity and collaboration on the ocean waves for the past 20 years by successfully uniting sport with diplomacy, social responsibility, culture and business. The project is represented by Esimit Europa 2 along with its main sponsor, Gazprom and its official partner, BMW. Esimit Europa 2 is one of the fastest and technologically most advanced sailing yachts in the world, and the Esimit Sailing Team is composed of 18 world-class sailors from 11 different nations. The Esimit Europa project is under the patronage of the President of the European Commission and has the official support of the President of the European Parliament, which allows the yacht to officially fly the European flag. In 2015, the year when the Esimit Europa project celebrates its 20th anniversary, the message of friendship and collaboration has extended beyond the borders of the European Union, achieving a global dimension with recognition by Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr Ban Ki-moon.
Photo credits: ©Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi
Eldina Knez, Public Relations Consultant
E: eldina.knez(at)esimit.com
GSM: +39 337 1093756
http://www.esimit.com
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