Please select your home edition
Edition
Savvy Navvy 2024

2024 Scandinavian Gold Cup at Yacht Club de l'Odet in Benodet - Overall

by Rupert Holmes 31 Aug 23:46 UTC 29 August - 7 September 2024
Julie, Eline and Flavio Marazzi - 2024 Scandinavian Gold Cup © Rupert Holmes

All three boats finished today's first race just six seconds apart. As Artemis (Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne and Trond Solli-Saether) closed the line a couple of metres clear ahead of Ali Baba (Flavio Marazzi, Julie Marazzi and Eline Marazzi), John B (Gavin McKinney, Lars Horn Johannessen and Justin Cunningham) approached from the other direction, sailing much faster at a hotter angle. She sneaked in close to the committee boat to take victory by just two seconds.

Ali Baba and John B now both held two race wins, while Artemis had one, in the Scandinavian Gold Cup's unique first to three wins format. With the remainder of the fleet having been eliminated after the first three races, only these three boats were competing today, creating a fascinating dynamic on the race course. There can, for instance, be a benefit in using match racing style tactics, yet these must be employed strategically and sparingly to avoid risk of the third-placed boat overtaking the leading pair.

In Race 6 John B and Artemis went to the right after the start, while Ali Baba was slower off the line and split to the left, but that didn't pay. Artemis showed impressive boat speed and height on this leg and little more than 10 minutes after the start had built an unassailable lead that she extended to the finish.

With all three boats now tied with two race wins each, the final race became an all-or-nothing finale in which the tables turned on the very last windward leg.

The two leaders tacked onto starboard at the start of the final upwind leg, while Ali Baba again split off to the side, this time going to the right. She then hooked into an advantageous wind shift, accompanied by marginally more breeze and by the end of the second beat had converted a 12 length deficit into an equally large lead that she held to the finish.

"We missed out in the first two races today," says Flavio Marazzi, "and in the last one Kristian was already gone and ahead, so we tried to stay in the game and go extreme. That's all we could do with the two boats going left. Then the wind went all the way right on the second upwind. Sometimes you are lucky and this was the time we got it right.

"We knew that the wind would shift to the right, but you can never really know when - it was super light, between two and four knots, and almost the Swiss lake conditions I don't really like. I come here for a breeze to sail in full hiking conditions and that's what we will hopefully get next week for the world championship."

This week was the first time Eline and Julie, his 14 and 16 year old daughters, had won a race at a 5.5 Metre regatta, yet alone the whole event. "We didn't really think that we could ever win," says Julie. "For us it was like, we started this, we're going to end it and it's our first Scandinavian Gold Cup, so we're just going to pull through till the end and see how it turns out. Winning it is obviously amazing, so we're very happy."

Today's result also means three generations of the Marazzi family have won the trophy - Flavio was crewing for his father when they won it in Sydney some 20 years ago.

The older Evolution and Classic boats have also been competing this week, ahead of next week's world championship, which is also hosted by the Yacht Club de l'Odet in Benodet, south Brittany.

Two boats in these divisions put in stunning performances to win their six race no discard series with an unbroken run of first places. Another Ali Baba, previously owned by Flavio Marazzi's father and now sailed by former Olympic Star class sailor Wolf-Eberhard Richter, with Beata Kallkowski and Jorg Grunewald, won the Hankø Evolution Cup. Italian boat Manuela V (Guido Tommasi, Matteo Barison and Andrea Racchelli) also proved unbeatable in the Royal Haag Classic Cup.

Full results available here.

For more information visit www.yco-voile.fr/5-5-benodet-2024

Related Articles

5.5 Metre French Open at Regates Royales overall
Beta Crucis wins after eventful final day in Cannes Beta Crucis (AUS 63, Martin CROSS, Bob STODDARD, John CROSS) has won the 5.5 Metre French Open after an eventful final day in Cannes in some spectacular conditions. Posted on 27 Sep
5.5 Metre French Open at Regates Royales day 3
The Cannes brochure needs an update - rain and no wind It was a very different day in Cannes, one that was certainly not as described in the brochure. The third day of the 5.5 Metre French Open at the Regates Royales was a wash out with incessant rain showers and no stable wind all day. Posted on 26 Sep
5.5 Metre French Open at Regates Royales day 2
Perfect score for Beta Crucis as racing in Cannes finally gets underway Beta Crucis (AUS 63, Martin CROSS, Bob STODDARD, John Cross) posted a perfect score on Day 2 of the 5.5 Metre French Open at the Regates Royales in Cannes, after Tuesday was blown off. Posted on 26 Sep
5.5 Metre class Worlds overall
Ku-Ring-Gai III wins with final two races sailed in heavy airs in Benodet Despite never winning a race, Ku-Ring-Gai lll (John Bacon, Joost Houweling and Edward Wright) sailed an impressively consistent series in a fleet that's fiercely competitive, yet also has an enviable level of camaraderie. Posted on 7 Sep
5.5 Metre class Worlds day 4
Seven boats are now race winners in Bénodet, France Seven boats are now race winners in the 2024 world championship, yet only one has scored two victories - Aspire (Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Kilian Weise), which is currently lying fourth overall. Posted on 5 Sep
5.5 Metre class Worlds day 3
Race wins for Aspire and The Jean Genie, but Ku-Ring-Gai III leads Aspire (Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Kilian Weise) won Wednesday's first race by a narrow margin at the end of what proved to be an adrenaline fuelled downwind leg for many competitors, with many boats overlapped on the finish line. Posted on 5 Sep
5.5 Metre class Worlds day 2
Australia and Switzerland prevail on second day in south Brittany In today's first race Arunga XII (Mark Tolhurst, Stephen Mc Conaghy and Thomas Spithill) stunned the fleet with a port tack start from the pin end of the line. Posted on 3 Sep
5.5 Metre class Worlds day 1
Aspire and Girls on Film ll win first two world championship races In an intense opening day of racing, sailed predominately in full hiking conditions, Aspire (Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Kilian Weise) and Girls on Film ll (Louise Morton, Sam Haines and Andrew Mills), both emerged as race winners. Posted on 2 Sep
5.5 Metre class Worlds preview
Twenty-nine teams from 10 countries have gathered at Yacht Club de l'Odet Twenty-nine teams from 10 countries, including Australia and the Bahamas, are gathered at the Yacht Club de l'Odet for the 5.5 Metre class world championship. Posted on 2 Sep
2024 Scandinavian Gold Cup day 2
Ali Baba leads with two victories in four races In a tense second day of racing in Benodet Ali Baba (Flavio Marazzi, Julie Marazzi and Eline Marazzi) and Artemis (Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne and Trond Solli-Saether) both notched up race wins in the Scandinavian Gold Cup. Posted on 30 Aug
Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERSavvy Navvy 2024