The 13th edition of the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar, fourth event in the International Maxi Association’s 2022 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge will be remembered for its unique weather conditions from flat calms to 25+ knots upwind and because ARCA SGR scored her second consecutive line honours victory and won overall.
Traditionally, competitors leave the Livorno start and Marina di Pisa turning mark for a moderate reach across to the Giraglia rock, followed by a night hunting breeze amid calms off Corsica and Elba.
However, yesterday the 204-boat fleet, including 14 maxis, experienced a light departure from the mainland coast. The breeze only filled in mid-evening when the maxis were most of the way to Giraglia.
The breeze then built properly and after passing the famous rock off north-east Corsica, the fleet encountered 23-25 knots, the strongest of the race, although short lived. Unfortunately, the south-easterly put boats on the wind for the long leg past Elba to the southerly turning mark at Formiche di Grosseto.
This was a race that favoured the fastest and it came as little surprise that, at 0845 this morning, Furio Benussi’s 100ft ARCA SGR cruised across the Punta Ala finish line to her second consecutive line honours victory.
ARCA’s elapsed time of 18 hours 40 minutes 45 seconds, was well outside the race record of 13 hours, 50 minutes and 43 seconds, set by George David’s Rambler 88 in 2019 and even outside her own 2021 time of 15 hours 42 minutes.
However, the news got better for the Trieste-based maxi as those astern slowed and stopped before Formiche di Grosseto and then struggled on the final leg to the finish. This handed ARCA SGR the IRC corrected time prize for the maxi division.
