Vitamina Sailing con Cetilar® per un intenso 2020 di vela
The Vitamina Sailing team, captained by entrepreneur Andrea Lacorte, President of the pharmaceutical company, PharmaNutra S.p.A., which he founded with his brother Roberto, is eagerly preparing for the sailing season by confirming previous successes and adding some new elements.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Vitamina Sailing, will be involved again in the one design ClubSwan 50 and Melges 32 categories, with boats bearing the Cetilar® name – the innovative anti-inflammatory cream based on cetyl esters (7,5% CFA) primarily for sportsmen and women – and with an important upgrade in crew.
For the second year, in the Swan 50 category – which is beyond doubt the main attraction of the moment, with a fleet of over 25 boats and crew that represent the elite of world sailing – Vitamina Sailing will be able to count on the great experience of American, Chris Larson, who will take the role of tactician alongside helmsman, Andrea Lacorte. As winner of the Rolex prize for Yachtsman of the Year, eleven world titles and an edition of the Admiral’s cup as well as participating in the America cup and the Volvo Ocean Race (second place in 2002), Larson is an excellent addition to a crew that can also depend on the navigational expertise of Andrea Caracci (extensive all round experience in Olympic classes, ocean sailing and open water). Leonardo Chiarugi, Jacopo Ciampalini, Diego Battisti, Roberto Strappati, Francesco Coari, Alessandro Frizzarin, Flavio Campana, Giovanni Bucarelli and Team Manager, Matteo De Luca complete the crew.
After two training sessions in March and April between Valencia and Palma di Mallorca, the season with Club Swan 50 will kick-off in the Balearic Islands with Palmavela (May 5 – 10), continue in Saint Tropez with the Giraglia Rolex Cup windward-leeward regattas (June 5 – 9), back to Palma for the Copa del Rey (August 1 – 8), to Porto Cervo for the Swan Cup (September 6 – 13) and finally to Scarlino, in Maremma, for the World championship, which will take place as part of the Nations Trophy (October 11 – 17).
The Melges 32 circuit will see five meetings, starting in Scarlino in the middle of April (17 – 19), continuing in Porto Venere (May 21 – 23), Malcesine (July 9 – 11) and Puntaldia, in Sardinia (September 24 – 26), with an intermission for the World championship scheduled to take place in Villasimius, Sardinia, from August 25 to 29. On board the Vitamina Cetilar®, helmsman Lacorte will be counting on the tactical intuition of another famous yachtsman from across the pond, 47-year-old Mark Mendelblatt, twice US yachtsman of the year and long-standing member of the US Olympic team (two Olympic presences), who will join the tried and tested crew made up by Chiarugi, Battisti, Ciampalini, Bucarelli, Coari and De Luca.
“Ours is a close, motivated group, ready to face this tenth season of Vitamina Sailing regattas with enthusiasm, eager to achieve good results in both the categories we are competing in. It will not be easy, because the competition is tough, particularly in the Club Swan 50 fleet, but a good challenge is our daily bread and we have the benefit of entering with the best blend of experience and enthusiasm”, explains Andrea Lacorte, who is back to take to the water with the Yacht Club Repubblica Marinara di Pisa burgee at the stern. “Ten events concentrated in just over six months is a lot, but our team is used to difficult challenges and we can’t wait to start this demanding season”.
