J/24 Range Rover European Championship at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda

J/24 Range Rover European Championship at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda – Overall

by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 16 Jun 20:51 UTC
12-16 June 2024

Headcase, winner of the J/24 Range Rover European Championship © YCCS / Daniele Macis

Today saw the conclusion of the J/24 European Championship organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the International J/24 Class Association, the Italian J/24 Class Association and the support of title sponsor Range Rover. The Race Committee held three races, with a Mistral wind blowing at 10 to 15 knots, thus completing the maximum of ten races set out in the schedule.

With precise manoeuvres and a 1-2-5 scoreline for today, the defending European champion, Irish boat Headcase, once again claimed the top spot in the blustery waters of Porto Cervo. “We’re really happy,” commented Cillian Dixon, helmsman on Headcase, “it’s like a dream to have won the J/24 European Championship again. We are really satisfied. Today was a difficult day, we pushed the boat to the maximum and sometimes it didn’t go exactly as we would have liked. We handled an equipment failure well and in the end we achieved an excellent result.”

In addition to helmsman Cillan Dixon, the winning crew for the J/24 European Championship was made up of Sam O’Byrne, Ryan Gylnn, Marcus Ryan and Louis Mulloy – a close-knit group of sailors and friends who also took victory in the Corinthian classification.

Second place, with a 9-point gap, went to La Superba, representing the Italian Navy (Marina Militare) and with Ignazio Bonanno at the helm alongside former 470 world champion Gabrio Zandonà on tactics. They put in a good attempt to catch the provisional leaders today, but a 4-1-2 scoreline was not enough to oust Headcase from pole position. Third place went to the Hungarians on J.Bond who, after scoring a second and third place in the first two races, concluded the final race in 11th place.

Ignazio Bonanno, helmsman of La Superba: “Congratulations to the Irish crew on Headcase, they were really good. We tried to make life difficult for them until the very end, we are satisfied with our result, an excellent second place. With the strong wind yesterday, unusual conditions in the Mediterranean, we had little speed on the upwinds, we tried to modify the set-up but we are not used to strong airs. Today’s performance, on the other hand, was excellent.”

Today’s first race started with the Mistral at around 16 knots, with the fleet largely on the favoured left-hand side of the course, and saw Headcase bag their sixth race win with a clear lead over the rest of the fleet. Second were the Hungarians of J.Bond, and third the Germans of Hungriger Wolf, who concluded the Championship in fifth place overall. In the second race the Mistral dropped to 10 knots, opening up more tactical options on the right-hand side of the course. A photo finish on the line went to La Superba, who sailed the last downwind leg in cleaner air, arriving at the finish line together with Headcase, second, and J.Bond, who took third place after dominating in the first three legs of the race. The wind picked up again for the third race of the day, and the bullet went to one of the leading local crews, Vigne Surrau helmed by Aurelio Bini. This final win brought the team representing CN Arzachena to finish in fourth place overall, the top-placed crew from the Sardinian fleet.

The J/24 European Championship 2024 embodied the core values of this historic class: inclusiveness and fair play. There were a significant number of women on the water, with many mixed crews taking part. The J/24 class also welcomes all ages: from the youngest competitor, 17-year-old Mattia Gelsi, on Furio & Fantaghirò, to Massimo Mariotti, owner of Avoltore and Honorary President of the Italian J/24 Class, who continues to race with great enthusiasm at 86 years of age. A notable example of the class’s fair play was the gesture by the German crew on Vitesse, after a collision yesterday – in which they were at fault – prevented the Australian team from continuing in the event, they lent them their boat to compete today.

A packed prize-giving ceremony took place in Piazza Azzurra, attended by Giovanni Tamburi, Vice President of the YCCS Board of Directors, Marco Santucci, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Italia, and Pietro Diamanti, President of the Italian J/24 Class.

Edoardo Recchi, YCCS Secretary General and Sports Director: “We are delighted to have welcomed the J/24 Class back to Porto Cervo, after the last European Championship was held here in 1989. The atmosphere of this event was particularly enjoyable, marked by the friendly yet competitive spirit typical of the class. Despite no racing being possible on the first day, the range of weather conditions over the following days allowed for the completion of all 10 scheduled races. It was thrilling to see the large fleet of J/24s competing in the waters off Porto Cervo, with Mistral winds reaching up to 16 knots and Scirocco winds exceeding 20 knots. Our congratulations go to the Irish team on Headcase for their victory, and to all the participants for their sportsmanship. On behalf of the YCCS, I would like to thank the International J/24 Class Association and the Italian J/24 Class for their collaboration in organising this event, and our partner Range Rover for their support as title sponsor.”

Pietro Diamanti, President of the Italian J/24 Class: ‘When it was suggested last year to come to Porto Cervo, we were proud to accept. I am pleased to see almost 50 participants, achieving such a significant number is not easy. The organisation of the event, both at sea and ashore, has been perfect, and for that I would like to thank the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.”

The next event organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will be the Grand Soleil Cup, scheduled for 21 to 23 June 2024.

For more information visit the event page.

Overall Results:

Pos	Name	Nat	Sail No	Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Pts
1	HEADCASE	IRL	4247	Cillian Dixon	3	1	1	14	1	1	1	1	2	5	16
2	LA SUPERBA	ITA	416	Ignazio Bonanno	12	3	2	3	4	2	4	4	1	2	25
3	J.BOND	HUN	37	Baladsz Tomai	1	4	7	6	16	5	19	2	3	11	55
4	VIGNE SURRAU	ITA	405	Aurelio Bini	5	6	11	9	6	19	3	5	12	1	58
5	HUNGRIGER WOLF	GER	5316	Till Pomarius	19	10	12	2	2	bfd	6	3	11	3	68
6	SCHEWERE JUNGS	GER	5381	Stefan Karsunke	2	8	5	15	14	11	2	6	5	17	68
7	JAMAICA	ITA	212	Pietro Diamanti	16	2	3	1	3	8	32	22	4	dsq	91
8	THE DUTCHJEES	NED	5440	Dirk Olyslagers	6	16	8	18	7	7	10	14	8	21	94
9	ARMAGEDON ‑ MIKI II	ITA	461	Fabio de Rossi	9	42	17	25	13	3	7	11	13	4	102
10	MAJIC	GBR	4248	James Torr	31	7	16	10	15	10	5	20	10	12	105
11	BRUSCHETTA GUASTAFESTE	ITA	469	Pierluigi Puthod	8	dsq	4	4	37	4	8	28	7	14	114
12	AVOLTORE	ITA	501	Francesco Cruciani	21	5	13	19	23	6	16	7	18	24	128
13	ANIMA	GRE	3978	Emmanouil Kontakis	10	11	23	11	12	23	38	19	6	18	133
14	BOOMERANG	ITA	497	Giuseppe Murgia	26	14	15	20	5	9	14	31	19	13	135
15	ARIA	ITA	443	Marco Frulio	15	22	18	21	11	13	12	13*	9*	19*	137
16	KASTER	ITA	432	Federica Cattarozzi	25	18	ocs	16	9	27	13	8	16	6	138
17	FURIO & FANTAGHIRO’	ITA	508	Giacomo Del Nero	17	19	dnf	17	10	12	9	12	23	31	150
18	DERBE KERLE	GER	5266	Lynn Wolgast	36	12	14	29	27	17	17	15	14	15	160
19	J‑SPOT	HUN	5280	Imre Scholtz	14	27	ocs	22	18	15	23	10	20	16	165
20	EGO GREEN	ITA	475	Domenico Campo	41	15	19	12	25	18	20	27	22	10	168
21	JUX UND DOLLEREI	GER	4406	Thomas Kramer	22	23	21	8	29	21	15	18	15	40	172
22	ENJOY 2	ITA	458	Luca Silvestri	13	34	30	5	30	22	22	ret	33	7	196
23	PFAU	GER	5269	Hauke Kruess	20	20	ret	dnc	17	16	28	9	21	20	200
24	JORE	ITA	505	Marco Pantano	18	17	22	32	26	20	11	dnf	25	30	201
25	NJO2	GBR	4266	Tim Octon	7	30	24	38	21	26	26	21	26	32	213
26	PILGRIM	ITA	498	Giambartolo Barnao	11	28	38	36	35	14	21	25	17	34	221
27	BRUSCHETTA VI	AUS	5400	Hugo N Ottaway	38	24	6	40	20	ret*	dnc*	16	37	36	231
28	MOLARA	ITA	396	Federico Manconi	28	25	32	45	22	29	33	30	28	9	236
29	DJANGO	HUN	5269	Erik Hercsel	33	13	33	26	24	39*	31	32	24	27	237
30	PELLE ROSSA	ITA	428	Gianni Riccobono	42	29	29	7	28	35	24	24	27	35	238
31	TATANKA	ITA	409	Paolo Giargia	29	38	9	42	41	28	25	26	30	23	249
32	VITESSE	GER	5412	Manfred Konig	4	21	20	28	19	ret	18	dnc	dnc	dnc	257
33	FIVE FOR FIGHTING	ITA	304	Eugenia De Giacomo	23	9	10	13	8	ret	dnc	dnc	dnc	dnc	259
34	SARDARES	ITA	318	Salvatore Orecchioni	30	31	40	24	32	33	30	34	38	8	260
35	EASY STREET	USA	3746	Denni Vaughan	44	40	26	37	38	24	36	17	36	22	276
36	PERCINQUE	ITA	483	Antonio Crisciolo	27	36	31	35	31	31	35	33	35	28	286
37	AMERICAN PASSAGE	ITA	487	Paolo Rinaldi	34	32	34	23	43	34	ret	36	29	26	291
38	CUCUIA	ITA	507	Marco Giannini	48	26	25	dnf	40	25	dsq	23	42	38	316
39	FAST FORWARD	GER	3634	Hannes Hess	43	33	42	33	34	40	37	38	31	29	317
40	DANJEROUS WHEN WET	GBR	5238	Mark Lewers	32	35	27	27	33	ret	dnc	37	40	39	319
41	JUELSSAND	GER	5313	Maike Hass	45	41	28	31	45	ret	41	29	32	25*	331
42	DODICIPUNTOUNO	ITA	300	Costantino Cossu	24*	47*	dsq	34*	36	30	39	40	41	37	334
43	JUMPING JACK FLASH	ITA	216	Federico Miccio	37	46	41	30	44	37	34	43*	ret*	dnc*	334
44	J‑OC ALCE NERO	ITA	371	Tommasino Fusato	40	37	36	44	39	32	42	42	34	33	335
45	MAGICA FATA	ITA	473	Massimo Frigerio	39	39	37	39	46	36	27	39	dnf	41	343
46	BIKINI INSPEKTOR	GER	4718	Rolf Stupperich	46	43	39	dsq	42	38	29	35	43	42	357
47	JGIUDITTA	ITA	385	Riccardo Aleandri	35*	45	35	43	dnf	41	40	41	39	43	376
48	MOLLICONA	ITA	215	Angelo Crepoli	47	44	43	41	ret	ret	dnc	dnc	dnc	dnc	420