After the iShares Cup was over in Kiel, we went south to Lake Garda for the Centomiglia Race.It was a great event with over 300 boats of all different shapes and sizes.The race was a slow one this year.We started in moderate Northerly winds which only lasted a few hours.After that, we spent the day chasing zephyrs of 3 knots or less, and spending periods drifting in absolutely no wind.We crossed the line first overall with a time of about 10 hours and 40 minutes.In the light air, we were definitely fighting some of the powered up monohulls which race on Lake Garda, such as the Libera class.We were able to put some distance on them early, when there was breeze.But the wind almost totally died in the early afternoon, and we were worried that they would reel us in.It is kind of scary to be in your catamaran standing still and see this monohull with 6 guys trapezing on 3 knots of wind right behind you.We managed to pull it off though, and crossed the finish line to great fanfare.
Our winning team for the Centomiglia Race. From left to right - Stan Schreyer, Randy Smythe, Miko Benamati, At van Barneveld, and Jonathon Farrar. At is our team manager from Tommy Hilfiger, and it was great to have him on board for the race. His background is mostly board sailing, but he loves catamaran sailing too. Miko is a local from the Lake Garda region. His father, Roberto, was racing on a Libera, and his boy was very happy we beat dad across the line.
