The last day in Imperia began with an overcast sky and some drizzle, but at midday the sun started to shine bringing a northeasterly breeze up to 8-10 knots. As in the previous days the 420s and 470s were racing on different sail areas.

The women’s 420 fleet was the first to start under black flag after a general recall. Once again, Spain’s Suria PALOP and Basterra MOYUA led from start to finish, increasing their advantage around the course. In the second race the wind shifted eastbound becoming an easterly, and the first team to cross the finishing line was the Junior European Champion German team of Tina LUTZ and Susann BEUCKE.

The overall winner after four races was the Spanish team of PALOP and MOYUA, followed by two Italian teams Giulia BARBERA and Giulia BOCCA from Lake Garda, and Giuditta DI LAGHI and Elena GANDOLFO from Liguria.

In the men’s fleet, only one race could be sailed, so the series ended with just three races completed. The Greek crew of Michalis STAVROU and Ioannis ORFANOS took overall victory ahead of Ben SAXTON and David DE BOLTZ (GBR). The Greek team of Vasilis TSOKARAS and Alexandros MOGADAM were well ahead after a second place and a bullet on the previous, but tumbled down the leaderboard after going OCS in the final race.

On 470 course area, a steady easterly breeze allowed two races to be completed, making a series total of six. Overall winners were the Finish crew of Joonas LINDGREN and Niko HELANDER, who capped their performance with a bullet in race 5. Stefano CHERIN and Emmanuele NOÈ (ITA) from Trieste came in in second place, with fellow Italians Alfredo CAPODANNO and Guglielmo GIORDANO from Naples in third. In the Women’s 470 fleet, the Russian team of Vlada ILIENKO and Natalia GAPONOVICH claimed five bullets from the six races to finish with a perfect five-point score.

The date for the 19th Imperia Winter Regatta is already fixed for 30 November-8 December 2008.
Imperia Winter Regatta - http://i-w-r.com