written by Patricia Surendonk
Bracciano 2015 Coppa Franco Pizzarello
Coppa Italia and Trofeo Dinghy Classico
With 4 helmswomen (!) we arrived in Bracciano on the 16th of July, looking forward to a great sailing weekend ahead.
All of us have been in Bracciano before and what especially attracts us here is the fact that everything is located at the sailing club. This is where all participants are, talking, waiting, busy with their dinghies before the moment arrives to leave for the regatta to start. Even Saturdaynight’s dinner was being served there which gave a very nice atmosphere !
My mother Tonny Surendonk, Anjo Klinkenberg and Nicky Arnoldus were participating in fiberglass dinghies. I was very honoured to sail Casmaran, the wooden dinghy of Fabio Mangione, which is a very well equipped boat.
As you all know we Dutch do not have many trimming options in our dinghies.
During the Bombola d’Oro I sailed beautiful Scignoria. Both boats gave me the opportunity to experience the possibilities of trimming a dinghy. Being able to adjust the sail and thus adjusting your dinghy to changing weatherconditions is something I really appreciate. I like sailing alone but being fairly light in weight, this is not often the case in the Netherlands. More trimming options would make this possible more often.
Another very pleasant thing is the main sheet block. We, Dutch women, all agreed to that. In our Dutch dinghies we are used to keeping our sheet in our hands during the whole race. Can you imagine how your hands feel after a race ?!
In the Netherlands we are used to different weatherconditions with often much more wind than in Italy as we sail up to 6 Beaufort. This means that our dinghies have to deal with those conditions. Despite that I have seen some interesting options in the Italian dinghies which would be nice to have in the Dutch. This is ofcourse my personal opinion which differs from some other Dutch sailors who have a longing for authentic. Luckily we Dutch like discussion and I think in the long run this will bring us further.
Also on behalf of the other Dutch women, who were in Bracciano, I would like to thank you for your incredible hospitality and kindness to lend us dinghies and help us out !
I hope to see you soon on Italian (and Dutch) waters !
Bon vento !