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Russian team wins Rolex Giraglia Cup regatta in ORC division

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Andrey Konogorov's Swan 50 Skorpios won first place overall in the ORC division in the offshore race and first place in the ClubSwan 50 one-design class.

Skorpios covered the 241 nautical mile from Saint-Tropez to Genoa in 33 hours 17 minutes and 50 seconds. She beat her closest rival by four hours in corrected time.

Skorpios also took second place in the coastal race in the ClubSwan 50 mono yacht class.

Team navigator Nacho Postigo highlighted the ClubSwan 50's advantages in offshore racing.

«In all conditions she proved to be fast, extremely safe and easy to handle thanks to her twin rudders - especially when we were sailing with a strong roll under Code Zero or a gennaker»," he said.

Before the start Skorpios carefully analyzed the forecast and made a strategic decision to reduce the crew from 11 to 9 people. This allowed to reduce the weight of the boat and to cope with weak and changeable winds.

The prize-giving for the ORC division, the Nucci Novi Trophy, took place at the Yacht Club Italiano, which has held the Rolex Giraglia Cup since 1953.

The regatta has grown in popularity in recent years, with 303 crews from 18 countries taking part in 2016.

The regatta comprises three stages: an overnight race from Saint-Remo to Saint-Tropez, a coastal race in Saint-Tropez and an offshore race from Saint-Tropez to Genoa.

The winner of the main trophy of the regatta was Dieter Schön's Maxi 72 MOMO which topped the IRC division summary table. Reminder that last year for the first time in history the absolute winner of the regatta was a Russian-designed boat, Vadim Yakimenko 's TP 52 Freccia Rossa. Although this year Yakimenko's crew didn't get the main prize, the team still topped Group A in the IRC Division.

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