Mataran 24 celebrated at the opening of the season in Biograd

According to sailing standards, the new season of the CRO Melges 24 Cup, the strongest Croatian sailing competition, had a perfect opening last weekend in Biograd. At the first regatta of the year, which was hosted by JK Briva, the beautiful south provided phenomenal conditions for sailing, and the nimble Melgesi 24 literally flew through the regatta field at speeds exceeding 15 knots.

The overall victory at the Biograd CRO Melges 24 Cup went to the Mataran 24 crew with helmsman Anto Botica ahead of Universitas Nova with helmsman Ivan Kljaković Gašpić and Panjića with helmsman Luka Šangulin, while in the Corinthian division the first place went to the Blue Label crew.

The people from Trogir, who are the world and European champions in the Melges 24 class, secured the celebration by winning the last race, and how strong and equal the competition in Biograd was is best shown by the fact that there were four different winners in six races, while the distance between the winners of Mataran 24 and the fifth-placed PointOne crew was only eight points.

During the four years of the CRO Melges 24 Cup, Biograd has proven to be a great host, and the conditions for sailing here are always first-class. After a busy last season in which we won the world title, we decided to take a break from sailing during the winter. That turned out to be a very good move because we wanted the regatta and returned to the sea full of motivation and energy,' said Damir Civadelić, a member of Mataran 24.

In the Corinthian division, the Blue Label crew registered their second victory in a row in the CRO Melges 24 Cup. After the title at the Croatian Championship in Trogir, the Opatija team also won Biograd.

"We are growing from regatta to regatta, as the results show. I think we still have room for improvement, and I hope that we will continue at the same pace at the next regatta in Zadar,' concluded Davor Jelača, member of Blue Label.

The results Biograd CRO Melges 24 Cup: 1. Mataran 24 11, 2. Universitas Nova 13, 3. Panjić 15, 4. Razjaren 16, 5. PointOne 19, 6. Cezibordo 28, 7. Cro-a-Sail 29, 8. Amor 37, 9. Fjonda 42, 10. Blue Label 44, 11. Little A 50, 12. Sugar Daddy 61, 13. Tutta Forza 62, 14. Zen 65, 15. Joyrunner 66, 16. Obi-Wan 75, 17. Palmina 78, 18. Spooky 81, 19. Ćuf-Ćuf 92, 20. Hakuna Matata 95.

Photo: Hrvoje Duvančić/regate.com.hr