F18, Mar del Plata Sailing Week 2019: Cittadini & Benitez lead

Great set of images by one of our favorite photographers, Matías Capizzano. More at his fb page.
Semana Intenacional del Yachting official web hwww.siy.org.ar – The kid is good, and if you read my editorial today on the Nacra 17 Arg internal cancelled qualification you will understand our comments a bit better. By now everyone knows Dante Cittadini & Teresa Romairone took the Youth Catracing scene by storm in 2018 winning the World Sailing Nacra 15 Youth Worlds and later the Youth Olympics Gold Medal in Buenos Aires.

Dante is racing F18 in Mar del Plata along Juan Cruz Benitez, an experienced sailor and  a hardcore & experienced F18 crew as they come. Dante & Cuco are leading now after 5 races, 4 held today in tricky and unstable  8-12knots.
Nevertheless it was the same for everyone and Cittadini , who is racing F18 for the first time completed a great day scoring 6,2,1 & 1. All course management , and having the handling resolved by super ‘Cuco’ made up for a winning receipe. They are light too, which helps a bit.

They are racing an Infusion MK2 with 1D DS vs two of the most successful and winning Arg F18 teams like Cruz Gonzalez SMith & Mariano Heuser (Scorpion / 1D) and Agustin Krevisky & Juan Martin ‘Tigre’ Benitez, also two excellent and experienced local Mar del PLata waters crews like Salerno & Andres Grimaldi (Phantom / 1D) and Juan Grimaldi & Matias Grimaldi (Infusion / 1D), thus the competition is fierce and an excellent benchmark for Cittadini to prove himself in the F18.

We need him racing at Costa Brava in July.