Nacra 17 Worlds 2019: Bissaro & Frascari crowned World Champs
Photo: Sailing Energy & Matias Capizzano. – Endurance , Resilience, guts & talent. Known words to describe the journey Vittorio Bissaro has gone through since last Olympic Games at Rio where he missed an almost secured podium place in the final race. It was a hard hit, both great sailors with Silvia Sicouri and known to us on their F18 & F16s campaigns had just one bad race at Rio that weighted too much on their pursue for a medal.
Later Silvia became a mother so the team split parts, Vittorio continued sailing Nacra 17, now with Maelle Frascari. They were doing good in the new flying N17 World Cup Series just when another crew from Italy started sweeping out the fleet a la Besson-Riou.
Aside the pressure of seeking a second chance at the 2020 Games, another burden for Vitto to endure, now he had to manage an almost impossible internal competition. Many would have crumbled under the situation, or just cruised along and let ‘destiny’ have its way.
But Bissaro & Maelle Frascari decided that the new status quo did not suit them at all. They would fight back and give themselves a chance to even surpass their talented and mighty winning Italian team, Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti. And to target this goal, the only way possible was to start winning events themselves, as their fellow team was at the to of the World with two World Titles under their belt.
Vitto & Maelle started to elevate their, tangible proof was winning Marseille World Cup. With the Tokyo 2020 Timeline flying fast and 2019 Worlds at Auckland coming, the pressure raised to the max, no margin left for them to demonstrate they could also represent their country in 2020.
Back in June we had a chat with Vitto after they won Marseille WCup series. He told after 10 yrs he was still a “Dark Horse”, the label I put to him and Lamberto Cesari when they were youths contending for the F18 World Titles.
I replied that being at the top of an Olympic Class was not what you can call a ‘Dark Horse’, and that he needed to keep pushing no matter what. I pointed out to him to look at Lange’s Olympic campaign which it was not the all winning allure many think of him now. He had some average Laser & Tornado Games before his first Bronze Medal in Greece, and even after it was a tough journey for the Gold at Rio.
Thus much was left for Vitto’s own sailing career, additionally I would persist to put pressure on him from Catsailingnews, so he’d better continue to perform.
If you have seen some footage of the foiling Nacra 17 , you can understand the incredible crew work required, plus the team coordination necessary to get that platform going full blast. Doing it floating mode is already a challenge, getting it done airborne, its finesse at its best. In rowing coordination comes from the team synchronizing on mirror movements, but in the Nacra 17 both sailors need to get their own things done while at the time coordinate for their specific tasks not to interfere your teammate actions. Its a team dance which requires plenty of strength and concentration to be effective. Maelle Frascari represents the work of the entire Nacra 17 fleet crews, I assign them 60% of the boat performance!
In Auckland this past week, Vitto & Maelle have achieved that elevated state of coordination, together with awesome drive under pressure to become the Nacra 17 2019 World Champs. Top Notch Team right now.
The ‘Dark Horse’ label for Vitto its done, expired. Along Maelle their are the Nr 1 Team on a highly competitive Olympic Foiling Class.
Still plenty of challenges lie ahead for both, Tita & Banti have done their own part to deserve a spot in Tokyo, so the Italian Federation has a tough decision ahead.
But Vittorio & Maelle can rest at ease now, they have given all under high stress situation, that again many would have not resisted, more under the level the Nacra 17 Class currently .
They are World Champs now and the Future as always is wide open.
Top ten final results below, complete list at nacra17.org/events/2019-world-championship/#results
Later we will weight on Qualified countries for Tokyo and the rest of the teams. Read Official report by Nacra 17 & 49er Class Assocs below results table.
| Pos | Sail | Team | Net | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | F9 | F10 | F11 | F12 | F13 | F14 | F15 | F16 | M | Tot | |
| 1 | ITA 5 | Vittorio BISSARO | Maelle FRASCARI | 93 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 113 |
| 2 | DEN 71 | Lin CENHOLT | Cp LÜBECK | 96 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 113 |
| 3 | AUS 2 | Jason Waterhouse | Lisa DARMANIN | 103 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 117 |
| 4 | GBR 21 | John GIMSON | Anna BURNET | 109 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 127 |
| 5 | ESP 28 | Tara PACHECO | Florian TRITTEL | 111 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 132 |
| 6 | GBR 91 | Ben SAXTON | Nicola BONIFACE | 111 | 1 | ufd | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 138 |
| 7 | ITA 26 | Ruggero TITA | Caterina BANTI | 115 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 133 |
| 8 | AUT 3 | Thomas ZAJAC | Barbara MATZ | 118 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 133 |
| 9 | ARG 1 | Santiago LANGE | Cecilia CARRANZA | 120 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 140 |
| 10 | FRA 56 | Quentin Delpierre | Manon AUDINET | 123 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 145 |
FINAL DAY – Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships
Auckland witnessed the climax of three tensely fought World Championships, where none of the victors had it easy…
Challenging Auckland wind and waves played their part in determining the outcome of the Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships. We have three winners, but anyone watching the groundbreaking live coverage will know that there were no runaway winners from this epic regatta…
49er: GERMANS MAKE KIWIS SWEAT FOR THEIR 5TH WORLD TITLE
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have won a fifth world title to add to the four consecutive victories they enjoyed between 2013 and 2016. This will be one of the sweetest victories, however, not least because it’s on home waters, but also because of how hard the Kiwis were forced to work for this gold medal.
Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel had made a bit of a mess of the previous day’s racing but the Germans really turned it on at the end of the competition. With Burling/ Tuke forced out of the first Gold Fleet race of the morning due to a broken tiller extension, the Germans had the opportunity to close the points gap. Heil/ Ploessel came from deep in the pack to record a ninth place and then were fast out of the blocks in the next race, winning that one at a canter. Fortunately for home fans Burling/ Tuke had recovered their composure to finish third behind the Germans.
This gave New Zealand an 8-point gap going into the double-points, 10-boat Medal Race, effectively a four-boat buffer on their German rivals. As good as in the bag for the talented New Zealanders, surely…
But no! While racing up the first beat the Germans forced the Kiwis to tack off and Burling slipped from his trapeze handle during the tack to almost capsize. Rounding the windward mark in ninth and out of gold medal position, Burling and Tuke turned on their downwind jets – moving up the fleet and with a few more passes were up into fourth. With the Germans in second there was nothing left that could be done by Heil and Ploessel. Burling and Tuke rose to the occasion despite showing some rare unforced errors, and were pushed hard all the way by Heil and Ploessel. After a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Games, the Germans have displayed sufficient class to be able to dream of beating the New Zealanders to the top step at Tokyo 2020 next summer.
After looking like they might not even make the 25-boat cut for Gold Fleet earlier in the week, Diego Botin & Iago Marra (ESP) made the comeback of the regatta. The Spanish had a shot at the bronze medal if things went their way, and winning the Medal Race was the best way for them to conclude their time in Auckland. The 2017 World Champions Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (GBR) looked to be in trouble but the Brits finished 8th in the Medal Race which was sufficient to hang on to the last medal by a single point from the Spanish. At least the Spanish have done enough to secure a spot for the Olympic Games after failing to make the Gold Fleet at the previous Worlds in Denmark.
49er Medal Race Highlights
49erFX: BRAZILIAN CAPSIZE CONFIRMS DUTCH VICTORY
The 49erFX Championship was a prize fight between the Olympic Gold medallists Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze and the reigning World Champions Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz. The Brazilians used some downwind magic in the first race of the morning to pull in front, but the Dutch sailed perfect beats in race two. The overall lead changed in both races with the Dutch ultimately taking a 2-point advantage into the Medal Race. In other words, no advantage at all, under the double-points format of the Medal Race.
With a who-beats-who medal race the Dutch and Brazilians were in lock step up the beat with wind and wave conditions getting even more challenging than the 49er race seen earlier.
The action started when race leaders and potential bronze medallists Tina Lutz and Susan Beuke (GER 29) went for their gybe and hit a wave midway through – forcing an expensive capsize. With the rest of the fleet hurtling toward the leeward gate the Dutch played it fairly safe and rounded but the Brazilians, hot on their tail, couldn’t release the spinnaker halyard and ended up in a spectacular capsize with Grael jumping clear of the boat as they flipped over the leeward mark.
Essentially the race for gold was over at that point, with the Dutch guiding their boat safely around the course to claim their gold.
The Danish team of Ida Nielsen and Marie Olsen took a second place in the race to pass the Norwegians and Germans to claim the bronze medal.
Bekkering and Duetz are now the only two-time 49erFX World Champions in the history of the skiff class, and they won the European Championship earlier this year as well. While Grael and Kunze are never to be ignored, the Dutch may have taken over their status as favourites for Tokyo 2020 next summer.
49erFX Medal Race Highlights
NACRA 17: ITALIANS PREVAIL IN 3-WAY CATFIGHT
The Nacra 17 Medal Race was a three-way battle for gold, with only 3 points separating Bissaro/Frascari (ITA 5), Cenholt/Lubeck (DEN 71) and Waterhouse/Darmanin (AUS 2). Each of these three teams took different paths up the first beat, none of which worked out tremendously. However it was the Italians who were ahead of the Danish, with the Australians back in last place. The Italians shifted over in the second upwind and forced the Danes backwards with a tight cover on DEN 71. The Danes had one final chance to make the pass they needed on the final downwind, but the Italians were not to be denied and took Championship victory by just a few boat lengths.
For Bissaro and Frascari the victory couldn’t have come at a better time. For most of this Olympic cycle since Rio 2016, Tita and Banti (ITA 26) have been the dominant force. However, the outgoing World Champions struggled to find their form until late in the regatta. A victory in the Medal Race helped lift them to 7th overall, but Bissaro and Frascari have been the class act throughout the week.
Finishing last in the Medal Race meant Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin had to settle for bronze, six points in front of John Gimson & Anna Burnet (GBR) who led the early part of the week. Earlier in the regatta Gimson and Burnet had put themselves in the box seat for Olympic selection but the fast-closing Ben Saxton and Nikki Boniface (GBR) closed the gap by the end of the regatta, finishing 2 points and 2 places behind their British selection rivals. Sandwiched between the British crews in 5th place overall was Tara Pacheco and Florian Trittel (ESP), who are one of many that have a serious shot at an Olympic medal in the Nacra 17 next summer.
Nacra 17 Medal Race Highlights
Full results available at
To watch the racing live
