ITALIAN TEAM WINS J/70 EUROPEAN TITLE

We Talk To Giulio Desiderato, Main Trimmer And North Class Expert Onboard

After a tough battle at the J/70 European Championships in Malcesine, Lake Garda, the North powered Petite Terrible won the European title. With Italian Class Expert Giulio Desiderato sailing onboard as Main Trimmer, he gives us the low-down on how the team came to be at the top of the podium in the largest and arguably most competitive One Design class.

Amazingly, this victory is not unusual for the Rossi family. Helm of Petite Terrible, Claudia Rossi, won the Europeans in both Kiel and Hamble after Claudia’s father won the Europeans with his team in Vigo last year, all with North Sails inventories.

Claudia Rossi gives us her account of the regatta: “I have been sailing in J/70 class for four years and after trying various sails, I am happiest with North Sails. The boat is fast and easy to drive which is also helped by having Giulio Desiderato onboard. He knows the sails very well and can therefore ensure we trim them in the right way. Of course, having a fast boat makes things easier, but I think the key to our success was our team. We were always united, we believed in it until the end and when we needed to push, we all gave 110% resulting in an exciting and well deserved victory, an incredible experience!”

“I have been sailing in J/70 class for four years and after trying various sails, I am happiest with North Sails. The boat is fast and easy to drive which is also helped by having Giulio Desiderato onboard. He knows the sails very well and can therefore ensure we trim them in the right way.”

The regatta brought a fantastic mix of wind strengths, with some very light days proving testing for the healthy fleet of 124 boats. We asked Giulio how the sails handled in these tricky race conditions: “The regatta has been difficult and intense with some conditions as light as 5-6 knots. However, luckily the Championship finished with a nice 15-17 knot wind blowing from the south. We found the right way to tune the mast and trim our sails properly and as a result, have been leading the fleet most of the time, no matter what the conditions. This consistency is the key to our success.”

The team are very familiar with Malcesine and Lake Garda, but the Europeans brought unusual conditions. For most of the regatta, although all races were sailed, it was too hot for the well-known Ora wind to develop.

“The XCS-2 Mainsail we raced with had been used at two previous major events which says it all! We are very impressed with the sail quality and shape. We also used the North Sails J-2 High Clew Jib and AP-1 Spinnaker.”

Petite Terrible started racing together in 2015. Giulio first became involved as a coach, helping to prepare the crew for the World Championship in San Francisco. This season, they chose to work together have him as part of the team as Main Trimmer.

“The last race is one that I will never forget,” says Giulio. “All the races before this, we fought with the other boats in the top of the fleet to win the title. In the final race, we decided to sail our own race by not making it too complicated and just pushing hard until the end. We had a great start close to the pin end, sailed fast passing various opponents and when we got close to rocks we tacked onto port crossing in front of the whole fleet!”

“The last race is one that I will never forget. We decided to sail our own race by not making it too complicated and just pushing hard until the end. We had a great start close to the pin end, sailed fast passing various opponents and when we got close to rocks we tacked onto port crossing in front of the whole fleet!”

We wish the team good luck at their next event in August, the World Championships in Torquay, UK.

Talk to Class Expert, Giulio Desiderato, and browse the J/70 Shop Inventory.

“I would like to thank my team – Claudia, Michele and Matteo e Ross. Also, a huge thank you to our team mates onboard Enfant Terrible and all the people that support us during the season and the fantastic week. Big thanks to Alberto Rossi that made it possible. Finally, a big hug to Simone Spangaro, the previous Petite Terrible Main Trimmer. He is the team’s number one supporter and never stops helping us.”