Elusive II makes it 2 in a row in the BOV Gozo regatta
Elusive II is the overall winner of the BOV Gozo Regatta 2016, following on their success in the same race in 2015.
The Podesta siblings Maya, Aaron and Christoph took the lead right from the start in the passage race from the Grand Harbour to Mgarr harbour on the first day of racing pipping ‘XPresso’ skippered by Sean Borg by just 2 seconds over the line, and going on to win by a larger margin on corrected time.
Racing in IRC Class 1, ‘Elusive II’ made the most of the strong winds and very rough seas that characterized the coastal races around Comino, winning both coastal races on Saturday.
They also managed to win the last race of the series to win overall with four firsts. David Anastasi, principal race officer set the race course for this last race between Mellieha bay and the fish farms off St Paul’s Bay, giving competitors a lovely course in a good North westerly breeze.
In IRC Class II, ‘Lightning’, with Alfie Manduca at the helm were unstoppable in their class while IRC Class 4 saw four of the five boats challenging for the class win, with Godwin Zammit’s ‘Inspiration’ ahead of Iain Muir’s ‘Alma of Lymington’ and Ferdinand Grech’s ‘Kontiki’
Charles Azzopardi, Head PR and Marketing at Bank of Valletta presented the BOV Gozo Regatta Trophy to Aaron Podesta during the official race presentation ceremony held at the Royal Malta Yacht Club.
‘Congratulations to the crew of ‘Elusive II’ for their win and for being the first boat to notch its name twice on this trophy,’ said Mr Azzopardi. ‘The BOV Gozo Regatta has become a fixture in the local racing calendar and this year’s varying weather tested the crews’ versatility in different sea conditions.’