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Igor Simčič, founder of the Esimit Europa project: “I have to congratulate the team for their hard work, earning line honours at this race. What I have seen from the crew members during this long and exhaustive race truly impressed me.”  

MONTE CARLO (MONACO); 21^st August 2012    The fleet participating at the 8^th edition of 500-nautical miles Palermo – Monte Carlo regatta endured a frustrating race, as light winds and dead calms ensured extremely slow progress. After 60 hours of sailing, with average speeds up to a few knots, Esimit Europa 2 took the lead less than 20 miles nautical miles before the finish line and took line honours at 02:47 AM CEST for the third consecutive year. Immediately after crossing the finish line, Igor Simčič, founder of the Esimit Europa project, congratulated the crew for high level of professionalism and doing their best to get the maximum from the yacht regarding the difficult weather conditions.

“This race was in every respect one of the most stressful ever experienced by the Esimit Sailing Team. Frequent dead calms during the entire course of the race and burning sun were testing conditions for the crew members. Therefore, I have to congratulate the team for their hard work to achieve the possible best of what the race allowed. I have been closely monitoring the race, and what I have seen from the crew members during this long and exhaustive regatta equally truly impressed me. I am happy that these efforts resulted in the third consecutive victory at the Palermo – Monte Carlo regatta,” emphasized Igor Simčič, founder of the Esimit Europa project.    

German sailing legend Jochen Schümann, skipper of the Esimit Europa 2 yacht, chose tactics to sail near the Italian coast, rather than going through the Strait of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica, the most common route for the race: “We were very well aware of the forecasted weather conditions, with light winds and dead calms in front of us. Therefore, we have picked the best of all possible wind forecasts for us and hoped for some local breeze which would push us up the coast. When we entered last part of the race, less than 100 nautical miles before the finish line, we have finally picked up some good breeze, seized an opportunity and passed the leading yacht less than 20 miles before Monte Carlo. In the last few miles we have faced dead calm again, but fortunately escaped out of it. I am pleased with crew’s efforts and their motivation through the entire course and happy that we took line honours at the end.”

This year’s regatta, organized by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in collaboration with the Yacht Club de Monaco, marked the 8^th edition of this sport event. The prize-giving ceremony will take place on Thursday, 23^rd August, at the Yacht Club de Monaco, Monte Carlo. Esimit Europa 2 has a busy schedule of races in September and October. The next races for Esimit Europa 2 will be the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, followed by the Bernetti Lombardini Cup, the Barcolana and the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

The Esimit Europa 2 yacht sails under the flag of the European Union, is registered in Cyprus, a member of Yacht Club de Monaco, competes for the Slovenian Sailing Federation and on board joins sailors from 7 different European countries. It is under the patronage of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and endorsed by Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament. Its main sponsor is the global energy company Gazprom, while BMW is the official partner.

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