The Skippers' Meeting Marks the Beginning of Easter Regatta Competitions

The 14th Easter Regatta started with the first Skippers' Meeting at which Mr Petar Paštrović, Regatta Chairman, welcomed the sailors.

Due to unfavorable weather and "today's climate", as he referred to the crisis, this year's regatta is attended by fewer crews and therefore the rules will be modified to a certain extent. First and most importantly, ten sailboats with the best results will sail the final race and the 11th crew will get the so-called "wild card".

Alen Kustić, Chairman of the Regatta Committee, confirmed that wind forecast is not promising for the first two days and that the first race scheduled for 11a.m. will be postponed.

Kustić continued by explaining how this regatta will be special, because Group C has a total of 9 points so Groups A and B will start at the same time due to a total of 13 points. All races will be windward/leeward with the time limit of two and a half hours. Due to sailing conditions and lack of wind the course might be changed and the number of turns increased. Group C will sail one and Groups A and B two legs. For the final race results will be listed by group and each will have a separate ranking list. This is the first regatta sailed under ORC Rules, therefore at the end an overall ranking will be shown, since this is the first in the series of regattas for the Croatian Cup.

The idea is, as Chairman of the Regatta Committee explained, for the final race to be sailed by the best sailors, i.e. sailboats and crews that are competing in the more demanding IMS events.

The Regatta Complaints Commission Chairman Mr Daroslav Makjanić repeated the standard complaints procedure and emphasized that the time limit for submitting a complaint is 90 minutes and decisions will be made within 30 minutes from the submittal and displayed on the scoreboard.

The medical team will sail along the course on the Marco Polo.

Group winners will be awarded plaques on Friday evening after qualifying races, and the best sailors in the final race will receive their awards at the awards ceremony to be held on Saturday evening.