Consistency pays off when the racing gets tight. Mauro Roversi’s J Curve proved that point decisively in Porto Cervo this week, clinching both the Italian J/70 Class Championship and the J/70 Cup after three days of racing in conditions ranging from light easterlies to a solid Scirocco at 13-15 knots.
The fleet of 18 one-design boats competed across eight windward-leeward races, with Roversi’s crew of Stefano Cherin, Giulia Conti, Diego Larcher, and Filippo Amonti maintaining their nerve when the pressure mounted. A single point separated J Curve from Massimo Rama’s CAIM Jeniale after day one, a gap that expanded slightly before Saturday’s final two races delivered the drama. Both boats finished tied on points, but J Curve’s superior individual race results across the series handed them the title. Yann Inghilesi’s Ciclone took the final podium spot after strong performances in the closing races.
For Roversi, claiming a first Italian title on home waters meant something. “Winning here in Porto Cervo, in a competitive fleet and in conditions you’d expect on the Costa Smeralda, is genuinely proud-making,” he said. “The event was incredibly tight. We were fortunate with the tie-breaker and owe our crew enormous credit. Massimo’s team pushed us hard all weekend—they deserved better luck.”
The J/70 has become a staple of Italian keelboat racing, and Porto Cervo offers both ideal testing grounds and a serious competitive field. Alan Johnstone’s designs performed beautifully on Saturday’s final day when steady Scirocco winds let the fleet lay down long planing runs off the coast. Rama’s CAIM Jeniale won the Corinthian division, a separate classification recognising amateur teams, while the Australian entry Swish took honours in the opening race of the final day.
What might have stayed a straightforward regatta report found added weight on the sidelines. Federico Pilloni from the Young Azzurra development programme secured the vice world championship in iQFOiL U23 racing in Poland during the same weekend, while teammate Maddalena Spanu claimed silver in the WingFoil Racing World Cup in Cagliari on Saturday. That Yacht Club Costa Smeralda had athletes competing at world level across three different foiling disciplines—Olympic iQFOiL, wing foil, and traditional offshore sailing—underscores the depth of talent flowing through their youth pipeline.
Both Pilloni and Spanu return to action at the CICO regatta in Naples from October 20-24, joined by Cesare Barabino in the ILCA 7 class. Barabino competed this week as part of the YCCS team in the J/70 Cup itself, showing the crossover demands that modern sailing places on developing athletes.
The Porto Cervo finale wrapped a demanding 2026 season for the Yacht Club. Next year marks their sixtieth anniversary, but this year’s calendar delivered the racing goods in spades. For Roversi and his crew, the Italian title caps a season where patience and steady sailing beat the flashy days. That’s not a bad lesson to take forward.
