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58 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2015 Sport SAILING 'The Maltese Factor' at the J70 Italian Championships The J70 is the world's most high profile sports boat WITH over 1,000 hulls built in three years, this is considered to be the sailing class of the future, the class where both pros and amateur sailors compete to show their met- tle. The J70 class hit Malta last year and currently there is a thriving fleet of 5 boats crewed by some of the top local sailors. This year, the best Maltese J70 team campaigned by Sebastian Ripard and Benji Borg, travelled to Europe to compete on the in- ternational circuit with their best achieved in the Italian J70 Nation- als held at Fraglia Vela Riva Del Garda between 10 and 12 Septem- ber. Thirty one teams from eight countries entered this event, a strong European fleet which in- cluded the top Italian teams: Calvi, L'elagain and Notaro which had placed 2nd, 5th and 6th respective- ly in the World Championships in La Rochelle last July. In Garda, our Maltese team turned up, under dressed and un- der stated..... They entered the regatta and surely they left their mark. Having scored 4th (of 31) in the first three races held on day one it was no surprise that the Italian press titles the following morning read: 'Day 1 Eurocup: The Maltese Factor'. The Maltese boys contin- ued to sail a very consistent regatta and finished 3rd overall knocking even Team Notaro (ranked 6th in the world!!) off the podium! Commenting about their per- formance, Sebastian Ripard and Benji Borg made it evidently clear that they were very happy with the result but also that they are hungry for more...... with their 2016 goal being to place in the top 5 at the European Championships to be held Kiel, Germany. There is a certain momentum in sailing at the moment. The local J70 fleet is growing and compet- ing regularly. High profile corpora- tions such as MAPFRE Middlesea, SIMON Estates and BetSafe are supporting the development of this type of sailing which allows for Maltese top teams to compete in a level playing field abroad. "Maybe, just maybe, if we con- tinue down this path our sailors will start flying the Maltese flag from atop some of Europe's most prestigious regatta podiums" said Sebastian Ripard. "Either way achieving a 3rd place at the Ital- ian J70 National Championships is great result for us and of course for Malta. We may be small but we certainly have a track record of punching above our weight" The J70 Maltese class can be followed on their Face- book page, 'J70 Association Malta' or on their website - www.J70malta.com Virtù Ferries This week's winner is PETER GALEA who collected his two tickets from Virtù Ferries MaltaToday and Virtù Ferries have teamed up to take one lucky winner and a companion every week to Sicily, with two tickets to be won every week in our photography competition. Already been on holiday? Good: we're sending you back if your best photograph from your holidays and travels makes the cut. That's right: send us a good quality image of your holidays and we'll send the best one to the gateway of Italy with Virtù Ferries. Malta - Sicily Express Ferries For more information visit www.virtuferries.com or contact by telephone 23491000 RULES OF THE COMPETITION maltatoday Conditions apply: 1. Tickets for each week's competition can only be won by one person who submits one entry of a high-res image with description. Entrants with more than one entry WILL NOT be considered. Entrants must send a description of photo. 2. Winners will be informed before the end of the week, and then announced on maltatoday.com.mt and MaltaToday on Sunday. 3. By entering this offer, entrants consent to their photos being published and owned by Mediatoday Co Ltd. 4. The entrant with the best photograph will be awarded two (2) return tickets, valid for travel to any Virtù Ferries destination. Mediatoday's decision is final. 5. Tickets are issued free of charge, excluding port charges, and in accordance with Virtù Ferries' rules and regulations. All taxes and charges are to be paid accordingly by the winning entrant upon the issuance of tickets. 6. This offer is closed to employees and contributors of Mediatoday Co. Ltd and Virtù Ferries, or their family members. This week's theme: Travel SEND US PHOTOS FROM YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY PHOTO COMPETITION Photos should be a hi-res image (one per individual entry) with a sentence or two about what inspired you to take your photo. Entrants are kindly reminded not to send in personal family pictures that might be unrelated to theme subjects unless expressly requested. If sending a photo by post, address it to: 'MaltaToday photo competition', Mediatoday, Vjal ir- Rihan, San Gwann, SGN9016 Please supply your daytime telephone number, your name, your home address and an email address. Send the photo via email on info@mediatoday.com.mt [SUBJECT HEADING: MaltaToday photo competition] by next Friday at 9am. Themes may change from one week to the other The J70 is the world's most high profi le sports boat. Photo Courtesy - James Robinson Taylor