Piran's picture-postcard waterfront gave the fleet a fitting backdrop for the opening day of the 470 Masters Cup, and it was the Italians who made the sharpest start.
Racing off the Slovenian coast produced six to nine knots of breeze, enough for three races before the fleet came ashore. The windward mark sat right in front of the old town, giving sailors a view of the Adriatic most would happily photograph between starts.
Giacomo Maranzana and Giorgio Leone posted a 2-1-2 to sit atop the leaderboard after the opening day.
"It was a fantastic day on the water. We made a 2-1-2, and I hope we are first after today! The conditions were fantastic, the racing was good, everything was okay," Maranzana said.
Nothing rattled the Italian pair. "The fleet is competitive, but today everything went perfectly. Nothing went wrong, it was a fantastic day."
For Leone, the 470 is where it all began. "I raced in the 470 class when I was a child, and it's my first love in sailing. When I was young, I competed at the 470 Junior Championship against some of the best sailors, including a competitor who is now sailing with Luna Rossa," he recalled.
Further back in the fleet, the Apprentice Masters category is shaping into a genuine scrap. Swiss pair Julian Flessati and Stephan Ammann are locked on points with Germany's Rosa Hanig and Stefan Oetken.
There's a family thread running through that German entry. Rosa and Stefan are daughter and father, sharing a boat and, evidently, a sport.
"It's nice to learn a lot from him and it's nice to spend some time with him," Rosa said. Stefan feels much the same way about it. "It's perfect that she has a lot of fun sailing with me. It's great."
The 470 has shaped a good chunk of his sailing life. "I have a lot of nice memories from the 470 Class. I sailed in great conditions when I was younger, and I also sailed with my brother years ago at the Masters Cup. For the last four years, I've been sailing with my daughter, and that's really nice. Sailing is definitely something that is very much part of our family," he added.
Italy holds the top spot in the Masters category too, with Leonardo Passinetti and Stefano Barbarini leading.
In the Grand Masters fleet, Slovenians Dušan Puh and Matjaž Puh are out in front. Dušan also happens to be the oldest sailor in this year's regatta, a nice footnote on home waters.
Three races down, plenty of racing still to come. On the evidence of the standings so far, none of it is likely to be straightforward.
