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\u201cWe are still incredulous but happy,\u201d said Peter Forster, owner of the TP52 Red Bandit which the corrected time ranking decreed the overall winner of edition number 70 \u2013 we\u2019ve had the boat since 2021 and mainly do offshore regattas. With Red Bandit it was love at first sight after we charted her for a Rolex Middle Sea Race that was particularly windy. That time we sailed in complete safety and we realised the potential of that yacht since then we have consolidated the crew, mainly consisting of a fixed nucleus of youngsters \u2013 the average age on board is 29 \u2013 all coming from Olympic classes. We are a tightly knit crew and though we sailed well throughout the first part of the regatta in conditions that were not exactly our strong point (upwind sailing), we lost some time becalmed at the Giraglia and watched Lisa R sail away in the night. We thought that was the end of the race for us and so, in the last stretch towards Genoa, we decided to go and look for more wind to the east, a choice you make when you\u2019ve got little to lose, but it went so well for us that in the last 10 miles we recovered a great deal. Obviously, that risky decision led to our victory. \nOn board everything worked fine, it\u2019s a pleasure for me to sail with this young crew and I am happy to be able to frame this anniversary Rolex Giragliaamong the most important and enjoyable trophies of my sporting career.\u201d \nCarl-Peter Forster, a German of 69, has behind him a long sporting career and a great love for offshore regattas that led him to take place in the world\u2019s most important regattas including the Rolex Fastnet several times, theRolex Middle Sea Race and the Baltic Race. Last year he won the Copa del Rey and always sails with a crew from the Bayerischer Yacht Club \u2013 one of the most ancient and important in Germany and whose colours he bears. \nRed Bandit finished the Rolex Giraglia 2023 in a real-time of 29h17m19s and was ahead of the Ker 46 Lisa R owned by 2022 winner Giovanni di Vincenzowho was close to an unprecedented double, by more than 16 minutes. \nThird overall was Pepe Cannonball, Dario Ferrari\u2019s Botin 75, which stood out in the coastal races in Saint-Tropez and sailed a very fast long race. In the ORC class, the winner was the Argentinian Swan 45 From Now On owned by Fernando Chain, who also came very close to winning in 2022, in front of Antonio Venneri\u2019s Swan 42 Suspiria the Revenge and Stefano Rusconi\u2019s Italia Yachts 11:98 Concrete Investing \u2013 To Be. \n \nWith some boats still to finish, the Rolex Giraglia 70 is drawing to an end that will be marked at 10 o\u2019clock tomorrow morning, the time limit for crossing the line, and the prize-giving ceremony at 11.30 at the headquarters of the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa.<\/p>\n\n