Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup sets celebratory tone

by Quinag on 3 Sep 2017 The 28th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup gets underway tomorrow and the talk on the dock is enthusiastic about the prospect of a week of high quality racing among the behemoths of the sailing world.

50 yachts, all over 60 feet, have entered and are primed for the sporting contest that lies ahead. With the organizing club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS), marking its 50th anniversary this year, there is an evidently positive and celebratory mood among the owners and crew despite strong winds having kept boats tied firmly to the dock over the past two days.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is one of yachting’s most revered competitions. Launched in 1980 by the YCCS, itself founded in 1967 by H.H. the Aga Khan among others, the regatta is held in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA) and enjoys the committed support of Rolex, title sponsor since 1985. Principal Race Officer, Peter Craig, the man tasked with leading the on-the-water management, is looking forward to getting the 2017 event started: “It’s a robust looking fleet, with plenty of competition throughout the classes. The yachts have been divided using traditional Maxi class splits with a subdivision of the Mini Maxi Racer/Cruisers to ensure ‘like races like’ in this the largest of the participating classes.”

Special Rapport
Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of the YCCS was keen to express the club’s depth of feeling for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, one of the crown jewels within its extensive portfolio of yacht-racing events: “The YCCS has always had a special rapport with the world of Maxi yachts and I want to extend a warm welcome to the owners that come back to Porto Cervo every year and to those who are participating for the first time. This is a special year for us because we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary; we’re very happy to have 50 of these beautiful boats here in Porto Cervo, we really couldn’t have hoped for a better gift.”

The all-pervading buoyant atmosphere was reflected by Andrew McIrvine, Secretary-General of the IMA: “It’s an excellent entry for this year’s event and it’s rather special that we have the number of boats matching age of the YCCS. It’s been a difficult beginning with a Mistral blowing. Crews haven’t been able to go out and do their usual training, so it could make for an interesting first day tomorrow. All said, we have great expectations for this wonderful competition.”

The Mistral winds currently dominating this area of the Mediterranean are expected to subside overnight. Mike Broughton, the navigator on Claus-Peter Offen’s 100-foot Y3K, explained that most weather models had suggested the wind would die this afternoon, but that the one thing predictable when racing here is the unpredictability of the wind: “My feeling is that the high mountains of Sardinia and Corsica have most probably kept winds stronger for longer than expected.”

Im Contention
The seven principal classes are: Maxi 72, racing for their World Championship; Wally; Supermaxi; Maxi Racer; Maxi Racer/Cruiser; Mini Maxi Racer and Mini Maxi Racer/Cruiser, which is split into two groups.

The five-strong Supermaxi fleet looks a fascinating prospect with four past class winners in Nilaya, Viriella, Inoui and, 2016 debutante Win Win, along with the relatively unknown newcomer Ribelle adding spice to the mix. The Wally fleet has its customary strength in depth with four crews having won previously at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, including defending champion Open Season, Y3K, Magic Carpet Cubed and J One, itself celebrating 20 years of competition in Porto Cervo. The Maxi 72s will undoubtedly provide fireworks as they pursue their World Championship. Bella Mente is looking to defend her title against Momo, Caol Ila R, Proteus and the impressively fast Cannonball, another yacht competing at the event for the first time.

At the Skipper’s Briefing, Craig advised that the long-term weather forecast looks favourable, although light on Monday and Tuesday. All classes would start with a coastal race through the incomparable setting of the Maddalena archipelago, which has provided the sublime background to Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup for close to thirty years.

Assuming the forecast holds, racing begins at 11.30 CEST tomorrow, 4 September, and continues through to Saturday, 9 September.