Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup - Tough fight for podium

by Sam Richmond , Alessio Razeto on 15 Sep 2017 The 28th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and Maxi 72 Worlds regatta welcomed 46 yachts to the docks of Porto Cervo, Italy. Clients of North Sails sailed extremely well, winning six of seven classes and claiming 16 of 21 podium positions.

The week’s racing offered a spectacular platform for the breathtaking fleets, boasting beauty in both lines and engineering on Costa Smeralda’s blue waters. Open to yachts 60’ and over, the regatta sorts entries into divisions determined by technical characteristics. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda teamed up with the International Maxi Association and lead sponsor, Rolex, to organize the annual event and, yet again, have done an excellent job; the 28th edition went off without a hitch, and North-powered teams sailed fast and furious on the race course.

Competing in a variety of inshore and coastal races, the regatta spanned six days of sailing in conditions ranging from calm to fresh. In the Mini Maxi R class, Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou had a stronghold on the fleet with six bullets in six races, finishing seven points ahead of the Frers-designed Spectre. Jethou and Spectre are active UK programs with a number of North Sails experts among the crew. Both boats raced with complete North 3Di inventories.

“With a few new faces onboard, the crew pulled out all the stops and we had some of the best coastal racing we’ve ever had in Porto Cervo, a great week. We’ve worked really hard on our off-the-wind setup on this boat, in particular on our reaching sails. Our 3Di FORCE Masthead Zero, Fractional Zero, and A3 ensure that, at whatever angle, we are always fast,” said North Sails expert Sam Richmond, trimmer on Jethou.

North Sails clients filled the podium of Mini Maxi RC 1 – first, second and third place – with Roberto Lacorte’s Supernikka winning the division. Like the majority of her competitors, Supernikka races with a North Sails 3Di sail inventory, managed by North expert Alessio Razeto.

“During the Maxi races in Sardinia we had to fight on corrected time, with boats behind us by 16 minutes, which meant there was nothing we could do if our boat speed was not 100%. This week the mistral pushed hard and we carried our brand new 3Di Code Zero in tighter angles, taking bigger risks. We felt our sail inventory, specifically the 3Di A0 did a fantastic job contributing to our success at the event.”

We asked Alessio how North Sails 3Di was making a difference on the water. He replied:

“We built a new 3Di RAW main, medium jib and code zero. It was impressive the improvement in performance it brought our team. We could easily sail over our target range, and saw differences when sailing upwind against our usual competition, which was historically much faster than us. Our crew has been impressed to have no failures this week, even during the strong winds we experienced from the mistral. Our maneuvers were executed perfectly, and I think this could not be achievable without our 3Di sails.”

At the regatta, the largest fleet was in the Wally division with 11 yachts competing in over six races. In the 100% North-powered fleet, ultimately David M. Leuschen’s Galateia claimed the trophy after racing concluded yesterday, with the leaderboard showing a five point lead over Nahita.

“It is surprising to us!” said Leuschen of Galateia‘s first place win. “The boat is new. We raced half the season last year when the crew was new. We have improved because the crew coordination is better. We did a lot of work on the boat over the winter and we bought a new suit of North Sails, which we like a lot more.”

An impressive week in the Super Maxi’s was won by Ribelle, a Mckeon design which scored six points in five races while using North 3Di sails. And in the Maxi division, North-powered Highland Fling prevailed with owner Irvine Laidlaw at the helm and North Sails expert Mike Toppa onboard.

Congratulations to all North Sails clients competing at the 2017 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.

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