Final Regata dei Tre Golfi classes decided as IMA Maxi Europeans enters its second phase
by International Maxi Association 24 May 10:37 PDT
29 April - 3 May 2026
While on Saturday morning the faster Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix yachts crossed the Naples finish line of the Regata dei Tre Golfi, the offshore race of the IMA Maxi European Championship, it was only at 2245 last night that Giuseppe Puttini's Shirlaf arrived.
The Swan 65 ketch, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year, may have been last home, but won the combined Maxi 4/5 class - no fluke, having previously won the race twice before in 2021 and 2024. Shirlaf beat Riccardo De Michele's Vallicelli 78 H20 and the Mylius 18E35 Fra' Diavolo of Vincenzo Addessi on the Maxi 4/5 podium.
Mario Noto, Shirlaf's mainsail trimmer commented: "It was a very pleasant regatta, especially as we won! Strangely, passing Li Galli was without any problems and we
arrived with a good speed - very different from previous years. We only had one crisis, immediately after Punta Campanella, on our way into the Gulf of Naples when in very light winds and waves, we stopped for over an hour. The Regata dei Tre Golfi is a 'must do' for Shirlaf, the owner Mr Puttini being a local. He loves to be here in Sorrento." For this race Shirlaf's star tactician, Gabriele Bruni was unable to take part; Pierluigi Fornelli taking his position.
Earlier in the day, a past line honours winner and race record holder, Guido Paolo Gamucci, was both first home in Maxi 3 and claimed the class overall prize under IRC corrected time; his canting keel Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X having finished in just under 25 hours.
"It was very satisfactory," reflected a delighted Gamucci upon reaching Sorrento's Marina Piccola mid-afternoon. "Going up to Ponza we were not in a fantastic position, but then there were four transitions and we managed to handle them all right. When we arrived at Li Galli, as always, there was a stop, but again we managed to get round and then had the courage to go offshore because we saw that inshore there was no wind. We stayed a mile away off the coast and then we crossed close to Capri. That saved us hours because it was very tricky to get out from Punta Campanella."
Aside from over the winter upgrading Cippa Lippa X's hydraulics, enabling faster sail changes and manoeuvres, Gamucci's team has also a new tactician in Francesco Bertone Fresia. "He's extremely calm. He's not interested in the management of the boat - he just looks around and sees winds where it doesn't seem to exist!"
Looking forward to the next four days of inshore and coastal racing, Gamucci is very keen to win this finally, having on three previous occasions finished runner-up in the IMA Maxi Europeans.
Joining Cippa Lippa X on the Regata dei Tre Golfi Maxi 3 podium were Paul Berger's Swan 80 Kallima and Jean-Sebastien Decaux's Wally 94 Sensei.
Kallima is the class' defending champion at the IMA Maxi Europeans. The team's Romain Mouchel commented: "It is never really nice when you go offshore and your routing tells you that you have 45 minutes of downwind sailing and the rest is upwind. We knew we had 45 minutes of fairly strong breeze - 15-17 knots at the start. Then just outside of the Gulf [of Naples] the new breeze was coming from the northwest.
"It was upwind to Ponza, and for Kallima it was champagne sailing: Flat seas, 12-15 knots so we could stretch our legs. When we got to Ponza, it got very shifty, but we did okay. And then the wind shifted 180°, and we were back upwind whereas the 100s got a couple of hours of downwind sailing doing 14-15 knots. When we got to Li Galli, it was so flukey. Cippa Lippa X was a few miles ahead and handled the transition better than us and managed to escape. It was painful. You're 10-15 miles away from the finish and you're just stuck with no breeze. So that made the race a little longer, but second is good."
Like Cippa Lippa X, Kallima also has a new tactician this year in French former America's Cup and Olympic sailor Thomas le Breton.
The Regata dei Tre Golfi was the third event in the IMA's 2025-26 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge, currently being led by Pascale Decaux's 100ft Tilakkhana II.
Throughout the four classes - Maxi 1, Maxi Grand Prix, Maxi 3 and Maxi 4/5 - competition will be tight over the next four days (25-28 May) of windward-leeward and coastal racing.
Round the world legend Dee Caffari, helm coach for Pascale Decaux on board Tilakkhana II in Maxi 1, is looking forward to it: "The Bay of Naples is always interesting with its weather and its swell. There is no reason why we shouldn't be in the mix: It is about not making mistakes. As soon as you sail windward-leewards/short course racing anything can happen because it is more strategic and about where you position yourself with other boats. We are feeling good - we have a change of crew this year, but these boats are very complex and it doesn't take much to put you down."
Cameron Dunn is strategist on Peter Harrison's Jolt in the Maxi Grand Prix class. "We're looking forward to some awesome racing. We've had a really nice training with all six of us. You come to this regatta every year and every boat is a bit different than it was the year before. This year it seems more even than it's been in the past. We've had two years where we've been the highest rating boat and we've had an edge upwind with the trim tab and so forth. Now we don't have that and it's very different being back in the pack. And here, racing alongside the 100s it's quite a different dynamic."
The first warning signal for tomorrow's coastal race will be at 1200.