Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup Overall: Leopard and North Star crowned World Champions
by James Boyd / International Maxi Association 13 Sep 01:13 PDT
6-12 September 2026
After a dramatic 25 knot penultimate day at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association, Saturday's concluding race took place in more benign conditions. The classes were divided into two groups sailing similar coastal courses - nosing into Bomb Alley, before descending south around the islands of Soffi and Mortorio and returning to Porto Cervo. The course for Maxi 4 and 5 was 24 miles, while for the remainder it was 28.
Joost Schuijff's Leopard 3 started the day with a four point lead in the eight boat Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship fleet and the chances of her securing the title were elevated when several of her competitors - including Karel Komárek's V and David M Leuschen and Chris Flowers' Galateia - were called OCS and forced to restart. They soon recovered, but the Leopard 3 crew did a fine job covering to win by 3 minutes 8 seconds under IRC corrected time.
While V had started the week strongly, Leopard 3's victory was decisive, winning five races from seven to end the week 7 points ahead of V and a further two in front of the defending World Champion Galateia. Leopard 3 won the first edition of the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship in 2024 and only lost on countback last year.
"This year we won, but in a completely different manner," observed Schuijff. "Last year we came from behind on the last day. This time we were in control and dominated. We have a very well-trained team and have worked hard for a long time. We trained in Palma and here. I always come early to really go through the practicing because I consider myself still to be the weakest link among these professionals." Leopard 3 was upgraded for this season with a revised aero package including a new boom, improved balance and light wind performance.
Integral to Leopard 3's success is her captain Chris Sherlock, who dedicated this week's win to the boat's original owner Mike Slade, who died recently: "He was obviously a huge part of the Leopard team so it's been quite emotional. This is one's for Mike and the Slade family." Sherlock was part of Slade's Leopard program for 27 years and has continued for seven since.
Sherlock continued. "Today we match raced V around the course. V, Galatea and ourselves are all pretty even. Yesterday we had a great day and that really set the bar: Our heavy air boat speed is really good, and we have great camaraderie within the team, which has been the same for a few years." Leopard 3's afterguard includes Chris Nicholson, double Olympic gold medallist Matt Wearn and navigator Will Best.
Today the smaller in Maxi 1 enjoyed the conditions with Alessandro Del Bono's 82ft Capricorno finishing second ahead of Pier Luigi Loro Piana's 80ft My Song.
In the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship, the result was more clear-cut. Without sailing today, Peter Dubens' North Star III would have won on countback from yesterday's double winner, Peter Harrison's Jolt. Nonetheless she did sail and even won the final race - all told a fine result for Dubens' 76 footer, despite this being her first regatta: she won every race save for Friday's windward-leewards.
"I had zero expectations," commented Dubens, whose company owns North Technology Group, that in turn owns sail makers North, Doyle and Quantum. "It is a new boat, so I had no idea. I only had a week to practise, although the crew had three. It was only a year ago when they told me what they were going to do. They've done a good job." For Dubens this week's highlights were the strong wind races: "They were amazing. And it was a record speed for me - 27.2 knots."
Tactician Nick Rogers added: "I was pretty confident that the boat would be great, but obviously it's sport and there's always ups and downs. For the guys who made this happen it's been a massive effort: no gear failure, no breakages, no handling errors."
Designed by judel-vrolijk and built by Persico in Italy, North Star III follows Duben's previous North Star (ex-Rán II). She was launched in June but was far from finished. Since then they have had two weeks training in La Ciotat and then in Saint-Tropez with Dubens.
The multihull class returned strongly this year after a hiatus in 2025 with six boats including the event's first ever trimaran - Marcos Sirota's 63ft Sophia. During the week they enjoyed some of the closest racing and theirs was the only class which concluded with a tie-break. Adrian Keller's 84ft Allegra won today's final race, beating Sophia by just 29 seconds, moving her up to equal overall points with Irvine Laidlaw's 80ft Highland Fling XVIII, the winner on countback.
"It was great," said Laidlaw. "The boat's fairly new and we're constantly improving it. We're good in heavy conditions and we did 34.7 knots yesterday, which must be a record speed for this event. We even did 31 knots across the finish line!"
He continued: "We've got a growing fleet of multihulls and they're ideal for let's say 'more mature owners' (like myself), who are may be struggling with a monohull. My only regret on moving to cats is that I didn't do it three years earlier. It's more difficult to helm and requires more attention - you can't relax - but when you get off the helm, there's somewhere to sit down and you don't sit on the rail. I hope to still be sailing into my 90s." (He is currently 83).
Following on from his Land Rover Sardinia Cup victory, James Neville aboard his Botin 65 Artemis Bleu won Maxi 3. Luciano Gandini's Mylius 80 FD Twin Soul B led earlier in the week until suffering a DNF due to rudder problems on Thursday.
"We were able to hold on in the light stuff, which was critical, because it's really tough against the much longer boats in the lighter conditions," observed Neville. "It took us a couple of days to get the trimming sorted out in those lighter conditions, but then in the heavy conditions, this boat's just spectacular - it lights up and is gone."
Today Artemis Bleu scored her third consecutive bullet. "It was very up and down, really fluky, which made it hard."
Second to Artemis Bleu in all of the last three races was the JV62 racer Manticore skippered by Silvia De' Longhi and Franz Wilhelm Baruffaldi Preis. "We really love it because it recharges us before going back to work for a very long winter," commented Preis. "In a 62ft racing boat it's tough against the 80 and 90 footers: but in yesterday's condition, for example, we really fly." De' Longhi added: "I was steering yesterday and it was very, very exciting - a lot of adrenaline - it was fantastic."
The story in Maxi 4 was similar with Vincenzo Addessi's Mylius 18E35 Fra Diavolo on a winning streak early on until the big breeze kicked in and Luigi Sala's Vismara 62 Yoru began dominating. In fact today's race was won by former IMA President Benoît de Froidmont's Wally 60 Wallyño, but Yoru's result was enough to see her win overall by a point from Fra Diavolo.
Sala, who had Gabriele Bruni on tactics, was delighted with his first ever Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup victory. "This is definitely the highest point of my career so far. It's brilliant." This was also 'therapy' for Sala's team following a severe collision they suffered here three years ago.
Last but not least, the winning streak continued for Riccardo De Michele's Vallicelli 78 H2O which won Maxi 5 - an eighth class win for the team, a Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup record. H2O tactician Lorenzo Bodini commented: "This time was completely different from before because we were the fastest boat in our class, whereas previously we were closer together and there was more boat-on-boat fighting. This time we were so far away from the smallest boat it was very difficult."
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup was the fifth event of the International Maxi Association's 2026 Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge, which concludes at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez over 28 September to 3 October. At present with one event to go, V leads Leopard 3 in this by a solid 292 points to 238.
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