The 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of title sponsor Rolex and in collaboration with the International Maxi Association, concluded today in Porto Cervo.
For the last day of racing the Race Committee had moved the start forward to 11 a.m., with the intention of having all classes complete a coastal race of approximately 21 miles, circumnavigating the islands of Mortoriotto and Soffi in a clockwise direction. All classes, with the exception of the Maxi C, the last in the starting sequence, got off to a steady start in about 6 to 7 knots of north-westerly wind, which soon began to fade. The Race Committee was left with no choice but to hoist the AP flag for the Maxi C class and stop racing for all other classes. After about an hour of waiting for any thermal breeze to fill in, at 1 p.m. the Race Committee announced that there would be no new start, thus declaring the 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup closed.
In the Maxi A Class, David Leuschen and Chris Flowers’ WallyCento Galateia won with a clear lead over Leopard 3 and Bullitt, which must be credited with an excellent comeback after retiring on the first race day. Yesterday, due to a calculation error, Bullitt was wrongly classified as having finished in second place.
Bella Mente, with 2 wins and 3 second places is the winner of the Maxi B Class, 3 points ahead of Proteus, the initial class leader, and 6 ahead of Pepe Cannonball in third.
The Maxi C Class was dominated from day one by Spirit of Lorina, Jean Pierre Barjon’s Botin 65, which racked up a series of three firsts and a fourth place. Second place went to YCCS member Riccardo de Michele’s Vallicelli 78 H2O, which also won in Sub-Class 4. In third place was Oscar 3, a Mylius 65 owned by Aldo Parisotto. Stella Maris, Matteo Fossati’s Starkel 64, took the win in Subclass 5 within this group.
In the Multihull Class, included for the first time in this Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, YCCS member Adrian Keller’s Allegra triumphed, followed on equal points by Highland Fling 18 and Convexity 2.
Y3K, the brand new Wally 101 owned by YCCS member Claus-Peter Offen, won the Supermaxi class on her debut outing, ahead of the Swan 115 Moat and the Briand 108 Inoui.
The J Class Svea dominated the class, with a perfect run of 6 wins out of 6 races held. Velsheda and Topaz followed in second and third respectively. Svea’s helmsman and co-owner is Swede Niklas Zennstroem, who has already won the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup five times in the past, four on board the Maxi72 Ran and once last year, also with Svea.
A packed prize-giving ceremony saw trophies awarded to the top three finishers in the six classes, as well as prizes such as Maxi Yacht Line Honours, which went to Roberto Lacorte’s FlyingNikka, for the boat with the best real time in the coastal races. The Perpetual Trophy in memory of Commodore Alberini was presented to YCCS member Pier Luigi Loro Piana, owner and helmsman of My Song. The Paolo Massarini ORC Challenge Trophy, meanwhile, went to Claus-Peter Offen for Y3K’s victory in the Supermaxi class.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda used MarkSetBot robotic buoys for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which maintain their position thanks to an electric motor combined with a GPS system, eliminating the need for anchors on the seabed.
In its drive to make its events ever-more sustainable, the YCCS obtained Gold Clean Regattas certification from Sailors for the Sea for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
The 34th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will take place from 8th to 14th September 2024.
The next regattas on the YCCS calendar will be dedicated to the International 5.5 Metre Class: first the Scandinavian Gold Cup, running from 20th to 24th September, followed by the World Championship from 24th to 29th September.
Results, or YCCS websit
