Loro Piana Giraglia
The Loro Piana Giraglia, organized by Yacht Club Italiano in collaboration with Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, under the guidance of Federazione Italiana Vela and Fédération Française de Voile, is a prestigious sailing event.
First held in 1953, the 73rd edition will take place from June 13 to 16 in Saint-Tropez, featuring four days of inshore racing. The 241nm offshore race will commence on June 17, starting from Saint-Tropez, rounding the Giraglia Rock off Corsica, and concluding in Genoa.
The Loro Piana Giraglia Regatta 2026 will witness an impressive turnout of over 140 yachts from 23 countries or territories. Italy will have the largest representation, followed by France, Great Britain, Germany, and Switzerland. With crew members hailing from six continents, the regatta is a truly international event, attracting sailors from Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Oceania.
While the class divisions for the regatta are yet to be finalized, the entries include 15 boats exceeding 20 meters in length, showcasing powerful performance maxis, elegant classics, and performance cruisers.
The magnificent Giraglia fleet boasts a combined length of 1.9 kilometers, equivalent to the length of 18 football pitches. On the other end of the scale, nine boats under 10 meters in length are participating in the offshore race, with the shortest waterline length belonging to the J/92 Bagatelle (Holger Techen).
The Loro Piana Giraglia offshore race features four boats of 30 meters capable of maintaining line honours pace: Farr 100 Leopard 3 (Joost Schuijff), Mills 100 ‘V’ (Karel Komarek), Jones 100 ARCA SGR (Furio Benussi), which secured Line Honours in 2021. Verdier 100 Magic Carpet E (Lindsay Owen-Jones) narrowly missed Line Honours last year by just 2 minutes and 13 seconds.
The wild card for Line Honours into Genoa is FlyingNikka, an 18.7m Mills design. This futuristic foiler, sailed by Yacht Club Italiano member RobertoLacorte, can achieve speeds exceeding 30 knots under favorable conditions.
The overall runner up in 2025, JV 80 Capricorno (Alessandro Del Bono ITA), ClubSwan 80 My Song (Pier Luigi Loro Piana), second in the 2025 Maxi Class, and Monty Yacht Free at Last (Marco Piana) also compete.
For boats over 15 meters and under 20 meters, there are notable entries from across Europe: Botin 65 Artemis Bleu (James Neville GBR), Carkeek 54 Daguet 5 (Frederic Puzin FRA), Botin 52 Spirit of Lorina 2 (Jean-Pierre Barjon FRA), and JV52 Arkas Blue Moon (TUR), which secured third place in the Loro Piana Giraglia 2025 Regatta. The Botin 52 Arobas (Gerard Logel FRA) returns after placing fourth overall in 2025. The Sangermani 1962 classic Samurai (Luigi Pavese ITA), a 1963 competitor, adds depth to the 15-20m division. The Maltese Sailing Federation’s commitment to international competition is exemplified by their Cookson 50 Viva Malta.
For boats under 15 meters, fierce competition will be fierce. The Ker 46 Searcher 2, piloted by Pete Smyth from Ireland, secured third place overall last year. MAT 1220 Kuka 4, a newcomer to the race, is driven by Franco Niggeler from Switzerland. Niggeler is no stranger to the Giraglia podium. Adding depth to the boats under 15 meters, the Andre Mauric 1975 One Tonner Pilsi will be raced by the Piaggio family. JPK 1050 Invictus will be piloted by Nico Popp from San Francisco, USA. The Yacht Club Italiano youth team will once again be racing ELO II, the 43-foot racing prototype that introduces young sailors to offshore racing under the guidance of world-renowned skippers like Tommaso Chieffi, who will be on ELO II for the race.
The 73rd Loro Piana Giraglia begins in Saint Tropez with the Inshore Regatta for IRC and ORC classes. The regatta is scheduled from Saturday, June 13, 2026, to Tuesday, June 16, 2026, and boats will race in the Gulf of Saint Tropez and Bay of Pampelonne.
The offshore race starts from Saint Tropez on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. The warning signal is scheduled for 11:55 AM. The fleet will race from Saint Tropez, leaving Île du Levant and the Giraglia Rock to port, before finishing in Genoa after approximately 241 nautical miles.
The Loro Piana Giraglia is a classic Mediterranean program that combines inshore racing off Saint Tropez with the famous offshore course to Genoa via the Giraglia Rock.