ROLEX GIRAGLIA 2022
And they’re off! At 12:30 p.m. the inaugural cannon shot sounded over the regatta courses of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. For the first day of inshore racing, an initial breeze of around 6 knots from the east increased during the day up to 10-12 knots from 180°. The fleet completed coastal courses (Groups A and B) and windward-leewards in front of the beaches (Group 0)
Conditions in the Gulf were optimal, with the wind increasing over the course of the day. The start was on schedule for Groups A and B (boats from 9 to 18 metres), who raced on a coastal course of 19 miles, while the larger boats (over 18 metres) completed two races around the marks just off the beach at Pampelonne. Here the big maxi yachts of Class 0 did battle in rapid windward-leeward races, covering approximately 3.5 miles per leg.
The Presidents of the two organising clubs, Gerolamo Bianchi of the Yacht Club Italiano and Pierre Roinson of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, watched with great satisfaction. “We are pleased to see the inshore races of the Rolex Giraglia back in Saint-Tropez after two years of interruption due to the health crisis,” commented Pierre Roinson “it is always a pleasure to admire this fleet of exceptional yachts in the port of Saint-Tropez and, above all, competing on the water! Not to mention the party organised by our partner Rolex. Conceived in 1952 during a dinner for the Yacht Club Italiano and the Yacht Club de France, next year this event will celebrate 70 years from its first edition in 1953. Time passes, sailing boats evolve, but the spirit of collaboration between France and Italy remains unchanged.”
“Saint-Tropez gave us an amazing first day,” noted Gerolamo Bianchi, “and it is with great pleasure that we return to this ‘normality’ with our regatta, in the format introduced in 1998, which highlights the strong bond between Genoa and Saint-Tropez. In our case a sporting bond, but also historical, since in 1436 a Genoese nobleman, Raffaele Di Garezzio, received a mandate from the Count of Provence to repopulate Saint-Tropez. Sixty Ligurian families were brought to Provence and settled in today’s village, thus giving it new life.”
Results of the day: In the IRC division, victory of the day for the A40 Vito 2m owned by Gianmarco Magrini in Group 1 and JPK 10.10 Raging Bee, owned by Jean Luc Hamon, in the second group. In the ORC group, the day went to two historic boats as the Frers 50 Matrero took the lead in its group and the One-Tonner Resolute Salmon, owned by Andrea Zaoli, topped the classification in Group 2.
Remaining on the Pampelonne race course, leaders of their respective groupings at the end of the two races today are:IRC 1: Jethou – Sir Peter Ogden (1,1)
IRC 2: Capricorno – Alessandro Del Bono (1,1)
ORC 0: Leaps & Bound 2 – Jean Philippe Blanpain (1,1)
How to follow racing
From Friday 10 until Saturday 18 June, the main phases of racing will be broadcast each day thanks to a collaboration with Primocanale Production. Several video crews will be working on the water and ashore to bring the racing experience to the general public. To mark the start of the long race, a live broadcast will take place from 11 a.m. on Wednesday 15 June, with interviews, stories from the regatta and recorded images of the event, along with technical commentary in real-time from the studios in Genoa and Saint-Tropez.
Live streaming will be available every day on the Yacht Club Italiano’s YouTube channel, Facebook as well as on Primocanale Channel 10 on digital terrestrial, and online tracking can be accessed at this link.
ROLEX GIRAGLIA
The Giraglia was created in 1953 as a 241-nautical mile offshore race. It has grown consistently since then, and now includes a feeder race from Sanremo and three days of inshore races in the bay of Saint-Tropez. In 2022 this classic regatta celebrates its 69th anniversary. The Rolex Giraglia is organised by the Yacht Club Italiano with the collaboration of the Yacht Club Sanremo and the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez. With the support of: Yacht Club de France, Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL), International Maxi Association (IMA), City of Saint-Tropez, City of Genoa and City of Sanremo.
The Giraglia race is valid as a leg of the IRC-UNCL Mediterranean Championship and is part of the IMA 2022 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge.
Rolex has been the title partner of the Rolex Giraglia since 1998 and this year celebrates 25 years of collaboration with the Yacht Club Italiano.
