MAXI YACHT ROLEX CUP
Leading the provisional overall standings are: Galateia in the Maxi A Class, Proteus tied with Bella Mente in Maxi B, Spirit of Lorina in Maxi C, Y3K in Supermaxi, Allegra in the Multihull Class and Svea among the J Class
Day three brought a memorable day of sailing for the competitors in the 33rd Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The predicted drop in the breeze did not materialise, and another practically perfect day of racing ensued, with a northerly wind of around 14 knots that reached 20 knots on the upper part of the course. While the J Class yachts completed two windward-leeward races, all the other classes sailed a 30-mile coastal course, slightly reduced to 26 for the Maxi C Class. After a beat to the offset mark, the fleet sailed counter-clockwise around the islands of Caprera, La Maddalena and Spargi, returning to Porto Cervo via the La Maddalena channel and the Passo delle Bisce. The close reaching legs made for particularly spectacular viewing, especially in the case of the multihull yachts, which could occasionally be seen racing with their upwind hulls lifted slightly out of the water.
In the Maxi A Class the Wally 93 Bullitt, owned by YCCS member Andrea Recordati, won on corrected time by over a minute ahead of the WallyCento Galateia and the Botin 85 Deep Blue. In real time, the first boat across the finish line was FlyingNikka, who flew on her foils for the entire duration. With today’s second place, Galateia consolidates her position at the head of the overall ranking, followed by Leopard 3 and My Song, sitting on 4 and 5 points respectively.
In the Maxi B Class, Hap Fauth’s Maxi racer Bella Mente dominated from the start and went on to extend her lead over Proteus and Pepe Cannonball, who finished in second and third place respectively. The provisional overall classification in the Maxi B Class sees Proteus and Bella Mente tied on 7 points, followed by Pepe Cannonball 5 points behind.
In the Maxi C Class, Jean Pierre Barjon’s Spirit of Lorina continues to dominate with a clean run of three consecutive victories, the same goes for Riccardo de Michele’s H2O behind him, posting a hat-trick of second-place finishes. Third place today went to Open Season, the Baltic 68 Café Racer owned by Thomas Bscher. The overall ranking naturally sees Spirit of Lorina and H2O in the top two spots, with Oscar 3 in third.
In the Multihull class, victory today went to Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s Gunboat 80 Highland Fling 18, which can rely on the tactical calls of Cameron Appleton and the multihull experience of Loick Peyron. Second place went to Adrian Keller’s Allegra, just 14 seconds off the winner in corrected time. In the provisional ranking, Allegra leads with 4 points, followed by Convexity 2 on 7 points and Highland Fling, which did not race yesterday, with 8 points.
In the Supermaxi Class the win of the day went to Claus-Peter Offen’s Y3K, followed by Inoui, Marco Vogele’s 108-foot Briand design in second, and Juan Ball’s Swan 115 Moat in third. All three sit in the same positions in the overall ranking.
Among the J Class yachts the unchallenged domination of Svea continued as she triumphed in both of today’s races around the cans. In the first race, second place went to Topaz and third to Velsheda, who then swapped finishing positions for the second race of the day.
Today will be a rest day, with the traditional Rolex Gala Dinner taking place in the evening. The schedule for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup sees racing resume on Friday, 8 September at 12 noon.
Racing can be followed on the YCCS Instagram account, or via live tracking on the website www.yccs.it.
