Off Porto Cervo this afternoon, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup fleet faced a mix of weather conditions including calms, a stiff 20 knot Mistral with gusts reaching 30 knots, rain, and moments of brilliant sunshine, all within a three to four hour period.
The second day of racing featured the 80-100 footers competing for the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Champion title, sailing two windward-leeward races. The remaining classes, including the former Maxi 72s in the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship, tackled a 41-mile coastal course, with others covering a similar 37.5-mile route. All boats navigated a series of turns and changing weather conditions before returning to Porto Cervo Marina.
In the first race, 14.2 miles long and held in 16-20 knots of wind, Wendy Schmidt’s 85ft Deep Blue did not start, and Alessandro Del Bono’s Capricorno did not finish. David M Leuschen and Chris Flowers’ 100ft Galateia edged ahead of Karel Komárek’s V at the top mark and maintained the lead downwind. Strategist Murray Jones noted the importance of timing, stating, “We might have just got a couple of nice puffs. The boat was going well downwind.” Galateia finished first on the water and under corrected time, followed by Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s 80ft My Song and YCCS Commodore Andrea Recordati’s Wally 93 Bullitt.
Chris Flowers’ daughter, Lizz, helmed Galateia, describing the challenge of balancing speed and control during the race. “Finding that edge where you’re going to broach, or between broaching and going quickly is a dangerous game sometimes. We didn’t come close, but you could feel it – instead you accelerated by 1-2 knots.”
As the wind increased to 20 knots with gusts of 25-26, the second race extended to 14.6 miles. Galateia, V, and Joost Schuijff’s Leopard 3 headed left up the first beat, with V taking an early lead.
Strategist and Croatian Olympic gold medallist Šime Fantela celebrated a strong start, noting the difficulties posed by squalls. V maintained the lead, finishing the day one point ahead of Galateia in the overall standings.
In the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship, Jolt was the first boat across the finish line after a fast reach from Monaci, hitting speeds over 20 knots. However, due to time correction factors, she finished fifth. Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s wallyrocket 71 Django 7X claimed victory, marking her first win in the Maxi Grand Prix.
Django 7X’s strategist Guillermo Parada described the challenging conditions, stating, “We were trailing the fleet… but the boat is very quick running and reaching. We made a couple of good decisions with sail selections which gave us some passing lanes and we were able to come back.”
After nearly three and a half hours of racing, the eight boats in the Maxi Grand Prix class finished within 7 minutes of each other. Jim Swartz’s Vesper finished just 24 seconds behind Django 7X, expressing satisfaction with a thrilling race experience.
Aldo and Elena Parisotto, defending champions aboard their Mylius 65 FD Oscar 3, won the Maxi 3 class, facing downwind challenges and squalls during their race. Their performance was marked by impressive speeds, occasionally reaching 18 knots.
Guido Paolo Gamucci’s canting keel Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X finished second in Maxi 3, demonstrating strong downwind performance. Meanwhile, Riccardo De Michele’s H2O topped the Maxi 4 class despite facing challenges from Enrico Sala’s Vismara 62 Yoru, who managed to beat previously dominant competitors.
The next day of racing is set to commence at 1200, with the Maxi Grand Prix fleet returning to windward-leewards in expected brisk conditions.
Follow the live tracking here.
More information on the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup here.
For more on the International Maxi Association visit www.internationalmaxiassociation.com
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