IMA Maxi Europeans – winners return

One of the pinnacles of international maxi yacht racing will set sail next week with the fifth edition of the IMA Maxi European Championship taking place out of Naples and Sorrento, Italy.

Organised by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia (CRVI) and the International Maxi Association, and supported by Loro Piana and Rolex, the Europeans will form a ‘complete test’ for entrants, who will have to sail an overnight race and then four days of windward-leeward/coastal courses on the Gulf of Naples. These events are part of the CRVI’s wider Tre Golfi Sailing Week.

Starting on 22 May, this year’s overnight race will be exclusively for the maxis and multihulls taking part in Tre Golfi Sailing Week’s Multihull Trophy, which will again run in parallel with the IMA Maxi European Championship. The start from off the CRVI’s clubhouse in Naples’ Porticciolo di Santa Lucia marina will be three hours earlier than last year at 1330. The 150-mile course will route the fleet northwest around the island of Ponza, then southeast leaving Capri either to port or starboard, before rounding the Li Galli islands and backtracking to finish in Naples.

The IMA Maxi Europeans will continue from 25-28 May out of Sorrento’s Marina Piccola. Under PRO Stuart Childerley, this will include windward-leeward and coastal courses, likely featuring the popular lap of Capri and all its famous landmarks such as the Faraglioni rocks. Among the social events, the highlight will be the IMA’s cocktail party at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria on the evening of Monday 25 May.

The 27-strong maxi fleet will be diverse, spanning Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones’ Verdier 100 Magic Carpet e with an IRC rating of 1.870 down to Giuseppe Puttini’s Regata dei Tre Golfi winning Swan 65 Shirlaf, which at 1.102 is also the oldest in the IMA Maxi Europeans fleet, celebrating her 50th birthday this year.

New entrants include the Wally 94 Astra 1 (ex-Inti) of Marcos Vivian. Franz Baruffaldi Preis returns but has traded his 2025 Palermo-Montecarlo winning Mylius 60 FD for a full-blown race boat. The JV62 Manticore, originally built for Sir Peter Ogden as Jethou, has returned from Australian ownership and is now campaigned by Preis and Silvia De’Longhi, who raced together last year on the previous Manticore. Other newcomers are the Swan 90 Hummingbird (formerly Leonardo Ferragamo’s Solleone 3), which has just completed a Caribbean racing season, and Lasse Petterson’s Mylius 18E35 Why Not.

The fleet will again be divided into four classes according to their IRC rating, with the star attractions being the Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix classes. Maxi 1 typically comprises 80-100ft racers, while Maxi 2 includes former Maxi 72s, which now all exceed their original box rule.

The favourite in the Maxi Grand Prix class is likely to be Hap Fauth’s 74ft Bella Mente, the IMA Maxi European Champion for the last two years, and recent outright winner of the North Sound Regatta in March.

“It’s going to be an exciting regatta because the entire fleet has made modifications, including Bella Mente, since the Maxi Worlds,” explains Bella Mente’s tactician Terry Hutchinson. “As always, it’s going to be competitive. Our first goal is to learn about our boat against the fleet and all the changes, and our second goal is to put ourselves in a position to defend our European championship. Racing with Hap is always a great experience.”

Across the top end of the fleet, teams continue to optimise their bulb weight and water ballast. Peter Harrison’s Jolt has removed her trim tab, significantly lowering her rating within the Maxi Grand Prix fleet, while Sir Peter Ogden’s 77ft Jethou now sports a new mast for the season. George Sakellaris’ Proteus has received considerable upgrades over the winter, including twin rudders. Peter Dubens returns with his 2023 IMA Maxi Europeans champion North Star, currently the lowest rated in the class, while awaiting the delivery of a new Maxi Grand Prix boat later this season. Another boat to watch is Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s wallyrocket 71 Django 7X, the newest in the fleet and winner of the 2025 Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix Worlds and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

The Maxi Grand Prix class held the top four spots in the 2025 IMA European Championship, so it will be interesting to see if others can challenge them. Potential contenders from the Maxi 1 class include five 100 footers, with Magic Carpet e expected to have a significantly high rating after winter modifications. However, she faces stiff competition from Karel Komárek’s V, Joost Schuijff’s Leopard 3, and Chris Flowers and David M Leuschen’s Galateia, as well as Pascale Decaux’s Tilakkhana II, the recent winner of Sandberg PalmaVela.

In the Maxi 3 category, the Wally 94s, Jean-Sébastien Decaux’s Sensei and Astra 1, should lead on the water. The tightest racing is anticipated between two-time class winner Paul Berger’s Swan 80 Kallima; Guido Paolo Gamucci’s canting keel Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X; and Luigi Sala’s Vismara 62 Yoru, all of whom have shown competitive improvements each year.

Maxi 4 will feature razor-sharp competition, with no clear favourite. Defending champion is Vincenzo Addessi and his Mylius 18E35 Fra Diavolo, while Riccardo De Michele’s Vallicelli 78 H20 and Luca Scoppa’s Dehler 60 Blue Oyster, along with Shirlaf, have all previously won their class at this event.

The Multihull Trophy will also run alongside the IMA Maxi Europeans, continuing to add excitement to this prestigious event.