The second day of inshore racing the Giraglia Rolex Cup dawned with more promise than the first.There is a varied international fleet gathering for the offshore element of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, the 241 nm race that this year heads to San Remo via La Giraglia, a rocky outcrop off the northern tip of Corsica. Yachts and crews have come from most corners of the world and each morning the race village resembles the United Nations with a cornucopia of languages on offer.
Known as the longest running regatta in America, the New York Yacht Club’s 156th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex also has the distinction of kicking off the sailing season in New England. This past weekend, June 11-13, over 1,000 sailors on 111 boats gathered from across the U.S. and Europe for three days of racing on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.
Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2010 – With two straight wins out of two races held, the 39 metre sailing yacht Ganesha is the overall winner of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2010. Ganesha, built by Fitzroy yachts, also dominated the 23 boat Cruising Division while the Wally 101 Indio took overall victory in the Performance division. The Dubois designed sailing yacht Moonbird and Harry Macklowe’s Unfurled took second and third place respectively among the Cruising yachts. The Performance class saw the Wally yachts Highland Fling and Magic Carpet 2 take second and third place Loro Piana trophies.
The Yacht Club Italiano’s legendary committee boat, the Beppe Croce, had barely set the finish line when Esimit Europa 2 crossed over to take line honours in the first inshore race of the Giraglia Rolex Cup 2010.
It was a long wait, but the Giraglia Rolex Cup eventually got underway this afternoon at 15.28 CEST after a long wait for the wind to fill in. When it did come, the wind was piping at 20 knots, with gusts of 25 knots, and the Yacht Club Italiano/Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez race committee put on a short fast race of 9 nautical miles, which Esimit Europa 2 (EUR) had the audacity to complete in a few seconds under 40 minutes. The rest of the fleet was at sea for a little longer enjoying a brief, productive start to the inshore series. Winners today include Container (GER) in IMA, Near Miss (SUI) in IRC A, Nusantara (FRA) in IRC B and Keonda II (ITA) ORC B.
During the race competitors saw the whole range of conditions from the start in light to moderate winds, while at the northwesterly turning mark of the course, deep into ‘bomb alley’, the wind was gusting into the 20s – challenging conditions for the crews as they hoisted their spinnakers. Unfortunately back to the south of Porto Cervo the sea breeze was attempting to fill in with the net result that the wind disappeared. First to arrive was the Performance Class who were left wallowing within sight of the line for 30 minutes as the Cruising Class caught up and joined them in the park up. It was only the latter end of the Cruising Class that were able to bring down the new wind, with Unfurled and Gliss allowing their momentum to take them to the line with Saudade squeezing through just ahead of them.
Three days of inshore racing are planned as a lead up to the main event, the 241 nautical mile distance course that this year will take the fleet from Saint-Tropez to San Remo, via the fabled Giraglia rock. The day-trippers and holidaymakers of this part of the Côte d’Azur will have plenty to watch from the beaches and waterside restaurants over the next four days.
The new sailing record is welcome as Pascal Bidegorry and his team have been looking at every weather opportunities to make an attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy since mid-November 2009. Despite this stand-by period, the Team Banque Populaire has not managed to find the proper conditions has thus decided to reschedule their crewed handed round the world attempt to next fall.
After a breezy opening day of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2010 that saw several boats returning to the marina off the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with breakage, so strong winds continued to blow overnight and through into this morning when, after a 90 minute delay, Principle Race Office Peter Craig cancelled day two of racing at the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta.
Strong winds and Sardinian sunshine made for an exhilarating start to the yacht racing Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta in Porto Cervo Italy today. The race committee set a 30 nautical mile course in the south-easterly breeze, which was blowing 18-20 knots at the start. The wind gusted up to 35 knots later in the race as it funnelled through the straits which divide the rugged islands of Caprera and La Maddalena from the Sardinian mainland. Today, no one needed to ask why sailors call these straits ‘Bomb Alley’.
When the Marseille Trophy starts in one week’s time it will be the third successive year that the Audi MedCup Circuit has raced off the historic port which is a Mediterranean jewel. Emirates Team New Zealand (TP52 Series) and Puerto Calero (GP42 Series) lead the Circuit after the season’s first event.
BMW ORACLE Racing, the American winners of the 33rd America’s Cup, will bring the oldest trophy in international sport to Newport, Rhode Island, on Thursday, July 1, 2010. The iconic trophy will be on show at open-to-the-public events.
Rhode Island, host to 12 of the 33 America’s Cup regattas from 1930 to 1983, and home to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame, will welcome the trophy and team representatives at a day of events celebrating both the heritage and future of the America’s Cup.