FUN AND GAMES AND FINE SAILING AT THE OYSTER REGATTA

The second race day of the Oyster Jubilee Regatta, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, saw some entertaining activities take place while the 31-strong fleet waited for the infamous Sardinian breeze to fill in. After waterskiing and collective diving exhibitions had taken place this morning, approximately 6 knots of easterly breeze allowed racing to get underway and the fleet crossed the start line off Porto Cervo headed for the islands of Mortorio and Soffi. Overall leaders with two races completed are Trevor Silver’s Oyster 65.5 Roulette V2 in Class One (60ft and over in length) and Sarabande, the Oyster 54 owned by Gerde and Annamarie Kohlmoos, among the smaller Oysters competing in Class Two.
The Oyster 82 Pandemonium, owned by Stuart Smith and Barry J Cooper Junior, was the fastest around the course today in the Class Two group but victory on corrected time went to Roulette V.2 followed by the Oyster 62 Luna of London with Heinrich Schulte’s Anabasis in third. Following Roulette V.2 at the top of the overall table are Anabasis and Richard Smith’s Oyster 655 Sotto Vento.
In Class One it was the Oyster 575 Boarding Pass III that took line honours with Sarabande hot on her heels, just three seconds behind. On corrected time Sarabande took first place ahead of Boarding Pass III, owned by Bill Munro and Susan Harris, with Stuart and Caroline Popham’s Spirit of Spring in third.
Following racing the fleet docked for an overnighter in Porto Rotondo, approximately 8 miles south of Porto Cervo. Participants will enjoy the hospitality of the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo during an exclusive cocktail reception and dinner tonight before resuming racing tomorrow morning.
For further information on the regatta please visit http://www.yccs.it/ or http://www.oystermarine.com/ .

Sardinia: Preparations for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup underway in Porto Cervo

Preparations for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup which will take place in Porto Cervo from 5th to 11th September are in full swing. Forty-nine yachts are due to take part in the annual regatta which has been organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 1980. Twenty-four of the participating boats will compete in the Mini Maxi division for the title of Mini Maxi Rolex World Champion 2010.




Throughout this inaugural edition of the Mini Maxi Worlds technical controls will be rigorous and each of the vessels must undergo weighing and measurement. Inspections have already begun at the nearby Portisco Marina using equipment and scales specially designed and constructed for the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and the International Maxi Association for this regatta. For the first time each boat, some of which weigh as much as 20 tons, will be hauled out, fully exposing their hull and keel and providing precise data to determine the yacht’s handicap rating.
The Mini Maxis range from 18 to 24 metres and will line up on the quays of Porto Cervo Marina alongside the rest of the Maxi fleet, several of which are over 40 metres long. The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup regularly attracts some of the world’s top yachtsmen and women and racing is scheduled to start on Monday 6th September. The event will conclude with a final prize giving in the Yacht Club’s Piazza Azzurra on 11th September.

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Porto Cervo Costa Smeralda: Maltese Falcon wins at Perini Navi Cup 2009 in Sardinia

Westerly winds gusting at up to 40 knots put paid to racing on the second and final day of racing in the Perini Navi Cup 2009. The results of Friday’s race at the Coasts of Northern Sardinia are valid for the series and therefore the 88 metre, triple masted Maltese Falcon, which reached top speeds of 21 knots during racing, takes victory overall. The 64 metre Felicità west takes second place and the 46 metre Antara third.



The final prize giving took place at 6 p.m. on the Yacht Club’s Piazza Azzurra and the Perini Navi Cup and a Rolex timepiece were awarded to the Maltese Falcon by the President of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, His Highness the Aga Khan and Fabio Perini. Prizes were also awarded to the yachts which had completed Friday’s race in the fastest elapsed time. The 56 metre Salute was the swiftest yacht, having completed the 25 mile course in just under 1 hour and 50 minutes, and was followed by the 56 metre Felicità West. The 50 metre ketch Baracuda, which stands out visually due to an unusual steel grey hull combined with violet sails, was third fastest around the course.

“We saw these yachts at their very best on Friday.” commented YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo. “The racing really was of a very high standard and the fleet is so impressive. Seeing 19 Perinis lined up in front of the YCCS at sunset brought such glamour and elegance that we will remember them for a very long time.”

Owners and guests were due to round off a highly enjoyable two days with a gala dinner on the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s panoramic pool terrace.



The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s sporting calendar continues immediately with the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup which starts tomorrow, 6th September with inspections and registrations while racing starts on Monday 7th September.

Marina Yachting, Rolex, Axa, Acqua di Parma, Pommery, Icet and Audi are sponsors of the Perini Navi Cup 2009. Yacht Capital is media partner of the event.
Perini Navi: with a fleet of 46 sailing yachts cruising the world's oceans, Perini Navi is a leader in the design and manufacture of blue water sailing yachts. Famous for revolutionary automatic sail handling systems and for their unique aesthetics, the Perini’s are among the most celebrated vessels in the world. For all results please visit http://www.yccsresults.com/perini09/perini1.htm.

Photos: Atmosphere, Fleet, Maltese Falcon.
Credits Rolex/ Carlo Borlenghi

Perini Navi Cup 2009 starts tomorrow in Porto Cervo, Costa Smeralda

Porto Cervo, 2nd September 2009. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s September racing calendar is set to start in style as the Club hosts the Perini Navi Cup from 3rd to 5th September. The waters off Porto Cervo will provide the perfect backdrop to the record fleet of 19 Perini Navi sailing ships participating in this third edition of the event. A large number of these sailing giants, are already docked in Porto Cervo Marina, much to the delight of sailing enthusiasts and awestruck passers-by.

Perini Navi yachts are known for their marriage of elegance and cutting edge technology and the fleet, which if lined up end-to-end would stretch for almost a kilometer, will certainly be a sight to behold as it winds its way through the granite islands of the La Maddalena archipelago. Racing will take place on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th September using staggered starts based on each yacht’s ORC Club handicap which will allow the fleet to race in a close group as they proceed around the course. Racing can be followed in real time thanks to on board tracking displayed on the site http://www.perininavicup.it/.

Participating yachts include the most recent addition to the Perini Navi family, the 56 metre Ketch Riela, delivered in June of this year. The 2008 launched Baracuda whose 50 metre aluminium hull boasts an aggressive, aerodynamic line, will also participate. The largest participating yacht will be the 88 metre Maltese Falcon. Winner of the Perini Navi Cup in 2006 and classified second in her class in the St Barths Bucket 2009, Maltese Falcon will have a good chance of finishing in the upper realms of the classification. The tallest mast in the fleet, however, belongs to the 56 metre Salute: measuring 75 metres, it is the tallest aluminum mast in existence today.
“The Perini Navi Cup is always a wonderful event for me and this third edition, with such a large number of participants, is particularly special.” declared Giancarlo Ragnetti, Managing Director of Perini Navi. “It is a record which gives me great satisfaction and which shows how passion and dedication can achieve extraordinary results. Once again our owners have shown their affection for the family that we created at the start of the 80s and which today counts 46 yachts.”

YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo was also enthusiastic:

“The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda is delighted to organize the Perini Navi Cup for the first time and to welcome this record fleet of ships from the Perini family. The event fits in perfectly with the Club’s development in the superyacht arena and our aim to attract the cream of owners, shipyards, designers and the entire nautical spectrum to the YCCS. I am certain we are going to enjoy some spectacular sailing in a festive atmosphere.”

Tomorrow, Thursday 3rd September, owners and crews will be busy completing registrations and attending the technical briefing while the first race is scheduled to start at 12 midday on Friday 4th September. Racing will continue on Saturday 5th September with the final prize giving scheduled for 6 p.m. A varied programme of exclusive social events will be organized ashore including a welcome cocktail, a cocktail competition aboard the yachts and a gala dinner at the YCCS Clubhouse.

Marina Yachting, Rolex, Axa, Acqua di Parma, Pommery, Icet and Audi are sponsors of the Perini Navi Cup 2009. Yacht Capital is media partner of the event.

Perini Navi: with a fleet of 46 sailing yachts cruising the world's oceans, Perini Navi is a leader in the design and manufacture of blue water sailing yachts. Famous for revolutionary automatic sail handling systems and for their unique aesthetics, the Perini’s are among the most celebrated vessels in the world.


Entry list:

Andromeda la Dea, 47 m
Helios, 45 m
Parsifal III, 53,80 m

Antara , 46 m
Heritage, 45,3 m
Perseus, 49,8 m

Atmosphere, 53 m
Heritage M, 33,5 m
Phyrne, 50 m

Baracuda, 50 m
Klosters, 47 m
Riela, 56 m

Elettra, 24,45 m
Independence, 53 m
Salute, 56 m

Felicità West, 64 m
Maltese Falcon, 88 m


Gitana, 36 m
Ohana, 43,45 m

(Photo courtesy of Perini Navi)

In typical Farr 40 style the final day of racing in the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship 2009 saw the 25 boat fleet line up for the tenth and final race with just one point separating the top two teams. All was set for a duel to the death between two time world champion Jim Richardson (1998, 2004) on Barking Mad and Massimo Mezzaroma with his Nerone (ITA), winner of the 2003 world championship organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo. In the end Nerone, with Vasco Vascotto calling tactics, did not manage to shine in Race Ten and Barking Mad, with tactician Terry Hutchinson, comfortably defended the lead she had held since day one of the series to clinch the title for the third time. Nerone took second place with Giovanni Maspero’s Joe Fly in third. Former world champion Vincenzo Onorato came fourth.
The Mistral wind, sunshine and blue skies which characterized the entire event, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda from 22nd to 27th June, were present once again for the start of today’s first race. Race Nine started on schedule at 11.05 in approximately 18 knots of wind from 290°. Nerone started well and was followed around the first mark, where winds reached 22 knots, by Joe Fly and Flash Gordon (USA), owned by Helmut Jahn. A head to head battle ensued between Nerone and Joe Fly but it was Vascotto’s team which crossed the finish line first ahead of Joe Fly, with Francesco Bruni on tactics, and Flash Gordon.
Heading into Race Ten, the final of the series, Barking Mad’s sixth place in Race Nine left her just one point ahead of Nerone. Tension was high as the fleet crossed the line at 12.40 pm in approximately 20 knots of wind which held at 290°. The American’s of Barking Mad and Flash Gordon followed Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma, with tactician Tommaso Chieffi, around the first windward mark. Barking Mad had taken the lead by the leeward gate with Mascalzone Latino hot on her heels and Flash Gordon in third. Mascalzone gained the lead during the second windward leg and held it to the finish, crossing the line ahead of Barking Mad and Flash Gordon respectively.
Richardson was delighted with a World Championship which saw him average less than four points per race: "We're very, very happy. Coming to Italy and winning this World Championship in Porto Cervo is an amazing feeling for us. There are so many good teams out there, particularly the Italians and to be able to win in their home waters is a great thrill for us.”
"We could almost taste victory, so it’s disappointing not to win”, commented Vasco Vascotto, tactician on Nerone, “we sailed well but the American’s were more constant. It has been a great season and we have gained experience, you never stop learning.”
Mascalzone’s Vincenzo Onorato, racing under the YCCS burgee, was philosophical about handing over the title he had won for three consecutive years. “ It’s a great story for the class, we went to Jim’s hometown to win the Farr 40 World Championship in 2006 in Newport, Rhode Island, and Jim has come here to our home, in Porto Cervo to win the Worlds. The last race was the first in our campaign for the Farr 40 Worlds 2010 at Casa di Campo.”
PRO Peter “Luigi” Reggio summed up the week’s racing nicely: “This place is just insanely cool!”
Jim Richardson, Rolex Farr 40 World Champion 2009, was awarded the Farr 40 World Cup trophy and a specially engraved Rolex timepiece during the prize giving held at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
For further information on this regatta please visit http://www.farr40worldchampionship.com/ , http://www.yccs.it/ , http://www.regattanews.com/

Barking Mad, Nerone, fleet. Credits Kurt Arrigo/Rolex

Porto Cervo/Costa Smeralda: Racing in Sardinia cancelled at Audi Invitational

The prevailing mistral wind which has made the regatta course off Porto Cervo one of the world’s most famous failed to cooperate for the Audi Invitational, the third leg of the Farr 40 European Circuit 2009. Yesterday’s first scheduled day of racing was abandoned due to sustained winds of 30 knots and more, all was set to rest on today’s second and final day of racing but a storm front which is passing across Italy put paid to all hopes of completing the minimum two races required to validate the event.
The 24 Farr 40s participating in the Audi Invitational left Porto Cervo Marina on schedule for the programmed 11 am start but as the Race Committee was setting the course at 270° the wind shifted to 030° and began to build to approximately 25 knots. As the Race Committee prepared the new course the storm front arrived from Porto Cervo bringing torrential rain, thunder and lightning. PRO Peter Reggio then sent the fleet back to the docks and at 1pm racing was abandoned for the day.
The provisional standings after two legs of the European Circuit held in Porto Rotondo and Capri therefore remain valid and Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino leads the fleet on 33 points. Massimo Mezzaroma’s Nerone is in second place with 40 points and Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma sits in third place on 49 points.
Racing in Porto Cervo for the Farr 40 fleet will begin on Wednesday 24th June with the first start of the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship 2009 scheduled for 11am.
For further information on this regatta and the entire Yacht Club Costa Smeralda season please visit http://www.yccs.it/

Credits: Kurt Arrigo/Audi

Audi Invitational at Costa Smeralda: Mistral blows into Porto Cervo

The strong Mistral winds which blew across the coast of north-eastern Sardinia late on Friday night brought a welcome respite from the stifling heat of the past weeks but arrived with too much force for the 24 Farr 40 yachts moored in Porto Cervo for the start of the Audi Invitational. Racing in the event, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) and valid as the third leg of the European Circuit for the Farr 40 class, was scheduled to start at 11 am but with 25 knots of north-westerly wind and gusts of 28 the YCCS Race Committee postponed racing for two hours. The Mistral continued to gather force however and racing was postponed for a further two hours before finally being abandoned at 3 pm.
“There was simply too much wind”, commented Principal Race Officer Peter “Luigi” Reggio. “ It was blowing from 30 to 40 between Sardinia and Corsica, Bomb Alley was completely white and just before 3pm we were registering 32 to 35 knots on the mark boat.”


Waiting on the docks at Porto Cervo Marina. Credits: Kurt Arrigo/Audi

The participating teams will be anxious to get out on the water tomorrow, not least in order to complete the minimum two races in order for the series to be valid but also in preparation for next week’s Rolex Farr 40 World Championship (June 22nd to 27th), also organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo.
Current leader in the Farr 40 European Circuit 2009, after legs held in Capri and Porto Rotondo, is Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino with tactician Adrian Stead. Mascalzone Latino, which is flies the YCCS burgee, sits seven points ahead of Massimo Mezzaroma’s Nerone with Vasco Vascotto calling tactics and Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma with tactician Tommaso Chieffi.
Racing is scheduled to start tomorrow 21st June at 11 am. Northerly winds of 16 to knots are predicted.
For further information on this regatta and the entire Yacht Club Costa Smeralda season please visit http://www.yccs.it/

Moonbird takes lead in Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2009 in Costa Smeralda

In a very fitting turn of events Day Two of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta - the Fitzroy Yachts race day - was won by Moonbird, one of the two Fitzroy-built superyachts competing. Marco Vogele’s Gliss came in second on handicap today and Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s My Song took third place. Moonbird is also sitting at the top of the overall classification thanks to her second-place in yesterday’s Race One. My Song is in second place, just one point behind, and Gliss is in third place overall in this event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with Boat International Media.



Race two, a 35 mile course which wound in through the island of the La Maddalena archipelago, was once again accompanied by blue skies, sizzling sunshine and a brisk Mistral wind which kept owners and crews busy and entertained. the owner of the 39 metre Ganesha commented:

“We had gusts of up to 31 knots which was just a little bit too much wind for us so we didn’t fly the spinnaker. As a result we probably lost 2 or 3 places but it was still a great day’s sailing. I think Porto Cervo is the best place to sail in Europe. "

Wally Yachts had another great day with three of their yachts taking the top places in elapsed time for the second day running. Claus Peter Offen’s Y3K completed the course in just over two hours and 40 minutes followed by Magic Carpet2 and Indio.
Rodney Martin, Managing Director of Fitzroy Yachts was pleased with the today’s race “I’m really pleased to see a Fitzroy-built, Dubois-designed sloop cross the finish line first and take first place on handicap on the Fitzroy Race Day. The event is really well organized and is a credit to the YCCS and Boat International Media.”
Racing started on schedule this morning at 12.05 and the fleet was set a coastal course which took full advantage of the 18 to 20 knots of wind from 295°. The YCCS Race Committee sent the superyacht fleet from the start off Porto Cervo north to round the Isola dei Monaci to port before rounding the southern tip of Caprera island and sailing northward along the coast. The yachts then turned North, passing between the La Maddalena island and the island of Spargi. After rounding the Barettinelli di Fuori islets at the northern end of the archipelago the fleet then headed back south leaving the La Maddalena and Caprera islands to starboard and on to the finish in the Pevero Gulf, just South of Porto Cervo.
Racing is scheduled to continue June 12th at 12 midday. The forecast predicts strong westerly winds in the morning which should calm to approximately 15 knots in the afternoon.
For further information, full entry list and to view photos and images of the 2009 edition please visit http://www.loropianasuperyachtregatta.com/ or http://www.yccs.it/.

(Images: Moonbird, My Song. Credits Kurt Arrigo)