Black Dragon ahead

After Skandia is OCS in another blustery day at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

For the second day in a row, racers and boats were tested by heavy winds as they took to the water for day three of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The weather system that produced yesterday’s 20-25 knot winds had blown through, and this morning, a light southeasterly greeted the fleet, which has been reduced to 36 boats after Maximus was dismasted yesterday. Heavy wind and rain moved in just before today’s start, and the breeze shifted to the northeast, building to 20 knots by the time the five divisions set out on a 29 mile course.

After three days of racing, two US yachts are leading their divisions: New York real estate developer Harry Macklowe’s Unfurled won her third straight race today in Cruising A, while US self-made billionaire George Lindemann’s 180ft schooner Adela’s first-place finish today moved her into first place overall in the Spirit of Tradition class. The Wally Division leader, Alexia, owned by Argentinian Alberto Roemmers, sailed another impressive race to take line honours and finish first on corrected time. In Cruising B, Italian Filippo Faruffini’s Roma held onto her overall lead with a second-place finish today, and Black Dragon, a UK entry owned by Performance Yachting, also finished second in today’s race to hold a narrow one-point lead in the Racing Division.

According to Black Dragon mainsheet trimmer Chris Mason, doing well today was a matter of perseverance. “A slightly frustrating course for us as it was not suited to the boat,” said Mason. “We only had the spinnaker up for about 9 minutes in the whole race due to the strength of the winds. We enjoyed the race though, it was especially interesting at the bottom mark (at Cala di Volpe) when the wind was going from 6 knots to 20.”

Five boats raced in the Racing Division today, as Maximus remained in port after losing her mast in yesterday’s high winds. Her rotating wingmast was recovered from 138ft of water this morning, and her return to the regatta is unlikely. The current Racing Division standings had further upset today, when Grant Wharington’s Skandia was OCS at the start of today’s race and failed to restart. Skandia had been in second place coming into today, but was overtaken on the scoreboard by Roland Pieper’s Favonius after the BVI entry finished first today. Skandia is now in third, but has lodged a protest against the Race Committee’s decision, with the hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, the Racing Division is scheduled to resail race one which had been discarded the first day of the regatta.

In the Cruising Division A, American Arne Glimcher’s Ghost took line honours for the second day in a row, finishing nearly 10 minutes ahead of Macklowe’s Unfurled. Corrected time put Macklowe in first for the race, while Ghost’s corrected time placed her in third today, to maintain her position in second overall.

“We’re on a steep learning curve here,” commented Ghost's Captain Simon Lacey after today’s race. “The conditions are so changeable, it’s a real challenge to judge the winds, choose the right sails and get them up in time. We’re really happy with the way the crew and the boat are performing given that this is our first time out. We’ve seen that the boat is fast. We just need to do a little tweaking now. We’re having a great time here in Porto Cervo.”

In the Cruising B Division, Italian Fabio Magifesta’s Charis’s first-place finish today moved her into second overall, overtaking Gunter Hertz’s Allsmoke in the standings after the British yacht broke a steering cable and had to retire. Italian Filippo Faruffini’s Roma second-place finish today was enough to hold onto the overall lead, four points ahead of Charis. Allsmoke is in third overall.

Competition is tight in the Spirit of Tradition class as the top three boats are separated by one point. Adela’s win gave her the lead over Italian Alfredo Canessa’s Whitefin. Both have five points, but, currently, Adela’s two first place finishes break the tie. Annagine, owned by C.E. Van Asbeck from the Netherlands, is in third place overall with six points.

With thunderstorms forecast for tonight and conditions similar to today’s for the morning, the Racing Division can look forward to another bumpy ride while the other divisions take advantage of tomorrow’s lay-day.

Rolex will host a gala dinner for participants at the Cala di Volpe Hotel tomorrow evening, the entertainment will include a concert by internationally acclaimed African singer and musician Youssou N’Dour.


Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup provisional results - day 3

Racing Division (6 Boats)
Pos, Boat, Owner, Country, Points (Total)
1. Black Dragon, Performance Yachting, GBR 1, 2 (3)
2. Favonius, Roland Pieper BVI 3, 1 (4)
3. Skandia, Grant Wharington, AUS 2, OCS 7(9)

Wally Class (12 boats)
Pos, Boat, Owner, Country, Points (Total)
1. Alexia, Alberto Roemmers, ARG, 1, 2, 1 (4)
2. Y3K,Claus Peter Offen, GER, 3, 1, 4 (8)
3. Open Season, Thomas Bscher, GBR, 5, 5, 7 (17)

Cruising Class A (6 boats)
1. Unfurled, Harry Macklowe, USA, 1, 1, 1 (3)
2. Ghost, Arne Glimcher, USA, 2, 2, 3 (7)
3. Kokomo of London, Salvatore Trifiro, ITA, 4, 5, 2 (11)

Cruising Class B (9 boats)
1. Roma, Filippo Farufini, ITA, 1, 1, 2 (4)
2. Charis, Fabio Magifesta, ITA , 3, 4, 1 (8)
3. Allsmoke, Gunter Hertz, GBR, 2, 3, DNF 10 (15)

Spirit of Tradition (4 boats)
1. Adela, George Lindemann, USA 3, 1, 1 (5)
2. Whitefin, Alfredo Canessa, ITA 1, 2, 2 (5)
3. Annagine, C.E. Van Asbeck, NED 2, 3, 3 (8)

More photos on the following pages...