Everything is set in Porto Cervo for the 36th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, one of the leading international events for maxi yachts. Organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the International Maxi Association and with the support of Title Sponsor Rolex, the event officially gets under way today, Sunday 6 September, with the Skippers’ Briefing at 6 p.m. on the YCCS terrace, followed by the Welcome Cocktail at 7 p.m. Racing begins tomorrow, Monday 7 September, with the first warning signal scheduled for 12 noon CEST, and will conclude on Saturday 12 September with the prize-giving ceremony in Piazza Azzurra.
A fleet of more than 40 maxi yachts, all measuring at least 60 feet in length, has gathered in Porto Cervo. The line-up includes a wide variety of designs, from highly developed racers to performance cruisers, joined this year by six multihulls. The Maxi classes will race under IRC, while the multihulls will use the ORCmh rating system. Once again, the racing will unfold among the islands and channels of the La Maddalena Archipelago and in the waters off Porto Cervo, one of the Mediterranean’s most spectacular and technically demanding race areas, where reading the shifts and local effects between the islands can prove decisive.
Among the innovations introduced in the Notice of Race is a crew bonus designed to encourage greater female participation and bring more young sailors into Maxi crews. Each yacht may carry up to two additional crew members beyond the maximum permitted by its IRC certificate, provided they are female sailors or young sailors who will be no older than 21 at the time of the prize-giving ceremony.
For the second consecutive year, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will also award two world titles: the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship and the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship. The two classes are defined according to a coefficient reflecting each yacht’s performance potential.
In Maxi 1, the WallyCento Galateia returns to defend the title won in 2025, once again with New Zealanders Murray Jones and Kelvin Harrap in the crew. The level of competition is exceptionally high. The 100-foot Magic Carpet e, owned by YCCS member Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, has Francesco de Angelis calling tactics; YCCS member Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s ClubSwan 80 My Song will have Paul Cayard and Manu Weiler on board; while Alessandro Del Bono’s Capricorno features Flavio Favini, Alberto Bolzan and five-time Olympic medallist Torben Grael.
Two female owners will also be racing in this highly competitive class: Pascale Decaux will helm the WallyCento Tilakkhana, while Wendy Schmidt will be at the helm of the Botin 85 Deep Blue. Completing an outstanding group are Joost Schuijff’s Leopard 3, with Chris Nicholson on tactics, and the WallyCento V of YCCS member Karel Komarek, the businessman who is also leading the US challenge for the 38th America’s Cup in Naples, the American Racing Challenger Team.
The Maxi Grand Prix fleet boasts an equally impressive concentration of sailing talent. Defending world champion wallyrocket71 Django 7x, owned by YCCS member Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, will once again have Vasco Vascotto and Guillermo Parada in the afterguard. Terry Hutchinson will call tactics on Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente, Brad Butterworth on Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou, Nick Asher on Jolt of YCCS member Peter Harrison, while Hamish Pepper will be tactician on George and Christina Sakellaris’ Proteus. The new JV76 Northstar III of Peter Dubens, another YCCS member competing in Porto Cervo, will make her Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup debut in the Grand Prix class, with two-time Olympic medallist Nick Rogers as tactician.
The calibre of the crews extends throughout the fleet. Other leading names in Porto Cervo include New Zealander Dean Barker aboard James Neville’s Artemis Bleu, winner of the Range Rover Sardinia Cup in Porto Cervo in June, Luis Doreste on Pelotari.Project and Francesco “Checco” Bruni on Twin Soul B. Their careers span the America’s Cup, the Olympic Games, The Ocean Race and the world’s leading professional sailing circuits, underlining the sporting level of the event.
One of the main new features of the 2026 edition is the presence of six multihulls: Allegra, Coco de Mer, Gaea, Highland Fling 18, Layla and Sophia. The latter, a 19-metre trimaran designed by Nigel Irens, will be the first trimaran ever to compete in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
Other yachts to watch include H2O of YCCS member Riccardo de Michele, with Lorenzo Bodini on tactics, one of the most successful yachts in the event’s recent history. Giuseppe Puttini’s Swan 65 Shirlaf, meanwhile, celebrates the 50th anniversary of her launch this year and will remain in Porto Cervo for the Rolex Swan Cup the following week.
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Commodore Andrea Recordati highlighted the sporting and technical significance of the event: “The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup reflects the values that the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda seeks to express through its regattas: tradition and innovation in yacht design, owners driven by great passion, crews of the highest calibre and a race course that always demands the very best. The presence of two World Championships once again confirms the sporting level this event has achieved. I would like to thank Rolex and the International Maxi Association for sharing this journey with us, and warmly welcome all the owners and crews who have once again returned to Porto Cervo.”
Django 7x will defend the world title won last year. Photo credits: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
The racing programme will alternate coastal races through the La Maddalena Archipelago with windward-leeward racing for the Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix classes. Both World Championship classes are scheduled to sail up to seven races: three coastal races and up to four windward-leeward races over two days. The other classes may sail up to five coastal races. Thursday 10 September is scheduled as a lay day, although it may be used to make up any races that could not be completed earlier in the week.
As tradition dictates, the five days of racing will be accompanied by a full social programme. The IMA Members’ Dinner will take place on Wednesday evening, followed on Thursday 10 September by the Rolex Gala Dinner at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. On Friday evening, the Crew Party will be held in Piazza Azzurra for all participants. The final prize-giving ceremony is scheduled for Saturday 12 September at 5.30 p.m.
The first warning signal of the 2026 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday 7 September, at 12 noon. The forecast for the opening day calls for light easterly winds.