A light and shifty breeze prevented the Race Committee of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2018 from getting racing underway today. A gradual increase in wind is forecast over the coming days, while tonight sees the owners dinner take place at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

No competition, therefore, for the boats participating in the 11th edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of the title sponsor Loro Piana. The weather forecast gave light winds, but all concerned had hoped that they would be sufficient to hold the first day of racing, with the starting sequence commencing from 11.35 a.m.

After a waiting patiently, constantly monitoring the weather conditions, at 2.15 p.m. Principal Race Officer Peter Craig had the AP over Alpha signal flags hoisted, indicating to competitors that no more racing would take place today. 

On his return to the dock Craig commented: "It was a tough day, frustrating for the Race Committee and for the competitors. We knew it would be touch and go on getting a good race in. It turns out the forecasters didn't quite have it right and we didn't feel we could get a fair contest. So we made a decision that we thought was in the best interest of the competitors to save it for another day. The forecast for tomorrow is better, more breeze and big breeze on Friday and Saturday looks to be good, so if the forecasts are a little more accurate I think we have three great days coming up."

Tonight the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will host a dinner reserved for owners participating in the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta.

More light winds are expected tomorrow while Friday 8 and Saturday 9 the westerly breeze will increase. Racing resumes tomorrow as scheduled with the starting sequence of the pursuit race commencing at 11.35 a.m.: first off the starting line will be Savannah, a yacht with elegant, classic lines. The rest of the fleet will follow, with My Song, the Baltic 130 owned by Pier Luigi Loro Piana - the fastest yacht in the fleet - closing the starting sequence. The performances of the different boats are then equalised for scoring purposes using the ORCsy rating system specially designed for these types of vessels.