Racing at the 73rd Loro Piana Giraglia continued today with a superb third day of inshore competition in Saint-Tropez. The morning began under almost complete cloud cover and light breeze, but shortly before the 1000 warning signal the sky began to break and an almost perfect 14 knot north-easterly breeze filled into the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.
The conditions created an excellent coastal race for Groups 1 and 2 with the bay festooned with colourful spinnakers in glorious sunshine. The Bay of Pampelonne the offshore breeze produced a first-class windward leeward racecourse for the Maxi fleet. Today the Maxis in Group 0 were once again set technical courses but this time in Zone 3, set far enough offshore to reduce the effects of the land, the Maxis enjoyed a well-balanced technical race track in more settled breeze.
The Loro Piana Giraglia is organised by Yacht Club Italiano in collaboration with Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, under the guidance of the Federazione Italiana Vela and the Fédération Française de Voile.
Maxis on the Windward Leeward Course
Race 3 for the Maxi Fleet in Group 0 was full of power with the high performance 8-strong IRC Maxis hitting double-digit boat speed right from the start.
In IRC 0 Maxi A, Karel Komarek’s Wallycento V was the quickest completing the 10.40nm race in 61 minutes and 32 seconds to win on corrected time by two minutes from Chris Flowers & David Leuschen’s Wallycento Galateia. Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou completed the podium, just 10 seconds behind Galateia after time correction.
Wallycento V completed a double race win taking the win in Race 4 after IRC time correction. Jethou was second, 1 minute 52 seconds behind on corrected time, with George Sakellaris’ JV 72 Proteus completing the podium.
While results are still provisional, Karel Komarek’s Wallycento V holds a five point lead going into the final day of racing. Chris Flowers & David Leuchen’s Wallycento Galateia is second, just one point ahead of Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s ClubSwan 80 My Song. Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou and Joost Schuijff’s Farr 100 Leopard are tied, just one point off the podium.
In IRC 0 Maxi B, Carlo Puri Negri’s Farr/Felci 70 Atalanta II won Race 3, Benoit De Froidmont’s Wally 60 Wallyño was second, 1 minute 5 seconds behind, with Lorenzo Muratore’s Wally 80 Sud completing the podium.
In Race 4, Carlo Puri Negri’s Farr/Felci 70 Atalanta II was the winner notching up two bullets today. Benoit De Froidmont’s Wally 60 Wallyño was once again second, this time by 89 seconds after IRC time correction. Guido Paolo Gamucci’s Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X completed the podium.
Results are provisional but after four races, Atalanta II holds a seven point lead from Cippa Lippa X with Wallyño in third.
Coastal Racing in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez
In IRC 1, Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s Wallyrocket 51 Django won Race 3 after IRC time correction, taking Line Honours for the 14nm course in 01 Hour:26 mins 22 secs. Jean Pierre Barjon’s TP52 Spirit of Lorina was second, just 45 seconds behind on corrected time, with Frederic Puzin’s Carkeek 54 Daguet 5 completing the podium. Ruedi Huber’s TP52 Musica was just four seconds off the podium.
Results are provisional but with one race day to go. Django leads the class by just one point from Spirit of Lorina. Musica is third just one point ahead of Bernard Arkas’ Turkish TP52 Blue Moon. Jeremy Weir’s Swiss Wallyrocket 51 Kilara II is just two points off the podium.
In ORC 1, Roberto Bosio’s XR-41 Crabx – Aquarama – Fraber won Race 3 after ORC time correction. Bernard Giroux’s ClubSwan 43 Team 42+1 was second, 2 minutes 5 seconds behind on corrected time, with Luca Locatelli’s Swan 45 Thetis completing the podium.
Results are provisional but after three races, Crabx – Aquarama – Fraber leads but only on countback from Thetis, Nicolas Gonzalez’s Uruguayan Sinergia 40 L’Immens is third.
ELO II: Passing Experience to the Next Generation
Racing in ORC 1 is the Yacht Club Italiano youth team racing ELO II, the 1990 Sorda 43 prototype is being sailed to introduce young sailors to offshore racing. Elo II has had a solid start to the regatta. Elo II is seventh in the 35-strong fleet and finishing the regatta on the Class Podium is very achievable.
This year, the Yacht Club Italiano youth team is sailing under the guidance of one of Italy’s most respected and successful sailors, Tommaso Chieffi, with young sailors including Gysel Grossi gaining valuable experience on board.
For Chieffi, the value of the project is clear. “When I was young, I was given the opportunity to sail on very competitive boats,” he said. “I was 22 when I raced in the America’s Cup on a 12 Metre, and that opportunity helped me a lot in my professional career afterwards. To transmit these experiences and bring them forward to the next generation is very important for Yacht Club Italiano, and very important for me.”
Chieffi described the programme as more than just a sailing project. “ELO II is an experience in many ways,” he said. “The camaraderie between the team members is very important. They learn teamwork and that they cannot fulfil the tasks they are asked to do without the help and assistance of the other crew members.”
Gysel Grossi, who is on mainsail trim for Elo II, said the experience had already made a strong impression. “To do this race with Tommaso is very special,” she said. “I learned a lot so far and I am sure I will continue to do so, I am very happy.”
She added that the learning process covered every part of the day, from preparation to racing. “Of course, there is the preparation of the boat in the morning, the procedures of the start, the teamwork with the crew, and the passion of the whole race.”
For Grossi, the Loro Piana Giraglia also has a special atmosphere. “The Loro Piana Giraglia is magical because sailing here in Saint-Tropez is magic,” she said. “The day and night in the village with the crew is special. We are having a lot of fun at the Loro Piana Giraglia, and I enjoying the atmosphere of Saint-Tropez.”
In IRC 2, on the 12nm coastal course, Willem Ellemeet’s Dufour 40 Flying Dolphin won Race 3 after IRC time correction. Murat Abdrakhmanov’s Kazakh J/112 Jenis was second, 2 minutes 35 seconds behind on corrected time, with Wiktor Kobryn’s Polish team on J/122 Selma Racing - Noisy Oyster completing the podium. Results are provisional. After three races, Flying Dolphin leads by just one point from Noisy Oyster. Nicolas Popps’ American JPK 1050 Invictus is ranked third.
In ORC 2, Cesar Chuffart’s J/35 Black Magic scored their first race win at the Loro Piana Giraglia, taking the win after ORC time correction. Adelio Frixione’s X-35 Imxtinente was second, 1 minute 57 seconds behind on corrected time, with Georgio Anserini & Leo Petti’s J/109 Chestress completing the podium. Results are provisional but after three races, Chestress now leads ORC 2 by a single point from Marcello De Gaspari’s J/109 Fremito D’Arja. Agudo Gonzales’ Salona 37 Salvora has scored consistently well to rank third for the class.
Chestress: One Point, One Day, One Race to Genoa
Georgio Anserini was born in Genoa and was smiling today just thinking about returning to the city of his birth in the offshore Loro Piana Giraglia. Leo Petti is from Rome and has been the driver for many Chestress campaigns across Europe.
In ORC 2, Leonardo Petti and Giorgio Anserini’s J/109 Chestress leads by a single point with one day of inshore racing remaining, setting up a winner takes all duel against fellow Italian J/109 Fremito D’Arja.
For Anserini, the Loro Piana Giraglia has a particular pull. This is Chestress’ fifth Giraglia, and the offshore race to come carries a personal meaning as well as a competitive one. “I’m from Genoa, so I like the fact that we arrive in Genoa,” he said. “I see my grandmother, who is 92, and I go to my own city. There is a mixture of things, but also because historically we’ve always done well in the race.”
Anserini described the Giraglia as glamourous and relaxed” but also “a very important race in the Mediterranean.”
Petti said today was a direct contest with their closest rival. “We tried to do a nice match race,” he said. “We even lost the fleet for a moment just to be together for a duel”
The plan for tomorrow is simple. “Fremito D’Arja is one point behind us, so we need to go in front of him,” said Anserini. “We cannot let him go.”
Looking ahead to the offshore race to Genoa, Petti was clear about the stakes. “Light wind conditions, we love,” he said. “But no wind conditions are very tough.” Then came the perfect offshore summary: “The crew wins the class, the weather wins the overall.”
After racing, the Inshore Race Day Prize Giving was held in the Loro Piana Giraglia Race Village, where Pierre Roinson, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, and Carlo Cameli, President of Yacht Club Italiano, presented the day’s leading crews with their prizes on the main stage beneath the historic 15th-century Tour du Portalet in Saint-Tropez.
Racing at the 73rd Loro Piana Giraglia inshore series will conclude tomorrow, Tuesday 16 June, with more inshore racing scheduled in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and the Bay of Pampelonne.
Organisation
The Loro Piana Giraglia is organised by the Yacht Club Italiano, in cooperation with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, under the patronage of the Yacht Club de France, Yacht Club Sanremo and Yacht Club de Monaco, and with the support of the Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL) and the International Maxi Association (IMA).
The event is held with the support of the City of Saint-Tropez, the City of Genoa and the Liguria Region.
The Giraglia is a qualifying event for the IRC-UNCL Mediterranean Championship and forms part of the 2026 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge, organised by the International Maxi Association (IMA).
The Loro Piana Giraglia
On July 11, 1953, 22 boats set off on the first-ever Giraglia, covering a 196-mile course from Cannes – La Giraglia – Sanremo, with 17 yachts reaching the finish line. The first edition was won by a French yacht in 31 hours. The following year, the start and finish ports were swapped, the number of participants increased to 31, and the Giraglia Rock remained the iconic mark of the Course, securing its place as one of the world's premier yachting events.
Over the years, this offshore race has become legendary. It blends sailing technique with poetry, becoming a rite of passage for many young sailors. Saying "I've done it too" is a prestigious badge of honour for any sailor.
Participation numbers have steadily grown while race times have drastically decreased. The record for the most boats on the start line was set in 2016, with 302 entries, while the fastest time belongs to Igor Simcic's Esimit Europa 2, which shattered the previous record in 2012 with an astonishing time of 14 hours, 56 minutes, and 16 seconds.
The format has remained essentially unchanged. In the 1970s, over 100 boats consistently participated, sometimes exceeding 150, remarkable figures for the niche yachting world. Until the 1990s, starting and finishing locations alternated between Italy and France. Back then, participating in the race was an adventure, with all crew members sleeping on board and assisting with yacht transfers.
The Giraglia has witnessed the transition from wooden boats to fibreglass, from heavier designs to lighter, more sophisticated yachts and increasingly faster passages. Since 1998, the format has remained stable: gathering in Saint-Tropez in mid-June, coastal races in the breathtaking gulf, a grand party before the offshore start, and then the 241-nautical-mile challenge, which, just as in 1952, still finishes in Genoa after rounding the Giraglia Rock.
Loro Piana has been the title partner of the Loro Piana Giraglia since 2024.