Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2026: IMA Maxi European Championship gets underway with the 71st Regata dei Tre Golfi

One of the most anticipated events of the international sailing season is about to get underway: the 2026 IMA Maxi European Championship, taking place from 22 to 28 May between Naples and Sorrento as part of the Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2026.

Organized by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia, in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), in collaboration with the Yacht Club Italiano of Genoa and the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, and supported by Rolex and Loro Piana, the Maxi European Championship once again represents one of the highlights of the Mediterranean maxi yacht season.

As tradition dictates, the championship will open tomorrow, 22 May, with the offshore race, coinciding with the 71st Regata dei Tre Golfi, which this year has, for the first time, been split between the Maxi fleet and the ORC fleet, the latter having already raced it on 8 May as the offshore leg of the 2026 ORC World Championship. The historic race will start from the Bay of Santa Lucia, in front of the clubhouse of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia, with Castel dell’Ovo providing its iconic backdrop. This year’s Maxi start will take place earlier than in previous editions, with the first warning signal scheduled for 13:30.

The approximately 150-nautical-mile offshore course will take the fleet northwest towards the island of Ponza, before returning into the Gulf, leaving Capri either to port or starboard, passing around Li Galli, and finally heading back towards the finish in Naples, on one of the most spectacular racecourses in the Mediterranean.

From 25 to 28 May, the fleet will then move to Sorrento’s Marina Piccola for four days of technical racing, including windward-leeward and coastal races, under the direction of Principal Race Officer Stuart Childerley. Among the most anticipated moments will once again be the traditional coastal race around Capri, with the Faraglioni and the scenery of the Sorrentine Peninsula providing a stunning backdrop to the competition.

The 2026 fleet is once again highly competitive and international, featuring 27 Maxi Yachts divided into the traditional four IRC classes. Particular attention will focus on the Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix divisions, gathering some of the fastest and most advanced yachts in the world.

Among the headline entries in the Maxi Grand Prix class is Hap Fauth's American 74-footer Bella Mente, winner of the last two IMA European titles, alongside yachts such as Jethou, Proteus, North Star, and Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's wallyrocket71 Django 7X, 2025 Maxi Grand Prix World Champion.

In Maxi 1, the spectacular 100-footers will once again take centre stage, including Magic Carpet e of Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, V, Leopard 3, Galateia, and Tilakkhana II, while new additions this year include the Wally 94 Astra 1, the JV62 Manticore, the Swan 90 Hummingbird, and the Mylius Why Not.

“The IMA Maxi European Championship continues to represent one of the benchmark events for the international Maxi fleet,” said Andrew McIrvine, Secretary General of the International Maxi Association. “The combination of the long offshore Regata dei Tre Golfi and the inshore racing from Sorrento across the Gulf of Naples makes this event truly unique. Every year we see both the level of the fleet and the interest from owners continue to grow, attracted not only by the sporting quality of the competition, but also by the hospitality and extraordinary beauty of Naples and Sorrento.”

Running alongside the Maxi Europeans will once again be the Multihull Trophy, which for the second consecutive year will race together with the Maxi fleet in both the offshore race and the following inshore series.

“The IMA Maxi European Championship has always represented one of the most prestigious moments of the Tre Golfi Sailing Week,” said Roberto Mottola di Amato, President of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia. “The quality of the fleet and the sporting level continue to grow year after year, confirming Naples and Sorrento as absolute reference points for international sailing.”

Alongside the sporting excellence, the Tre Golfi Sailing Week will once again stand out for the hospitality and unique atmosphere that have always characterized the event, between the Gulf of Naples and the Sorrentine Peninsula. Among the most anticipated social occasions of the week will be the traditional crew party hosted by Rolex and Loro Piana at Villa Zagara in Sorrento, dedicated to owners, crews and guests of the event.

The regatta is supported by leading partners including Rolex and Loro Piana, alongside North Sails, Wally Yachts, Deloitte, Ferrarelle, Ottogas, Garmin, Banca Patrimoni Sella & C., Caffè Borbone and Azimut Investimenti.