Solaris Cup 2024, first day of racing

The 10th edition of the Solaris Cup, a thrilling event that began yesterday, May 23rd, saw over one hundred yachts arriving in Porto Rotondo to mark the shipyard's 50th anniversary. The event, a statement of the growing popularity of the brand, kicked off with the first day of racing. The Solaris 60 Crazy Diamond leads the standings in Group 0, the 55 Angela is first in Fleet B, and the 42 Unica is among the 'smaller' boats, setting the stage for an exciting competition.

Nearly a thousand people crowded the docks of Porto Rotondo for the start of the Solaris Cup 2024. Owners, sailors, friends, and enthusiasts from 17 nations filled and enlivened the race village ashore yesterday during the welcome cocktail and the event's inauguration, marked by Marc Giorgetti's speech. He greeted the attendees, reminiscing about the shipyard's long history and highlighting the extraordinary numbers that distinguish the present and future of a shipyard capable of gathering many boats for its traditional annual rendezvous. After the celebrations, the action moved to the sea with the powerful Solaris fleet leaving the marinas of Porto Rotondo and Portisco this morning to reach the racecourse in the centre of the Gulf of Porto Rotondo. In ideal weather conditions, with winds from the SOUTH/SOUTHEAST between 8 and 12 knots and calm seas, the fleet was divided into three groups based on length. The Committee decided on a spectacular 'butterfly' course of about 14 miles, which included circumnavigating the small archipelago of islets in the centre of the Gulf of Congianus. Starting procedures began after noon with three starts (the smaller boats, the medium ones, and the larger ones) heading towards the offset mark, drawing a memorable and colourful line along the course.

After about 1h40m of racing, the first to cross the finish line in real time was the speedy Solaris 42 Maltese Unica, owned by Jamie Sammut, a veteran of the Solaris Cup, who secured the first race also in corrected time in his group. Among the larger boats, first in corrected time was the Solaris 60 Crazy Diamond, owned by Enzo Pelizzaro, while the Solaris 55 Angela, owned by Maurizio Corati, leads the medium group standings. A magnificent day will end with the owner's dinner at the Hotel Sporting in Porto Rotondo, setting the stage for tomorrow's second day of races, with wind forecasts slightly increasing.