Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, division leaderboards begin to take shape

The fleet competing in the 32nd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup completed their third day of racing today, in a light easterly breeze of around 10 knots which filled in further over the course of the coastal races in the La Maddalena channel. The 13-strong Maxi class raced two windward-leewards just off Porto Cervo, while the rest of the fleet completed different coastal courses according to the varying divisions. As scheduled, tomorrow will be a lay day, with the traditional Rolex gala dinner taking place in the evening.

 The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, now in its 32nd edition, is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the IMA (International Maxi Association) and with the support of long-standing title sponsor Rolex.

 At 1 p.m. the Race Committee initiated the starting procedures for the classes taking on coastal courses, which took the J Class and Mini Maxi 1 yachts into the La Maddalena channel after rounding Monaci island, covering a total of 26 miles. The distance was reduced to 20.3 miles for the Supermaxi and Mini Maxi 0, while the Mini Maxi 2, 3&4 raced for 17 miles.
The J Class win went to Velsheda today, followed by Svea and Ranger. Svea is positioned firmly in the lead of the provisional overall classification, 5 points clear of Velsheda in second place.

 In the Supermaxi class Guillermo Parada, calling tactics on the Swan 115 Moat 1, was able to make the most of the light air to claim victory ahead of sister ship Shamanna, which, however, remains at the top of the general overall classification thanks to two bullets on the previous days. Third place of the day and in the general classification goes to the Spirit Yachts 111 Geist.

The first windward-leeward race for the Maxi class saw Highland Fling take the win ahead of two Wally yachts, Magic Carpet 3 and Y3K. The Wallys had their revenge in the second race, with Galateia clinching first place, followed by Bullit and Magic Carpet 3, fourth place went to the 82-foot Highland Fling XI, who retains the top spot in the overall standings. In the windward-leeward races for this event, the YCCS is trialling the use of robotic marks, managed by an electric motor, which remain positioned on GPS coordinates set remotely.

 Bella Mente - tactician Terry Hutchinson - was the victor in the Mini Maxi 1 class today, with Proteus and Vesper in her wake. Hutchinson is the skipper of the New York Yacht Club challenge for the America's Cup, while the owner of Bella Mente, Hap Fauth, is one of the challenge's main backers. Vesper leads the overall rankings ahead of Proteus and Bella Mente.

 Winner of the day among the Mini Maxi 2 yachts was the 78-foot Capricorno, followed by Twin Soul B and Ryokan and with just two and a half minutes separating the three boats in compensated time. Capricorno also heads the provisional overall classification, with a 2-point lead over Twin Soul B in second place, and 5 points ahead of Rose in third.

 A clean run of first-place finishes continued for the Vallicelli 78 H2O in the Mini Maxi 3&4 , followed today by Oscar 3 and @robas. Unsurprisingly, H2O sits firmly in the lead with a comfortable delta over her closest competition, the Mylius 65 FD Oscar 3 and the Dehler 60 Blue Oyster.

Guillermo Parada, tactician on Moat 1: "Finally this was a good day for us, the rating that penalised us a little in the previous days played in our favour today. We brought home a win to add to the two third-place finishes. Today with light air we sailed really well and won, we'll see what happens over the next few days, there are challenging forecasts for the last two days, but we are ready for it."

 Flavio Favini, tactician on Capricorno, owned by Alessandro Del Bono: "After the two second-place finishes in the previous days, today's victory was the result of a good start and from the first upwind leg to the offset mark, where we rounded first. On the next two reaches up to Monaci and then to the Secca Di Tre Monti our opponents had no opportunities to pass us, then on the upwind to the finish we stayed comfortably in control. Our boat is well suited to today's light-medium conditions, we started with 8 knots and had a maximum of 13 knots. We are in the lead in the provisional classification but the end is still far off, the Maxi Rolex is a very competitive regatta which everyone prepares properly for, from new sails to experienced professional crews."