Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup gets underway among the islands of the La Maddalena Archipelago

The first day of racing in Porto Cervo in the 36th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup saw all classes complete a coastal race among the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago, with the sole exception of the Maxi Grand Prix class, which contested two windward-leeward races off the coast of Porto Cervo. The forecast of light easterly winds proved accurate, rising from 7 knots at the start to peaks of 11 knots along the racecourse.

Division leaders at the close of the opening day are: Capricorno in the Maxi 1 class, Northstar III in the Maxi Grand Prix class, Artemis Bleu in the Maxi 3 class, Fra Diavolo for the Maxi 4s, H2O in Maxi 5 and the trimaran Sophia in the Multihull group.

The Maxi 1, Multihull and Maxi 3 classes completed an anti-clockwise circumnavigation of the islands of Caprera and La Maddalena before crossing the finish line off Porto Cervo. The Maxi 1 course extended to leave the Isola dei Monaci to starboard before a final beat back to Porto Cervo, covering a total of 30.5 miles. The Multihull and Maxi 3 yachts took the direct route through the Passo delle Bisce, for a total distance of 25 miles. The Maxi 4 and 5 classes raced on a 17-mile course that took both fleets to leave the Isola dei Monaci and the Tre Monti shoal to port before returning to the finish off Porto Cervo via the Passo delle Bisce.

The J/V 82 Capricorno won in the Maxi 1 division, 2 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of the WallyCento V, with third place going to Leopard 3. In the Maxi Grand Prix class, Northstar III opened nicely with two wins, while second place went to Bella Mente and third to Balthasar. Artemis Bleu claimed victory in the Maxi 3 class, with Astra I in second and Twin Soul B in third. Among the Maxi 4s, Fra Diavolo took first place ahead of Yoru, with Wallyno in third. H2O claimed the win in the Maxi 5 class ahead of Lunz am Meer and Shirlaf. The 63-foot trimaran Sophia took the honours in the Maxi Multihulls division, followed by catamarans Allegra and Highland Fling XVIII.

The perfect sea and weather conditions that marked this first day of the 36th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup - which will assign the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship and the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship titles – are set to continue tomorrow, with similar breezes forecast. The Race Committee has scheduled coastal races for all classes with the first starting signal scheduled for 12 noon CEST.