Loro Piana Giraglia 2024: an epic regatta

An epic regatta! Strong wind and very rough sea for the offshore leg of the Loro Piana Giraglia. Starting yesterday at 12 from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, the fleet of 129 boats sailed towards Corsica, rounded Giraglia, and returned to Genoa. The first to cross the finish line: the Dutch maxi Black Jack 100 of Remon Vos, who came close to the 2012 record!

After 15 hours, 11 minutes, and 43 seconds of sailing, at 3:23 last night, the maxi Black Jack 100 with its 19 crew members crossed the finish line in Genoa, unable to hide their disappointment for missing a seemingly unbeatable record by just 15 minutes. However, the Black Jack crew secured their second consecutive line honours victory, with great satisfaction from the crew and the new owner, who commented upon arrival: "It was an epic regatta. We bought the boat just over a month ago, and thanks to an extraordinary crew, we managed everything well in fairly challenging conditions. It must be admitted that this boat was born for these conditions; it has been constantly improved and updated and is still competitive despite being built in 2005. Last night, we had very high averages, around 20 knots, with wind peaks of 37 knots and steep, breaking waves near Giraglia. But what an emotion to round this mythical islet at sunset!"

Second, across the finish line was the ClubSwan 80 My Song of Pigi Loro Piana, which, after a wild and fast race to Corsica always close to Black Jack, had to abandon any hope of victory due to a mainsail issue during a particularly violent gybe around Giraglia. Once the sail was recovered and the boat secured, the crew, led by Tommaso Chieffi, continued the race to Genoa with only the headsail.

Emotion and fatigue for the many who started to crowd the Crew Village from the early morning hours after a night that hit the fleet hard but returned the spirit of adventure typical of offshore racing. While about half of the fleet still has to cross the finish line, the final standings of the various classes competing in the race are beginning to take shape, but we have to wait for the arrival of all the competitors to finalize the lists. However, it is sure that it will be a race for the 'little ones' who did not suffer delays from the wind hole last night in front of Genoa, which is also 'responsible' for the missed record by Black Jack, which, we recall, remains among the trophies of the same boat that in 2012 ran an extraordinary Giraglia in 14h56m under the name of Esimit Europa 2.

Life in the village is coming more and more to life thanks to the presence of many sailors who are welcomed with a 24-hour reception service with focaccia and pasta and a special champagne box delivered on the dock to all participants. Tomorrow will be a day of arrivals and well-deserved rest, given the revelation of the winner of the Loro Piana Giraglia 2024, who will be awarded at the ceremony on Saturday at 12:30 at the headquarters of the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa.