The maxi regattas season heats up its engines and promises to be a fiery 2023 for the boats of theInternational Maxi Associations, which, as per tradition, will have a rich racing program in Italy and the Mediterranean.
For the second year in fact, the IMA Maxi European Championship will be part of the Three Gulfs Sailing Week, organized by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia (CRVI) in Naples, scheduled for May 12.
Maxi Regattas – My song gets a new bulb.
Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s Club Swan 80 My Song, which will be a major player in the 2023 season and the European Championships, made its racing debut at last September’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo. The new 80′ footer is a state-of-the-art racer-cruiser, combining super sports performance with a minimalist yet cruising-friendly interior. Pier Luigi Loro Piana with his team for the new racing season decided to upgrade the boat to make it even better performing.
During the winter My Song was improved, with a larger/more efficient canard (centerboard ed.) and 400 kg less on the canting keel bulb. In the cockpit, however, the new addition will be North Sails President Ken Read on tactics and strategist Alberto Bolzan.
The schedule for the European
Scheduled for May 12-18, the IMA Maxi European Championships will begin with the CRVI Regatta dei Tre Golfi offshore race, starting in Naples at 5 p.m. on May 12 and this year finishing in Sorrento.
The offshore race will be followed by four days of coastal racing, based in Sorrento, with courses in the Gulf of Naples and as far as Capri. Pre-registration for the second Maxi European Championship closed on Wednesday, March 22, with the entry list already surpassing the 25 who participated in 2022.
Italian maxi yachts star in regattas in 2023
At the Regatta of the Three Gulfs, and thus also at the European Championships, among the favorites is Furio Benussi’s maxi 100 ARCA, winner of last year’s light-wind event. The races will be run with IRC rating, so compensated times will weigh in.
Also from the game will be the Reichel/Pugh 90 La Bete Portopiccolo Prosecco DOC. Originally launched as Alfa Romeo 1, it won the Rolex Sydney Hobart in 2002. Then, as George David’s first maxi Rambler he won many trophies and in 2007 set a record for the Rolex Middle Sea Race that would last 14 years. Alberto Leghissa’s 2000 vintage Frers 63 Anywave-Safilens, which last raced the 3 Golfi in 2018, will also be there.
In the “smaller” group, several boats return including Guido Paolo Gamucci’s Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X and Fabio Cannavale’s Baltic 78 Lupa of the Sea – as well as Gabriele Guerzoni’s elegant Felci 65 .G built Persico Marine. Among the Italians also the Farr/Felci 78 Atalanta 2 by Carlo A. Pure Negri, a cult boat featured in many maxi seasons, and Andrea Fornaro’s Swan 60 Sea Quill, as well as several Mylius. These include Aldo Parisotto’s Mylius 65 Oscar3.
