All the winners of the 34th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

Exciting finish for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2024 in Porto Cervo.
Although the persistent Mistral had limited racing during the week, the Costa Smeralda provided an unforgettable spectacle on the last day, with winds reaching 24 knots, offering perfect conditions for a competition that lived up to the event. Organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in collaboration with Rolex, a sponsor for 40 years, and the International Maxi Association (IMA), the regatta saw the world’s largest maxi yachts compete.
Among the many participants were also the latest masterpiece in the Capricorn saga, the 83-foot (25-meter) yacht designed by the Germans Judel&Vrolijk of the Del Bono family, and two J Classes, true queens of the seas, 40-meter yachts that were America’s Cup boats starting in the 1930s.

How the last day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup went.

To make the most of the favorable weather conditions, the Race Committee brought forward the start to 10:00 a.m.
Thefinal day saw an intense 42.5-mile race for the Maxi 1 and 2 classes, with a course that took the boats around the islands of Mortorio and Soffi, circumnavigating La Maddalena and Caprera, and then returning to Porto Cervo after an evocative passage off Monks’ Island.
The other classes, on the other hand, competed on a 31-mile course that featured a challenging broad windward-leeward leg to the Secca di Tre Monti and a return to Porto Cervo.

One of the most spectacular elements of the 2024 edition was the direct comparisons between boats of similar performance.
The duels between Allegra and Highland Fling XVIII in the Multihull class, the J Class Svea and Velsheda, and giants like Galateia and SHK Scallywag made for exciting competition.
Last but not least, even in the Maxi 3 class, there was a head-to-head battle between Oscar 3 and Great Horace until the very end that kept everyone with bated breath.

The first Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship

This year, for the first time, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup hosted the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship, which was won by Joost Schuijff’s 100-foot Leopard 3, with Ed Baird as tactician, famous for winning the 32nd America’s Cup with Alinghi.
Despite two fourth-place finishes in the windward-leeward races, victory in the last coastal race allowed Leopard 3 to take the title with 9 points overall, followed by Django HF with 12 points and V with 14 points, tied with Deep Blue and Bullitt, the boat of Andrea Recordati, the new Commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

Leopard 3’s victory was the realization of a dream for Schuijff, who commented, ” We worked hard for years on the boat, the team and the quality of my leadership.
After much training and improvement, everything finally worked out perfectly “. Leopard 3 benefited from a major upgrade last year, which saw a weight reduction of about 10 tons, as well as the addition of top sailors such as Ed Baird and Volvo Ocean Race sailor Mike Sanderson.

All the winners of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

In addition to the Maxi 1 Class World Championship, other categories also provided exciting moments.
In the Maxi 2 Class, victory went to Proteus, owned by George and Christina Sakellaris, who took the title thanks to victory in the last race, prevailing over Peter Harrison’s Jolt by only 20 seconds thanks to IRC corrected time.
Third place went to Northstar of London.

Supermaxi, the majestic Swan 115 Moat had initially dominated, but in the end it was Svea, Niklas Zennström’s J class, that triumphed, taking her third consecutive victory in her category.
Third place went to the other J class, Velsheda.

No less exciting was the performance of Aldo Parisotto’s Oscar 3 in the Maxi 3 class, which finally took the win after finishing second in the last two editions.
Aldo and Elena Parisotto’s Mylius 65FD showed a flawless performance, confirming its superiority in difficult conditions.
It was followed by Spirit of Lorina and Grande Orazio, second and third respectively, both tied on points.

Maxi3In theMaxi 4 class, Riccardo de Michele’s H2O took the class victory, marking his sixth win in this prestigious event.
They were followed by Wallyño and Shirlaf in second and third place, also tied on points.

The Multihull class, introduced in 2023, saw Riccardo Pavoncelli’s Gunboat 66 Gaetana triumph in its first participation, leaving Allegra and Highland Fling XVIII in second and third place respectively.

The success of Young Azzurra

In this edition, young athletes from the Young Azzurra sports program, designed to give younger sailors the tools and skills they need to excel at the international level, had the opportunity to race aboard three maxi yachts.
Maddalena Spanu, Federico Pilloni and Cesare Barabino had a unique educational experience, sailing alongside world-renowned professionals.
Maddalena Spanu, sailor class of 2006 and world champion in Wingfoil, the evolution of Windsurfing, was aboard Grande Orazio.
Federico Pilloni, Youth iQFOiL world champion, on Bullitt, and Cesare Barabino, athlete in the ILCA 7 Olympic class, on H2O.

The award ceremonies

The awards ceremony, held as usual in Azzurra Square, saw Rolex timepieces awarded to the winners of each class.
In addition, two perpetual trophies were presented : the Commodore Alberini Trophy to Adrian Keller of Allegra and the Paolo Massarini ORC Challenge Trophy to Svea.
Riccardo de Michele was awarded for the best result among YCCS members.

Recordati, YCCS Commodore, expressed great satisfaction with the progress of the regatta: ” Despite difficult weather conditions this week, the final day offered a spectacular regatta, with steady winds and a coastal course that enhanced the beauty of the Costa Smeralda.
Congratulations to the winners and special thanks to the participants and to our partner Rolex, with whom we are celebrating 40 years of partnership “. Next up for the YCCS will be the 22nd Rolex Swan Cup, scheduled to start tomorrow, September 16. Giacomo Barbaro