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Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

The Costa Smeralda provides a stunning setting and a variety of challenging conditions for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, one of the highlights of the Mediterranean yachting season. The first Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup (known then as the Maxi World championship) was held in Sardinia in 1980. The brainchild of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and its president, the Aga Khan, the regatta is now an eagerly anticipated annual event attracting a sizeable fleet of majestic maxi yachts to Porto Cervo each September.

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For the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Multihulls Are Here

For the first time, the regatta, which has always been for monohulls, will include big catamarans. Capsizing could be an issue.

By David Schmidt

Call it a game of speed, tactics, underwater rocks and double the number of hulls.

For the first time in its 43-year history, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup , which begins on Monday in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, will include up to five maxi multihulls. These fast and powerful catamarans, which measure at least 60 feet, bow to stern, can often sail faster than monohulls, but they don’t carry capsize-preventing keels.

This presents a challenge at the Maxi cup. The regatta is known for its coastal courses. These often wend past the Maddalena archipelago’s islands and submerged rocks, and, critically, through Bomb Alley.

This stretch of water, about 15 miles long, separates the archipelago from Sardinia’s north-northeast flank. When the strong northwesterly winds — called the mistrals — blow, Bomb Alley can get boisterous, which should yield exciting, if not scary, racing.

“This is an experiment, really,” said Andrew McIrvine, secretary general of the International Maxi Association , which organizes the regatta with the hosting Yacht Club Costa Smeralda . He said the decision was initiated by a member’s request.

“A lot of Maxi owners are getting a bit long in the tooth, and it will probably extend their racing life by a few years if they can race on a catamaran, rather than hanging on to the back of a Maxi,” he said.

Catamarans have two hulls to create stability, rather than a single narrow hull and a heavy keel. Critically, they generally lean over — or heel — less than a monohull, which makes it easier to move across the yacht during maneuvers. But if the sails are not adjusted to match the wind gusts, multihulls can lose their balance and capsize.

“There’s the old saying about running aground that sometimes gets applied to capsizing big multis: There’s two clubs, those who have and those that will,” said Paul Larsen, who is the race skipper of Allegra, an 84-foot catamaran. “It’s no joke.”

While the risks are real, regatta organizers were clear that they wanted to attract sophisticated racing-focused multihulls.

“There are a lot of horrible caravan multihulls,” McIrvine said, referring to cruising-oriented catamarans. “We won’t just take anything because it’s big, that’s for sure.”

Regatta organizers said that the multihulls would compete in their own class. However, weather depending, the catamarans could sail similar or separate coastal courses as the monohulls, potentially setting up passing situations with the slower-moving monohulls.

“I see the opening up to multihulls as a natural thing, a natural development of an event that has always been characterized by cutting-edge technology,” said Michael Illbruck, commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. “This type of boat entirely fits with the Maxi world.”

Five Maxi-size catamarans initially entered the regatta, the maximum under the event’s rules, but one had a catastrophic fire and another capsized, sustaining season-ending damage.

Unless other Maxi multihulls enter the regatta at the last minute, that leaves three of the multihulls that will race, two of which will be making their racing debut on the Maxi cup’s coastal courses.

Regatta veterans describe these courses as aesthetically pleasing and tactically challenging, and regatta organizers said the islands could also modulate sailing conditions.

“The various courses around the archipelago of La Maddalena offer an area with limited waves when the prevailing mistral wind blows,” said Edoardo Recchi, the club’s secretary general and sports director. “This kind of course fits the characteristics of multihulls better.”

The archipelago’s often flat waters can make for fast sailing, but navigation can also be confined.

“The proximity to land puts real pressure into the decision-making as the consequences could be of far more importance than simply the race result,” Larsen said. “It’s challenging, thrilling and spectacular.”

This places a premium on crew choreography, especially when the mistrals howl.

“All the teams are working with big gear and very high loads, and mistakes can be very costly sailing amongst the archipelago,” said Kinley Fowler , an America’s Cup winner and the sailing team manager of Convexity², a Gunboat 68, describing the forces exerted by the big sails. “This will be exaggerated on the multihulls as we will be going faster, so it means that we will need to be thinking one or two steps ahead the whole time.”

Despite these scrawny margins, multiple teams are hoping for the mistrals.

“I’d prefer a windy regatta,” Larsen said. Of Allegra, he said, “The boat has proven itself to be strong and fast, and the crew know her well.”

Others are also confident about their boat-handling abilities.

“We have a really strong team and are not afraid to push the limits,” Fowler said. While the Maxi cup is the debut regatta for Convexity², Fowler said that the core team had sailed together for years. “Fingers crossed we get to light it up.”

While the three multihulls are fast and powerful, Lord Laidlaw’s Highland Fling 18, a new Gunboat 80, is built for speed. It should be able to sail at more than 30 knots in certain conditions.

“We are definitely on the edge of speed, loads, systems — and my helming ability,” he said, adding that helming a Maxi multihull is much different than a monohull. “Great to be learning something new at 80.”

As for racing the boat through Bomb Alley in a mistral, Lord Laidlaw, who has won his class at this regatta multiple times aboard his previous Highland Fling monohulls, was candid.

“A bit scary, if I am honest,” he said, explaining that the team had taken precautions to prevent capsizing. They include incorporating sail-handling equipment that automatically releases the ropes that control the sails if certain thresholds (loads or heel angle) are surpassed.

As for dealing with a possible capsize, the teams — and the regatta organizers — are prepared.

“We will also be wearing helmets and Kevlar vests with built-in life jackets, something we have never done before,” Lord Laidlaw said.

Recchi, of the yacht club, said safety boats would be on the racecourse. He also said the event would mitigate risk by monitoring weather forecasts and real-time reports, and by selecting courses that best match conditions.

“Additionally, in the event of a major issue, the Coast Guard is on standby with their boats to help, and a towing boat will be also on standby in Porto Cervo,” he said.

There are the submerged rocks to consider, too.

“It is very easy to ground around the northeast of Sardinia,” Lord Laidlaw said. “Many people who cut corners have regretted it.” He admitted that he had twice hit those rocks.

Unlike monohulls with fixed keels, multihulls can retract their daggerboards, which are the vertical underwater foils that enable the boats to sail a straight course. When the daggerboards are down, multihulls often draw as much water as their keelboat counterparts.

When the daggerboards are retracted, multihulls become shallow-draft vessels, which can create tactical advantages on courses that wend past islands and submerged rocks.

“The fact we can raise the boards — where keelboats can’t — might allow us to cut a few corners where there are outlying shallows,” Larsen said. “But this is a high-stakes game.”

Lord Laidlaw said raising the daggerboards on the Highland Fling 18 took seven seconds. But then you can go “sideways, maybe further into the rocks,” he said.

While all teams want a safe regatta, they also want to win.

“Let’s see how tight the racing is,” Fowler said about sailing near the rocks. “We may have to push the limits to get a jump on the competition.”

This wasn’t a one-off assessment.

“When the racing is tight,” Larsen said, “all cards are on the table.”

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Galateia, Y3K and Svea win at Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

The 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup drew to a close on Sunday after four days of close racing out of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo.

The final classification remained unchanged from the penultimate day of competition after the last day of racing was cancelled due to lack of wind. The race committee took the decision to send the 45-strong fleet back to port for prize giving.

Fresh off of a win at the PalmaVela regatta, David Leuschen and Chris Flowers' 30.5-metre Wallycento Galateia won the Maxi A class with a seven-point lead from Leopard 3 and eight points ahead of fellow Wally , Bullitt . While Leopard 3 made the strongest start to the event, Andrea Recordati’s newly refitted Bullitt won two races in lighter winds, but it was Galateia that maintained a consistent series of podium finishes.

On his return to the dock, David Leuschen said: "It has been an exceptional week, the key factors for our success have been our consistency, nothing but second and third-place finishes, and our starts, probably the best we have ever had in a regatta. Winning the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is an extraordinary achievement, for us it’s like the Holy Grail, so we feel very good."

In the Super Maxi class there was a two-horse race between Claus-Peter Offen’s new custom Wally 101 Y3K and Juan Ball’s Swan 115 Moat , both having scored two bullets, but with Y3K prevailing by one point in her first-ever event.

Y3K, the brand new Wally 101 owned by YCCS member Claus-Peter Offen, won the Supermaxi class on her debut outing, ahead of the Swan 115 Moat and the Briand 108 Inoui. Karol Jablonski, Offen's trusted tactician of many years, explained how they got there: "We are more than pleased with the result. We only had three days to test the boat and we are very happy with the job Wally has done. It is all about teamwork and how fast you learn about the new boat. We’ve been improving from day to day. I must admit that conditions in the first three days were perfect for learning about the boat, because it was blowing quite hard. Then we had light breeze conditions, so we had to learn very fast how to sail the boat in the light breeze as well. It’s a learning process, and we managed well in this first event."

The most dominant performance of this year's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup was in the J Class where Niklas Zennström and Filip Engelbert’s Svea achieved a perfect scoreline, beating fellow Js Velsheda and Topaz in every race. The result means two class wins in a row for the 43.6-metre Vitters sailing yacht following her win at last year's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.

And for the first time, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup introduced a new Maxi Multihull class that welcomed three boats to the circuit: a 24-metre APC78 Allegra , the new Gunboat 80 flagship Highland Fling 18 , and a Gunboat 68 Convexity2. Allegra made a strong start claiming the first two races in strong winds, while it was Highland Fling 18 that prevailed in lighter winds that followed in the latter half of the week. Ultimately, Allegra claimed class victory finishing two points ahead. 

Owner Adrian Keller said: "We couldn't have wished for better, the venue is top class, the first two days were great racing, and I think some of our colleagues on the monohulls have understood that catamarans can also be competitive. I think we will see more participants next year, we have agreed among ourselves to make a joint effort to attract more boats, so it will be even more exciting in the future. A big thank you to Sardinia and the YCCS of which I am a member, wonderful hosts.”

The 34th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will take place from 8 to 14 September 2024.

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33rd Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup concludes in Porto Cervo

September 9, 2023 - Porto Cervo, Italy -   The 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup , organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of title sponsor Rolex and in collaboration with the International Maxi Association, concluded today in Porto Cervo.  Winners in their respective categories are: Galateia in Maxi A, Bella Mente in Maxi B, Spirit of Lorina in Maxi C, Allegra in the Multihull Class, Y3K in the Supermaxi, and Svea among the J Class.

The Race Committee was left with no choice but to hoist the AP flag for the Maxi C class and stop racing for all other classes. After about an hour of waiting for any thermal breeze to fill in, at 1 p.m. the Race Committee announced that there would be no new start, thus declaring the 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup closed.

Y3K , the brand new Wally 101 owned by YCCS member Claus-Peter Offen , won the Supermaxi class scored using ORCsy on her debut outing, ahead of the Swan 115 MOAT and the Briand 108 INOUI . 

Karol Jablonski , Offen's trusted tactician of many years, explained how they got there: "We are more than pleased with the result. We only had three days to test the boat and we are very happy with the job Wally Yachts have done. It is all about teamwork and how fast you learn about the new boat. We’ve been improving from day to day. I must admit that conditions in the first three days were perfect for learning about the boat, because it was blowing quite hard. Then we had light breeze conditions, so we had to learn very fast how to sail the boat in the light breeze as well. So it’s a learning process, and we managed well in this first event."

The Multihull Class was scored using ORCmh , included for the first time in this Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. YCCS member Adrian Keller's ALLEGRA triumphed, followed on equal points by HIGHLAND FLING 18 and CONVEXITY 2 . 

Adrian Keller was naturally delighted: "We couldn't have wished for better, the venue is top class, the first two days were great racing, and I think some of our colleagues on the monohulls have understood that catamarans can also be competitive. Some of them have come on board to see what we are doing. I think we will see more participants next year, we have agreed among ourselves to make a joint effort to attract more boats, so it will be even more exciting in the future. A big thank you to Sardinia and the YCCS of which I am a member, wonderful hosts.”

A packed prize-giving ceremony saw trophies awarded to the top three finishers in the six classes, as well as prizes such as Maxi Yacht Line Honours , which went to Roberto Lacorte's FLYINGNIKKA , for the boat with the best real time in the coastal races. 

The Perpetual Trophy in memory of Commodore Alberini was presented to YCCS member Pier Luigi Loro Piana, owner and helmsman of MY SONG . 

The Paolo Massarini ORC Challenge Trophy , meanwhile, went to Claus-Peter Offen for Y3K 's victory in the Supermaxi class.

YCCS Commodore Michael Illbruck commented: "I would like to thank all the owners and sailors who make this event unique in terms of the standard of the crews and the technological level of the boats, ranging from the majestic J Class yachts to the Multihulls, taking part in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup for the first time this year. It has been a fantastic week, the participants have been able to put themselves to the test in the most varied weather conditions, which have ranged from sustained winds to light breezes."

"Thanks to our partner Rolex for their continued support, to the International Maxi Association for their cooperation, to the Race Committee and to our staff ashore and at sea for contributing to the success of this 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.”

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Published on September 9th, 2023 | by Editor

PHOTOS: 2023 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

Published on September 9th, 2023 by Editor -->

The 33rd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup , held in 2023 on September 3-9 in Porto Cervo, Italy. Photos by Max Ranchi .

Tags: Max Ranchi , Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

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Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup: Class Performances

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2023 Preliminary Maxi Sailing Programme

IMA PROGRAMME EVENTS:

Rorc & ima transatlantic race.

• Lanzarote to Grenada
• Event' website

RORC Caribbean 600

• Start and finish in Antigua

St Maarten Heineken Regatta

• Saint Maartin

Les Voiles de Saint-Barth Richard Mille

• Saint Barth

La Larga - The Offshore Race of PalmVela

• Palma de Mallorca

Tre Golfi Offshore race

• Naples, Italy

IMA Maxi European Championship - inshores

• Sorrento, Italy

151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar

• Livorno to Punta Ala, Italy

Rolex Giraglia

• Inshores: Saint-Tropez. Offshore: Saint-Tropez – Giraglia – Genova
• Start and finish in Sounio, Greece

41 Copa del Rey MAPFRE

Palermo - montecarlo.

• Palermo, Italy, to Monaco MC

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

• Porto Cervo
• NoR and Event' website

Les Voiles de Saint Tropez

• Saint Tropez

Rolex Middle Sea Race

Ima affiliated events:, antigua sailing week (antigua), 29 april - 5 may, rolex fastnet race (cowes to cherbourg), barcolana (trieste, italy), venice hospitality challenge (venice, italy), rolex sydney hobart yacht race (sydney to hobart, australia), 26 december.

The above 2023 Sailing programme is to be considered as “Preliminary” (27 January 2023)

International Maxi Association Legal Headquarters: c/o BfB Société Fiduciaire Bourquin frères et Béran SA - 26, Rue de la Corraterie - 1204 Genève - Switzerland

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Registrations for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2023, an internationally renowned sailing event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of title sponsor Rolex and in collaboration with the International Maxi Association (IMA), are now open. The Notice of Race has been published online and  is available here .

The 33rd edition of the event is scheduled to take place from 3rd to 9th September 2023, and will be open to boats with a minimum length of 18.29 metres. Multihull yachts will also be able to take part in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup for the first time, in light of the growing interest in this type of yacht.

Racing will get under way on 4th September and conclude on the 9th, for a total of five days of sailing that will see the participants take on courses laid out between the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago. The 2022 edition of the event was particularly successful, not only due the number of yachts taking part, which reached 50, but above all thanks to the elevated standard of the competitors in terms of quality, innovation, history, design and performance. This year’s edition once again promises to gather a high-level fleet in Porto Cervo, uniting the very best in sailing yacht design and construction with professional sailors of international fame.

Registrations for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2023 will remain open until 30th July. For further details please consult the  Notice of Race , or to complete or download the  registration form click here .

For more information please visit the  YCCS website  or contact the  YCCS Press Office .

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Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2023

One of the most important events on the international yachting calendar, the annual Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is synonymous with excellence.

The regatta and its organizer, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS), have been partnered by Rolex since the mid-1980s. A partnership of such longevity is rare in sport and lies at the heart of the event’s continuing evolution and ability to maintain the highest of ‘standards’

Rolex Testimonee Paul Cayard, the legendary yachtsman from the United States and a past competitor at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, explains how the close partnership between the Swiss watchmaker and the YCCS is fundamental to the continued success of the event: “For four decades, Rolex and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda have forged a privileged relationship. These two partners stand for the highest quality and excellence in everything they do, and as a result, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup offers the ideal platform for owners and their crews to enjoy elite competition in a striking and demanding location.”

YCCS Commodore Michael Illbruck agrees with Cayard that the historic partnership is at the heart of the event’s continued appeal: “The YCCS and Rolex have always worked together to evolve an event created with a very clear vision: to become one of the world’s most important and spectacular sailing events, one which entices the best sailors to compete and inspires maxi yacht owners and designers to continue to drive the sport forward.”

The regatta is renowned for its professional organization, excellent sailing conditions and a first-class schedule of events off the water. In 2023, the 33rd edition commences on Sunday, 3 September and concludes with the final prize-giving on Saturday, 9 September.

The event typically attracts about 50 yachts measuring from 18.29 metres (60 feet) in length to more than 40m (131ft). Divided into classes based on size and performance, and crewed by the world’s leading sailors, the yachts are a sublime combination of power, speed and elegance when racing. Thanks to the YCCS race management team, supported by the International Maxi Association, a recognized leader in its field, the week of competition is impeccably conducted.

Cayard confirms why sailors are perennially drawn to the event: “The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is the very essence of superlative yacht racing – the most impressive yachts, sailed by the best sailors in the most perfect sailing environment. Victory at this regatta is one of the most coveted successes in the sport. The winners have overcome determined and skilful opponents across a demanding week of racing.”

Since its foundation, the event has been a showcase for both the potential and the evolution of yacht design and technology. It is considered the foremost proving ground for new launches and a place where designers, owners and sailors can meet to discuss innovations, developments and future projects. Success at the regatta confirms that passion and commitment have been well directed.

Completing the attractive package is one of the world’s most impressive sailing environments. The emerald waters, rocky outcrops and islets of north-east Sardinia’s Maddalena Archipelago offer an exceptional arena for yacht racing, with varied conditions and testing courses.

Across five days of intense competition off Porto Cervo, crews tackle a programme of windward/leeward and inshore racing through and around the archipelago. Consistency in performance is critical, teamwork essential. For the top performers, recognition comes in the form of class victories and the associated trophies.

Rolex Testimonee and four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie, another past competitor, highlights the event’s distinct spirit: “The setting inspires excellence. From a sporting perspective, precision is critical to successful performance in sailing. This is never more so than at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which has long showcased the world’s elite sailors using their skill and expertise to get the very best out of powerful, technically complex yachts.”

For close to 40 years, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup has provided the perfect platform for the world’s most powerful monohull yachts to perform to their full potential. And, thanks to the close and careful partnership of the YCCS and Rolex, it appears set fair to continue delivering for many years to come.

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