yacht filip balcaen

News Nilaya, owner IMA Member Philip Balcaen, wins second consecutive Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous

Nilaya, owner ima member philip balcaen, wins second consecutive loro piana caribbean superyacht regatta & rendezvous.

It is the second consecutive year and third time in the past four years that the 111-footer Nilaya has won the trophy at the seventh annual regatta presented by Italian brand Loro Piana and co-organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Boat International Media. Built by Baltic Yachts, Nilaya won all three races in Class A by an average of more than 6 minutes.

"It comes down to good management and, of course, a great owner," said tactician Bouwe Bekking. "Without a great owner you can't put a good team together and he puts a lot of emphasis on good team work. It's a combination of a couple of pros, a lot of friends, and a lot of history; we've been sailing together for nearly seven years now.

"The boat likes the medium to medium-heavy conditions we had this week," Bekking said. "The boat was well prepared. The owner bought all new sails. It just went well, the whole week."

Nilaya also won the Loro Piana Cup for winning Class A, as did the 38m P2 in Class B, the Swan 90 Freya in Class C and the 60m Perseus3 in Class D.

With a brisk wind of 13 to 20 knots propelling the 17 yachts around the 23-nautical-mile course set about the Sir Francis Drake Channel, P2 won its final race showdown with Ganesha to capture Class B.

The two were tied on points heading into today's finale, but the P2 crew signaled their intention to take no prisoners this morning when they fired their cannon-a 39-inch barrel, 2-inch bore armament that was captured from the French frigate Le Medee in 1801-upon leaving the YCCS dock. When they fired it again after finishing, everyone in ear shot knew the job had been done.

"The cannon has become our signature move," said Tony Rey, the tactician. "The poor fellow who has to fire the cannon has the hardest job because you don't want to misfire. But we had a great race with Ganesha, it seems it always comes down between us. Matt Humphries and the guys on Ganesha are incredible competitors. We like to think we're getting better and better at sailing P2. We all take pride in getting on the podium here. It's a big deal."

Don MacPherson's Freya also captured its second consecutive class victory and third in the last four years, winning all three races in Class C by an average of more than 5 minutes.

"It was a fantastic week, we did well because we're a crew," said MacPherson. "It was really good racing and we made very few mistakes. I attribute our success to the crew, they did a great job."

For MacPherson and crew it was their fifth consecutive victory in the past year. They started winning at last year's Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta, continued at the St. Barth's Bucket last year, then won the Rolex Swan Cup last September in Sardinia and finally the Rolex Swan Cup last week in Virgin Gorda.

MacPherson is no different than Nilaya's owner; there's always a new sail to purchase. "The new sail this week was the yellow A2 spinnaker. I think it was a great sail for us. We sailed quite well downwind," said MacPherson.

In Class D the 60m Perseus^3 completed its first class victory with a come-from-behind win. Perseus^3 suffered a problem with its roller furling system that prevented the crew from using the large headsail for half of the race's upwind work. The crew was able to get the issue sorted out in time to score a 45-second win over Action, the new 123-footer from Dykstra Naval Architects and built by Royal Huisman.

At the final awards Action, helmed by Olympic medalist Shirley Robertson with Volvo Ocean Race winner Ian Walker calling tactics, was presented the British Virgin Islands Trophy for best newcomer to the event.

All winners were heartily cheered by their peers at the final awards presentation, signaling a fantastic end to another successful Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous.

"The Loro Piana Superyacht regattas represent one of the highlights on both sides of the Atlantic and these last four days have been incredible," said YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo. "Here we have such a range of boats, from the smallest at 23 metres to the largest at 60 metres. We also have classic designs such as Wild Horses, to new boats, such as the Swan 115 Shamanna. I want to thank our title sponsor Loro Piana for supporting us and the owners who make all of this possible. I look forward to seeing you in June in Porto Cervo and in 2018 back here in Virgin Gorda."

In its 50th anniversary year, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda racing calendar continues in May in Porto Cervo with the Audi Italian Sailing League and the Mediterranean edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta.

Media Contacts:

YCCS Jill Campbell/Marialisa Panu [email protected] marina.yccs.com

Boat International Media Sadie Brown | Event Manager [email protected] www.boatinternational.com

About YCCS  The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was founded in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in 1967 by current president H.H. the Aga Khan and a group of founder-members as a non-profit sporting association for fellow sailing enthusiasts. The YCCS is renowned for organizing international sailing events such as the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Audi Sardinia Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup as well as World and European championships for top one-design fleets. In recent years the Club has focused on promoting new superyacht events such as the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, the Dubois Cup and the Perini Navi Cup. The Club has also promoted international challenges such as Azzurra - the first Italian challenger for the America's Cup in 1983 which became a legendary Italian brand and was relaunched by the YCCS in 2009 with a victorious participation in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Nice - the participation in the Volvo Ocean Race with a two boat campaign one of which had an all-female crew, and the motor yacht Destriero which to this day holds the transatlantic crossing record set in 1992. The YCCS continues to expand its activities and in 2012 inaugurated its winter base in Virgin Gorda overlooking the island's new YCCS Marina. The Club now runs regattas year-round on both sides of the Atlantic. 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Club's foundation and sees the launch of a new initiative, supported by Princess Zahra Aga Khan, in which YCCS adds its voice to the global conservation effort. www.yccs.com - www.oneoceanforum.org

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

NILAYA wins the Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta 2016

Filip Balcaen’s NILAYA, the Reichel/Pugh and Nauta designed Baltic 34m, beat out rival Inoui to become the overall Class A winner, despite a a most spectacular spinnaker blow-out at the end of the first downwind leg in the final race.

Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. (March 12th, 2016) – Filip Balcaen’s NILAYA, the Reichel/Pugh and Nauta designed Baltic 34m, beat out rival Inoui to become the overall Class A winner, despite a a most spectacular spinnaker blow-out at the end of the first downwind leg in the final race. She also took home the Boat International Media Trophy 2016 for the top scored superyacht overall at the 2016 Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta in Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. Reichel/Pugh-designed and Baltic-built 67m ketch Hetairos finished second overall in Class B.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMD0yGpE0A&feature=youtu.be

See all racing photos at the  Boat International Media Flickr page

Title Image © Boat International Media

Event Website loropianacaribbeansuperyachtregatta.com

2016 Results About Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta and Rendezvous

The Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous brings together sail and motor yachts during a four-day event for owners, their families and friends organized by Boat International Media and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS).

In addition to the Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous, a motor yacht rendezvous program, sponsored by Westport, was created to watch the spectacular racing and enjoy the beautiful islands of the British Virgin Islands.

The 2017 event is planned for 10 - 13 March.

Media courtesy of Boat International Media

Extraordinary in Antigua

2020 Superyacht Challenge Antigua

Day Three Report

Saturday 14 th March 2020

Day Three of the 2020 Superyacht Challenge Antigua was both bizarre and eventful. Shortly after the starting sequence the race area was enveloped in low cloud and torrential rain, scattering the wind in every direction. For over four hours, the superyacht fleet battled for supremacy, as well as control of their yachts in wind speed varying from zephyrs to 18 knots.

Oyster 885 Firebird skippered by James McDonald took their third straight bullet in the Buccaneers Class. In the Corsairs Class The 112ft (34m) Baltic Nilaya, with Filip Balcaen at the helm, took their first win. In the Privateers Class the 140ft (43m) ketch Rebecca, skippered by Rob Foxell, scored their first bullet of the regatta.

The Oyster 885 Firebird is now unbeaten in the Buccaneers Class and whilst the team, with Jasper Bank on tactics, have dominated Firebird must still finish the job in the last race. The 182ft (55.5m) Dykstra schooner Adela skippered by Greg Norwood-Perkins is the threat three points behind in second. The 121ft (37m) Dykstra sloop Action skippered by Josh Gilchrist is in a solid position for the podium after another third place today. One of the best starts today was by the 169ft (52m) Dykstra schooner Meteor, sailed by sailed by member of Monaco Yacht Club Eugene Rene. Inspired by the owner’s love for the Gloucester Schooners, Meteor is a traditional schooner weighing in excess of 300 tonnes. Crossing the start line just 8 seconds after the gun is worthy of praise!

The Privateers Class will go to the wire on Sunday after a momentous race with an extraordinary outcome. Peter Harrison’s 115ft (35m) Farr ketch Sojana, had a man over the side in Race Three. He was rescued without injury and the team got back in the race. It was a bitter pill that all but decided a fantastic battle with close rivals Rebecca. The race was full of drama right from the start, as Sojana was called OCS. The MOB combined with Sojana’s penalty put them third for Race Three. The 94ft (29m) Southern Wind sloop Aragon, skippered by Nico Carpentier, was second. Sojana tied with the 108ft (33m) Malcolm McKeon sloop Missy for third, having both scored an identical ORCsy corrected time. The big picture is that Sojana and Missy are now tied for the class win going into the last race.

We had three lead changes with Sojana today,” commented Rebecca’s Darryl Starr. “Obviously Sojana’s MOB added to that, or it would have been two. With the weather, it was like a lottery, Fuzz (Grant “Fuzz” Spanhake at the helm) was spinning the wheel like we were at the casino! The wind was all over the place, we were watching boats sailing on completely different wind, even spinnakers going towards each other. Coming to the Curtains mark, some of the heavier boats had way on, and some of the carbon boats were drifting sideways. It was tricky to keep the boat going, and the wind at the top of the rig, and on the water, was very different. It was satisfying though, because today wasn’t about boat speed, it was about our afterguard putting the boat in the right place. I am sure they got a few more grey hairs, but they did an amazing job, as did the team at the front.”

In the Corsairs Class, the 112ft (34m) sloop Nilaya, with Filip Balcaen at the helm, won Race Three, keeping their hopes alive of retaining the class win from last year. The 108ft (33m) Javier Jaudenes sloop WinWin was second. Third was the 112ft (34m) sloop Liara sailed by Tony Todd. The Class will be decided in the very last race.

“It was one of those days with a lot of cloud and rain with plenty happening,” commented Nilaya’s tactician Bouwe Bekking. “With guys like Wil Oxley, Stuart Bannatyne and myself on board, we have a pretty good angle on clouds and rain squalls, but we did get bitten on the backside once, that’s how it is! I think we sailed an excellent race, and the many sail changes went very well, and sometimes you need to be a bit lucky as well!”

On Friday 13th March, the Stand-Up Paddle Board competition with the assistance of Christal Clashing, was in aid of the Antigua National Sailing Academy which has been established for ten years. The event raised close to US$ 2000 for the academy. The NSA offers sailing and swimming to all school children in Antigua as part of the national curriculum. The NSA is also the home for Sailability Antigua, which is one of the few RYA Sailability venues outside of the UK.

Racing at the 10 th Anniversary of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua concludes on Sunday 15 th March, with the sequence scheduled to start at 1100 local time (1500 AST).

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Nilaya with Filip Balcaen at the helm - 2020 Superyacht Challenge Antigua, Day 3

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April 12, 2019 · Posted by Kate Sheahan

112′ NILAYA – The Reichel/Pugh-designed 112’ Nilaya , helmed by owner Filip Balcaen, took 1 st place in Class C: Corsairs at the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. Nilaya was built by Baltic Yachts and launched in 2010.

Tags: Balcaen , Nilaya , Superyacht Challenge Antigua

RP112 NILAYA – St Barths Bucket – 1 st overall with triple class wins.

Tags: Balcaen , Nilaya , St Barths Bucket

April 11, 2019 · Posted by Kate Sheahan

68′ CLAUDE 2 – Dr. Hasso Plattner and his team took the overall win (and PHRF A division win) for the second year in a row at the 2018 Long Point Race Week aboard their Reichel/Pugh-designed and engineered / Baltic-built 68’ Performance Cruiser Claude 2.

Tags: Claude , Long Point Race Week , Plattner

RP130 MY SONG – Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s 130′ Supermaxi MY SONG finished the 2018 RORC Transatlantic Race on December 4th at 17:47:11 UTC taking Monohull Line Honours. The Baltic 130 owned by Pier Luigi Loro Piana, a member of the International Maxi Association (IMA), has also set a new Monohull Race Record after completing the 3,000 mile race between Lanzarote and Grenada in an elapsed time of 10 days 5 hrs 47 mins 11 secs, shaving 1hr 19mins 48 secs off the previous monohull race record set in the 2015 race by Jean-Paul Riviere’s French Finot-Conq 100, Nomad IV.

Tags: Loro Piana , My Song , Transatlantic Race

RP220 Ketch Hetairos – St. Barths Bucket Overall Winner.

Tags: Hetairos , St. Barths Bucke

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RP Maxis Finish 1st & 2nd at Palermo-Montecarlo

Monte-Carlo (August 24, 2019) – The 15th edition of the Palermo-Montecarlo marked the fifth and final event of the International Maxi Association’s Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge 2018-2019 and fielded fifty-one boats this year.

Miguel Galuccio’s Reichel/Pugh 84’ maxi Vera (formerly My Song ) was first to cross the finish line winning one of the Giuseppe Tasca d’Almerita Trophy . Vera’s crew, including Dutch Volvo Ocean Race legend Bouwe Bekking and Olympic champion Michele Regolo, completed nearly 500 miles of racecourse (on the direct route) in two days, 17 hours and 13 minutes — smashing the record set by Esimit Europa 2 in 2015. Esimit Europa 2 is a Reichel/Pugh-designed 100’ canting keel supermaxi, first launched as Alfa Romeo and is now the Australia-based Black Jack . (more…)

RP 50′ Racer Takes the Overall Win at Long Point Race Week

GP42 42° South Shines at 2019 Cowes Week

RP66 Zaraffa Wins Overall ORR Title in Tight Marblehead to Halifax Race (363nm)

Sheldon, who began his sailing career as a student, commissioned Reichel/Pugh Design No. 96 Zaraffa as a dual-purpose racer-cruiser, built by New England Boatworks and launched in 1999. A rugged design, Sheldon never wanted the boat to be the cause of not finishing a race. Zaraffa competed in the 2001 Fastnet race winning class and taking 2 nd overall. She raced the Newport-Bermuda four times, claiming the 2002 Lighthouse Trophy win on the crew’s second attempt. She was also first-to-finish with overall honors on the 2003 North Atlantic Challenge from Newport to Cuxhaven, Germany, and in 2011 Zaraffa was 1st Corrected IRC 3 in the Transatlantic Race.  She has also raced the Sydney Hobart, Miami to Montego Bay, Round Gotland Race and the Middle Sea Race. In 2018, after a retrofit for the Transatlantic Race, the Sheldon family bestowed the USNA Sailing Team with the gift of Zaraffa for offshore training. (more…)

The 50th Transpac Kicks Off

Reichel/Pugh racers to watch: Alive – Design 162 – 66’ CBTF Racer (formerly Black Jack & Stark Raving Mad ) Grand Illusion (featuring Reichel/Pugh-designed keel and rudder appendages) Lady Kanon – Design 177 – 45’ IRC Racer Shadow II – Design 122 – TP52 Taxi Dancer – Design 39 – 70’ ULDB Vitesse – Design 199.2 – Southern Cross 52’

Race Tracking Event News Photography

Phillip Turner’s Australian-based Alive Yachting team most notably won the 2018 Sydney-Hobart overall, and recently swept 2019 California Offshore races with back-to-back line honor wins in the SoCal 300 (Santa Barbara to San Diego), Coastal Cup (Monterey to Santa Barbara), Spinnaker Cup (San Francisco Bay to Monterey), and Newport-Ensenada Race.

HIGHLIGHTS OF REICHEL/PUGH TRANSPAC HISTORY

Reichel Pugh Maxi’s have held the Transpac Course Record for nearly two decades, from 1999 (Roy Disney’s 75’ Pyewacket Maxi Sled) until 2017 (broken by Comanche – setting the new Merlin trophy elapsed time record at 5 days 01:55:26). Until 2017, the record had been broken 4 times since 1999 – always by Reichel/Pugh designed yachts. R/P yachts have won the Barn Door Trophy 7 out of 10 editions of the race since 1999.

Reichel/Pugh’s original sled design, the 70’ Taxi Dancer took 1st place in Class A in the 1989 Transpac and second overall, this was during the heyday of the California Sleds when Class A of the 1989 race featured 19 Sleds. Thirty years later, Taxi Dancer is still racing!

2015 – WILD OATS XI – Roy Pat Disney’s and Bob Oatley’s 100’ Canting Keel SuperMaxi Wild Oats XI had the fastest elapsed time of 6d 10h 37m 2s to win the 2015 Merlin Trophy and take first in Division 1 at the Transpac’s Diamond Head finish line. Wild Oats XI is a 100-foot custom design famous for its record nine elapsed time victories in thirteen years (2005-2008, 2018) and three overall fleet wins (2014, 2012 & 2005) in the Sydney-Hobart race.

2015 – GRAND ILLUSION – Ed & James McDowell’s Santa Cruz 70 Grand Illusion was the overall winner. She was designed by Bill Lee and features Reichel/Pugh-designed keel and rudder appendages. Grand Illusion has now equaled the record for most overall Transpac wins, joining the 88′ Lurline which won the first two races in 1906 and 1908, and again in 1912. However, Grand Illusion holds the status alone for winning overall three times under the same Owner/Skipper, Ed & James McDowell.

2013 – RP74 WIZARD – David and Peter Askew’s 74’ Reichel/Pugh-designed and New England Boatworks-built Mini-Maxi WIZARD (formerly Bella Mente) finished ‘first’ in the 2013 Transpac Race winning the unique Transpacific Yacht Club’s Perpetual Trophy – a 3.5’ x 4’ plaque of hand carved Hawaiian Koa Wood – better known as the ‘Barn Door.’ This trophy is traditionally awarded to the fixed keel mono-hull employing no stored energy with the fastest elapsed time. Wizard’s elapsed time was 7 days, 7 hours, 53 minutes, 46 seconds, which was 12 hours and 13 minutes slower than Bella Mente’s Barn Door record run of 6 days 19 hours 39 minutes 28 seconds set in 2011.

2011 – RP74 BELLA MENTE – Hap Fauth’s 74’ Mini Maxi BELLA MENTE set a new fixed keel course record of 6 days 19 hours 39 minutes 28 seconds with an average speed of 13.6 knots.

2011 – RPTP52 PATCHES – Jorge Ripsteins R/P-designed TP52 PATCHES won Division 2 followed by R/P designs CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 45’ and VINCITORE 52’.

2011 – GRAND ILLUSION – Ed and James McDowell’s Santa Cruz 70 featuring R/P-designed appendages took first in division and first in fleet overall on corrected time.

2009 – RP100 ALFA ROMEO II – 1st to Finish (Lending Tree got a DNS!) 5 days 14 hours 36m 20s) (Moveable Ballast & Powered Winches Course Record). N. Crichton’s Alfa Romeo II, sailing in the “unlimited” class, was not eligible for the traditional “Barn Door” trophy, but instead was the inaugural winner of a new trophy dedicated by Trisha Steele, called the “Merlin Trophy”. On July 7, 2009, ALFA ROMEO II beat the MORNING GLORY record for best day’s run set in the 2005 race, by sailing 399nm in 24 hours. The next two days she broke her own best-day record by sailing 420nm and 431nm.

2005 – RP86 MORNING GLORY – 1st to Finish (SET NEW RECORD 6 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes, and 11 seconds to win “the Barn Door” trophy) (Moveable Ballast Course Record) – H. Plattner

2005 – RP52 ROSEBUD – 1st Class & 1st Fleet Corrected Overall – R. Sturgeon

2003 – RP77 PEGASUS – 1st to Finish Barn Door Trophy Winner – P. Kahn

2001 – RP75 PEGASUS – 1st to Finish Barn Door Trophy Winner, 2nd Fleet Overall Corrected – P. Kahn

1999 – RP73 PYEWACKET – 1st to Finish Barn Door Trophy Winner (SET NEW RECORD 7 days, 11 hours, 41 minutes, and 27 seconds Ending Merlin’s 20-year record) (Fixed Ballast Course Record) 2nd Fleet Overall Corrected – R. Disney

1995 – RP66 EXILE – 1st Place Class Winner – J. Warwick Miller

1989 – RP70 TAXI DANCER – 1st Place Class Winner (19 Sleds competing), 2nd Place Fleet Overall – M. Rousse

For more information on the yachts contact: [email protected]

ABOUT THE TRANSPAC First organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club in 1906, the Transpacific Yacht Race or Transpac is an offshore sailing race from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head, just east of Honolulu, a distance of 2,225 nm. This is among the world’s great ocean races, and biennially attracts some of the world’s fastest sailing yachts, some of its most talented offshore racing sailors, and a wide variety of offshore sailing adventurers.

photography courtesy of Sharon Green/Ultimate Sailing

Perfect Scoreline For Magic Carpet 3 At The Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta

66′ Mini Maxi Alive Sweeps California Offshore Races and Sets New Course Record

San Diego, California (June 2, 2019) – Reichel/Pugh 66’ Canting Keel Mini Maxi ALIVE (formerly Black Jack & Stark Raving Mad) was first to finish (correcting to 7th) in the 5th annual SoCal 300 (300nm), following back-to-back line honor wins in the Spinnaker Cup (San Francisco Bay to Monterey), Coastal Cup (Monterey to Santa Barbara) and Newport-Ensenada. Alive also set a new course record for the 200nm Coastal Cup of 13h 48m 28s. Congratulations to owner Phillip Turner, skipper Duncan Hine and the entire Australian-based Alive Yachting team, who most notably won the 2018 Sydney-Hobart overall. The three-part CA Offshore Race Week now complete, the Alive team is taking on the competitive 17-boat Division 1 in the Transpac Race starting July 10th. (more…)

Alive Wins Newport to Ensenada Race Following Sydney-Hobart Victory

RP100 Black Jack Takes Line Honors in The Brisbane to Gladstone Race

Queensland, Australia (April 20, 2019) – 100’ SuperMaxi Black Jack took line honors in the 71st Brisbane to Gladstone with a time of 16 hours, 56 minutes and 33 seconds—just 2 minutes and 36 seconds outside the 14-year record it broke last year. It was the sixth consecutive Brisbane to Gladstone line-honors victory for last year’s runner-up in the Sydney to Hobart and it marked eight wins for Black Jack’s owner Peter Harburg since 2009. (more…)

Reichel/Pugh Designs Triumph at Les Voiles de St. Barth

Dominating the Maxi Class 2 for the third year was Windfall’s Michael “Mick” Cotter, who humbly attributes much of their success to luck, however this was Mick’s seventh Les Voiles. The Reichel/Pugh-designed production 94’ Windfall was built by Southern Wind, with interiors by Nauta Yachts, Milan and launched in 2013. Results (more…)

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Maxis Align For Enticing Volcanic Challenge

Twenty-two maxis (yachts measuring over 18.29 metres/60-ft in length) are expected to compete in the second edition of the rolex volcano race running from 19-25 may in the tyrrhenian sea and marking the beginning of rolex's impressive mediterranean yachting season..

Twenty-two Maxis (yachts measuring over 18.29 metres/60-ft in length) are expected to compete in the second edition of the Rolex Volcano Race running from 19-25 May in the Tyrrhenian Sea and marking the beginning of Rolex’s impressive Mediterranean yachting season.

In contrast to last year’s inaugural event when one race took place, three segments will be contested, commencing in the form of a day’s inshore racing on Saturday 19 May in Gaeta, a seaport on the Italian mainland located approximately halfway between Rome and Naples. During the second segment, beginning on Sunday 20 May, the fleet tackle Leg One of the 400-nautical mile offshore race, a 100-nautical mile voyage from Gaeta to Capri through the Pontine Islands. On arriving in Capri, the fleet will berth on the island for the night of Monday 21 May before attacking the most arduous segment of the week the following day. A 300-nautical mile adventure around the volcanic, UNESCO-protected Aeolian Islands awaits. The overall winner of this last section will take the plaudits at the finish line back in Capri, receiving the coveted Rolex Trophy and timepiece during the traditional Rolex party at the iconic La Canzone del Mare.

An intriguing contest is ahead. Of the 22 registered entrants, 11 different nationalities are represented. The bulk of the fleet is formed of Mini Maxis (yachts measuring 18.29-24.08 metres in length). Nine of the 13 crews that took part in last year’s inaugural race have committed to return: the rise in the size of the fleet and high volume of returning crews proves the race is an enticing prospect.

Of the larger yachts, Filip Balcaen’s 112-ft Nilaya (BEL), launched last year, will be amongst the most eye-catching craft. With experienced tactician Bouwe Bekking calling the shots the crew impressed in winning the Supermaxi class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in 2011. Close competition is guaranteed in the shape of Claus-Peter Offen’s 100-ft Wally Y3K (GER), winner of its category for three straight years at the same event, in the hands of a honed and savvy crew who have enjoyed sustained success for over a decade.

Not only is Offen owner and skipper of Y3K , he also acts as President of the International Maxi Association (IMA), the event organisers, and is therefore particularly enthusiastic about the event . “In terms of the environment, the race course takes us to one of the most enthralling sailing areas in the world,” he explains. “We are all looking forward to this event and finishing in Capri will be very exciting.” “Wherever we are competing in the Mediterranean there is tremendous competition. The Rolex Volcano Race will be no exception,” continues Offen . “I expect rather light to moderate winds. Under these conditions tactical decisions will play an important role – as will a little bit of luck. This race takes us through the night with tricky, thermal wind conditions resulting from the changing land and sea breezes. A big lead can turn into a big loss in no time. You have to be cool and patient.”

As is form at an IMA event, there will be a significant presence of Swan yachts. Six are set to feature. One of these is returning entrant, Danilo Salsi’s DSK Pioneer Investments (ITA), a consistent Swan 90 and another class winner at last year’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, and sure to benefit from the experience of the 2011 race when she was the closest rival to eventual winners Alegre (GBR). The array of international crews also features Armeigin 3 ( POR), Arobas (FRA), Bronenosec (RUS), Caol Ila (USA), E1 (AUT), Jethou (GBR), Vertical Smile (DEN) and Wild Joe (HUN). Twelve Italian crews complete the roster including Ernesto Gismondi’s Wally 65 Edimetra, a regular on the Rolex sailing circuit, and Marco Rodolfi’s elegant Swan 80 Berenice Bis featuring a crew that performed both at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2011.

A fascinating contest is in store, comprising a finely-matched, balanced fleet with navigators and tacticians – including former America’s Cup sailors of the calibre of Brad Butterworth, Tommaso Chieffi and Tiziano Nava – currently preparing in earnest for the various meteorological challenges that await them when negotiating Europe’s most volcanic region.

How To Follow Event?? Further information on the Rolex Volcano Race may be found at www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

Kusznierewicz And Zycki Take Star European Championship

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