Please select your home edition
Edition
Palm Beach Motor Yachts

Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - Day 2

by YCCS Press Office 2 Jun 2017 00:03 PDT 30 May - 3 June 2017
previous next
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14

Sardinia's glorious Costa Smeralda and the beautiful La Maddalena archipelago were at their late spring best for the second coastal race of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2017 which is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with Boat International Media and the Title Sponsor Loro Piana.

While the Dubois designed 38m Escapade won the Superyacht class, the Wally 80.6 Nahita emerged victorious from a fiercely contested battle between the five Wally yachts between 77 and 81 feet which race each other almost boat for boat to win the ten boat division overall by 49 seconds after just on three hours of racing.

After they were rescored to second subsequent to Race 1, the Escapade crew let their performance speak for them and won by 1min and 1 sec on corrected time over Ribelle, the new 33m McKeon design.

The two teams share the same three points tally after two races. Nahita, which won the first Wally regatta of the season in Palma earlier this month, now tops the Wally division overall.

While the core of the Escapade crew are New Zealand yachting industry professionals who were involved when the Dubois sloop was built in 2014 at Fitzroy Yachts, the Nahita core team under Croatia's Olympic sailing heroes Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic, are a tight knit group of Olympic sailing friends mainly from Zadar who have represented their country at Olympic level in the 49er and the Star as well as the 470 in which Fantela and Marenic delivered their nation's first Olympic sailing gold medal in Rio last year.

The southerly breeze produced sparkling racing conditions for the seven Superyachts and ten Wally Class yachts which were sent on the same, classic 29 nautical miles passage anti clockwise around La Maddalena island. After a short two miles upwind leg with the breeze around 13-14kts followed by short two sail reach, spinnakers were set for the long, fast downwind run in the strengthening breeze outside of the islands of Caprera and La Maddalena. The transition around the northwest of the island was, as ever, a telling test of sail selection, timing and crew work in the brisk breeze.

All the way through the fleets exciting duels raged. In 20kts of breeze there was little time for the crews to fully appreciate the spectacular scenery, the spring colours on the islands at their most vivid. In the battle of the giants Magic Carpet Cubed and Open Season lead the charge with the blue hulled Magic Carpet prevailing, crossing the finish just 17 seconds ahead of Open Season, but both dropped on corrected time to sixth and eighth, behind the five 77 to 81 footers. Similarly the spectacular duel between two times regatta winners Wally Suadade and Pier Luigi Loro Piana's new My Song was only decided on the last stretch of the long beat back, the Italian crew finally getting ahead at the entrance of the Passo delle Bisce. With Bouwe Bekking calling tactics Saudade crossed the line 49 seconds after My Song, to take third on corrected time.

So too it was only in the final few miles that Nahita really nailed down their victory. They were pressed all the way by the slightly smaller Lyra, which has Andy Horton sailing as tactician.

"We were close to making a mistake with our sail choices before the race." Sime Fantela reported, " We had a really clear start off the line away from the big boats. The downwind was really tricky for us because the wind was filling in from behind and then dropping, filling in from behind and then dropping and we always seemed to be on that edge. But the last corner of the downwind was really close with four boats almost overlapped with each other, we had a real close fight and had our nose in front as we came into the upwind. That really is our forte, upwind. We were following the Wally APP and could see we were fourth at the last turn and we got away on the last upwind."

"Friendship is at the heart of this crew. We have 13 Croatians who have been friends since we were small and all sailed together. It is a really strong, confident team." Smiled the Nahita owner, " We have our Star representatives from London, " Fantela continues "Two 49er teams, and some older guys from big boats, mostly from Zadar where we grew up together."

Christophe Albin, owner of the victorious Superyacht Escapade commented, "We had to prove that it is not the rules but the performance of the crew which makes us win, and so we did that today."

"Partly it is also down to drinking champagne after racing each day. That, for sure, lightens the boat a little more each day!" he joked, explaining their success by saying, " I think for sure we go better when it is windy, but the performance of our crew is primordial."

Racing continues Friday with a third coastal race previewed to start 1130hrs.

www.yccs.it/en

Related Articles

Ted Gersen joins Palm Beach Motor Yachts
Expanding Newport, Rhode Island presence with Industry Sales Veteran Continuing its expansion and focus on customer experience, Palm Beach Motor Yachts is excited to announce that yacht sales professional Ted Gersen has joined the company's Newport, Rhode Island team. Posted on 29 Jul
Antares 12 Coupe: a cruiser for all seasons
Asserting its position as a versatile family cruiser Faithful to the Antares line, the Antares 12 Coupe asserts its position as a versatile family cruiser, designed to accompany you on long passages, across all latitudes. Posted on 29 Jul
Airship | Funter Bay to Flynn Cove
Lots of fishing boats out today, as well as a few Dall's porpoises who surfed our bow for a bit We leisured late this morning in Funter Bay and didn't leave until after 11am. Another gorgeous, sunny day! We watched the F1 race and then pulled our anchor and headed out into the mostly glassy Icy Strait toward Flynn Cove. Posted on 29 Jul
Airship | Juneau to Funter Bay
We'll be buddy boating a bit over the next week or more with Dave on Turnagain We'll be buddy boating a bit over the next week or more with Dave on Turnagain, now joined by his brother Kyle. Posted on 28 Jul
Debut of the Picnic Boat 39
A new icon joins the fleet We invented the Picnic Boat. And we've never stopped perfecting it. The new Hinckley Picnic Boat 39 is a masterpiece of timeless design and modern ingenuity. Posted on 27 Jul
Prestige F4.3 - a new model for Cannes
A unique entry into the world of high-end yachting Experience the elegance and refinement of the new generation of the F-Line aboard the PRESTIGE F4.3. The quality of materials, fit and finish, interior and exterior design, functionality. Posted on 25 Jul
Four Winns debuts TH33 and TH38 power catamarans
Engineered to transform boating experiences into refined escapes Engineered to transform boating experiences into refined escapes, the new Four Winns TH33 and TH38 set a new standard for power catamarans of its size as the latest addition to its TH (Twin Hull) Series, launched in 2023. Posted on 24 Jul
Helping boaters steer clear of common mistakes
Veteran Sea Tow® captains share their tips Boating season is already in full throttle, and Sea Tow®, recognized throughout the marine industry as Your Road Service at Sea®, is proud to offer boating tips to avoid some of the most common mistakes seen on the water. Posted on 24 Jul
Airship | Ford's Terror to Wood Spit
We slept in again this morning at Ford's Terror We slept in again this morning at Ford's Terror, and then Taylor made a super yum breakfast taco bar...scrambled eggs, hash browns, Jerry's double-smoked bacon, tomatillo cream sauce, etc.... Posted on 24 Jul
Harris Boats unveils new Sunliner & Sunliner Sport
A bold evolution in Pontoon design Harris Boats, a leader in luxury pontoon craftsmanship and a Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) brand, has announced the launch of the completely redesigned Sunliner and the debut of the dynamic Sunliner Sport. Posted on 23 Jul
Palm Beach Motor YachtsMaritimo M50