Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta
If anyone had thought that the lighter airs on Day One of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta were an indicator of a light regatta in general, they were proved resoundingly wrong on Day Two. The regatta, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and co-organised by Boat International Media, hit its stride on Thursday as the wind built gradually during the day to offer the fleet of 21 sailing superyachts a perfect day on the water.
For Day Two’s race, the race committee reversed the starting sequence sending the fastest rated yacht off first. With 10 knots of breeze blowing across the start line from the southeast, the medium wind rating band was selected and Peter Craig – Principle Race Officer for the event – picked three similar courses for the three classes. It was a great course, sending the fleet downwind across the start line, through bomb alley – the channel between the main island of Sardinia and the islands of Caprera and La Maddalena – before heading round the back of La Maddalena and beating to the finish line off Porto Cervo.
Approaching the northern tip of La Maddalena the fleet split in two, with the faster Class A yachts rounding the Barrettinelli islands and the yachts in Class B and C effectively cutting the corner. The wind had increased to 18 knots, and with La Maddalena offering good protection the flat water made for exceptional sailing conditions.
P2 had made good progress and held the lead on the water in Class B, but the 45m Salperton was showing a great turn of speed rounding second. She was followed by the Oyster Sarafin and 49.7m Zefira, with a gap back to Unfurled, Timoneer, Karibu, Cape Arrow, Day One’s Class C winner Bequia, Drumfire, Virtuelle – who had her rating tweaked overnight – and the Alloy Yachts 37m Genevieve. The 42m Daima – rated as the slowest yacht in the fleet – brought up the rear and chose to withdraw from the race at half distance, heading instead for the nearest beach.
With the yachts theoretically stretching out, rather than enjoying the concertina effect that you get when the slower yachts start first, it was difficult to see who would actually take the glory when the handicaps had been applied. Visione certainly blasted her way around the course to take line honours, and it was some time before the next yacht made it across the finish line.
The 45m Baltic Yachts Visione was first to start, setting her huge kite and striding off for the first turning mark of Monaci. The Tripp-designed Wally 148 Saudade was next in the sequence, but a twist in her kite put her on the back foot for the first few minutes of the leg, and the Baltic 112 Nilaya and 38m Perini Navi P2 had quickly hauled her in.
By the time the fleet had got to the entrance to bomb alley, the wind had risen to around 15 knots, andVisione had stretched her lead to a delta of nearly eight minutes over Nilaya. Saudade – who had made a good recovery from their early hiccup – was holding third on the water.
When the provisional results came in, the 25.4m My Song claimed her second bullet on corrected time in Class A, while Salperton’s charge meant she took victory in Class B, ahead of the Southern Wind Cape Arrow and Zefira, who suffered a torn spinnaker during the race. In Class C, the 27m yawl Bequia held on to take her second win of the regatta, putting her in a great position for the final two days of racing.
‘It was a really good day,’ said Tom Davies, captain of Salperton, back at the dock. ‘There were a lot of tactics today; we had a good start, and were the only one of the early starters to have the kite up as we crossed the start line so we probably gained half a minute right there. We made a very good call rounding Monaci, as we went high so we could soak down to drop the kite.’
Starting in front of the boats you need to beat can make it tricky to gauge how you are doing round the course. ‘We time every boat at every point on the course,’ Davies explains, ‘both visually and using AIS [a vessel tracking system]. We knew we had a bad leg up La Maddalena – Zefira gained height and flew their A3 while we were two-sail reaching, so that was a painful three minutes. But we worked hard through the puffs, and timed every shift really well.’ Of course, it helps having Olympic medalist Shirley Robertson on the wheel. ‘Shirley is incredible,’ confirms Davies.
For Nilaya, a second place in Class A was a good improvement on Day One’s fourth. ‘It went really well today,’ her captain Tom Weiss enthused. ‘It’s good if we get real upwind or downwind legs – the bigger boats take off on the reaches with their bigger waterlines. The yacht sails really well in more breeze, and it makes a big difference starting third and having clear air – so deciding to alternate the start sequence makes the regatta fairer. It was a perfect day, with perfect conditions – everyone on board is happy with the way we sailed.’
Even for the yachts that didn’t do so well on the results sheet, today was still a magical day, full of the beauty and power of sailing these magnificent yachts in ideal conditions. For some, the day finished early – the 37m Bliss notched up a Did Not Finish, but her owners, guests and crew were in high spirits back at the dock, ready for a private pirate party before tonight’s pizza party in the Piazza Azzurra sponsored by Sardinia Yacht Services. And naval architect Bill Tripp enjoyed a sleigh ride on Saudade – a yacht of his own design. ‘It was a good day today,’ he smiled when we met in the piazza. ‘A great day in fact!’
Racing continues tomorrow with the first start scheduled at 12:00.
