Nothing worked on the first day. 50-knot-plus gusts shot along the Costa Smeralda and forced the 43 teams to hold out. As 15 to 23 knots of wind were forecast for the following day, the race organisers sent the participants out. However, the Mistral blew continuously at over 25 knots and sent gusts of more than 30 knots. The starting boat set AP over A and sent everyone back to the harbour of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo.
The third day brought some atmospheric relief: the start was brought forward by two hours to ten o'clock, and initially the wind blew - this time lighter than forecast - at 5 to 8 knots; however, the wind slowly climbed to 15 knots in the early afternoon, only to become stormy again later on. By this time, the maxis were already safely back in Porto Cervo.
First start after two days with mistral storm
For the 82- to 100-foot formats competing in the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship, two up-and-down races were on the schedule today, while the former Maxi 72s competing in the Maxi 2 group had three races to sail. The wind not only picked up, but also shifted dramatically between 235 and 310 degrees.
The remaining four classes sailed a 30-mile clockwise lap around La Maddalena. In previous Maxi Yacht Rolex Cups, the Js, which competed in the Super Maxi class, won every race. Not so today: Juan Ball's Swan 115 "Moat" came out on top ahead of the Js. "Svea" and "Velsheda" fought a dramatic battle between the old heavyweights, almost overlapping as they headed for the final mark off Porto Cervo, with "Svea" beating her rival by just 17 seconds on ORCsy corrected time. The Wally 101 "Y3k" finished the first race in a calculated fourth place. The first race of the Maxi 3 group was clearly won by the Mylius 65 FD "Oscar 3", ahead of Sven Wackerhagen's Wally 80 "Rose" in second place.
Close races at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
In Maxi 1, the Wallycento "V" of the Czech Karel Komarek had the best start and won the first race on corrected IRC time, but then only finished ninth out of ten. The team of Alessandro Del Bono on his brand new 82-footer from Judel/Vrolijk "Capricorno" was delighted to win the second race. It was only the second regatta since the launch at the beginning of the year. Wendy Schmidt's "Deep Blue" leads the overall standings of the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship, finishing third in both races, just one point ahead of the "Django HF".
The four boats in the Maxi 2 group were just as close or even closer than when the Maxi 72 was introduced by the IMA in 2015. After a 2:1 in the first two races, George and Christina Sakellaris' "Proteus" was in the lead, but then a fourth-place finish put Peter Harrison's "Jolt", which finished second in the last race, in the lead. After three races, however, only one point separates first from third.
First world championship for the really big maxis
This year's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will be the first world championship for "Maxi 1". Maxi yachts with an IRC TCC of 1,700-2,200 and a length of up to 30.51 metres (100 feet) may take part in the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship. Typically, these are Wallycentos or the ClubSwan 80 "My Song", but also racers such as the "SHK Scallywag 100" from Hong Kong or the 100-foot "Leopard 3".
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, is jointly organised by the event host, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS), and the International Maxi Association (IMA), which is responsible for monitoring and promoting Maxi racing and representing the interests of its members, the owners of Maxi yachts, worldwide. Although the IMA had been active in this role for 30 years, it was formally recognised by World Sailing in 2009. As a result, the IMA is officially authorised to organise two World Championships each year. In 2010, the first Rolex Mini Maxi World Championship was held as part of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Since then, World Championships for the Maxi 72 and J Class have been held under the auspices of the IMA, with the latter being held in Newport, RI in 2017.
While yachts larger than 30.51 metres (100 feet) compete in their own Super Maxi class, the IMA Maxi fleet now includes yachts from 18.29 metres (60 feet) to 30.51 metres (100 feet), as published annually in the IMA Maxi Class Rules. In recent years, the IMA has discontinued classes such as Racer/Racer-Cruiser/Cruiser-Racer and Mini Maxi and categorised the Maxi fleet solely by IRC rating. In the 2023 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, for example, Maxi 1 was for yachts with a TCC of 1,700< (i.e. 100 feet); Maxi 2 1,600-1,700 (i.e. the former Maxi 72s); Maxi 3 1,400-1,600 (the former Mini Maxi Racer-Cruiser class), Maxi 4 1.260-1,400 (the former Mini Maxi Cruiser-Racer class, but including a Swan 80 and a Southern Wind 82) and Maxi 5 <1,260 (the former Mini Maxi Cruiser class, i.e. Swan 65).
"The aim is to encourage yachts of similar performance to compete against each other to ensure the best possible competition, rather than relying on highly subjective terminology," explains IMA Secretary General Andrew McIrvine.
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will be sailed until 14 September. Here there are the results.
