Regata dei Tre Golfi: Maxis start the European Championship with an offshore thriller

The Tre Golfi Sailing Week does not live up to its name this year. Because the Gulf of Naples will be sailed in toto from 5 to 28 May. The extended sailing week started with the ORC WMwhich ended on Ascension Day. At the weekend, the 71st edition of the Regate dei Tre Golfi took participants 150 nautical miles around the islands of Ponza and Li Galli. The offshore regatta marked the start of the IMA Maxi European Championship, organised by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia in cooperation with the International Maxi Association. The maxis then have to prove themselves in the future America's Cup area until 28 May.

Regata dei Tre Golfi kicks off the European Championships

As part of the Maxi Europeans, yachts between 62 and 100 feet in length as well as a multihull raced across the line off the Porticciolo di Santa Lucia in Naples on 22 May at 13:30 for the Regata dei Tre Golfi. The field ranged from Giuseppe Puttini's Swan 65 "Shirlaf", a former overall winner, to Furio Benussi's "ARCA SGR", which once won the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The conditions challenged the crews: occasionally it blew at 18 knots, but the participants reported numerous wind holes. Hard-won leads dissolved and the race effectively restarted several times. The conditions led to extremely close finishes.

Dramatic finish in Maxi 1

In the Maxi 1 class, just 3 minutes and 37 seconds separated Lizz Flowers' "Galateia" from Karel Komárek's "V" at the finish line off Naples. Sir Peter Ogden's 77-footer "Jethou" crossed the line overlapping Peter Duben's 72-footer "North Star", followed by Peter Harrison's "Jolt" just 1 minute and 29 seconds later. Navigator Simon Fisher of "Galateia" explained the challenges: "It was another challenging regatta, but that's always the case here. It was like the ladder game: If you were behind, there was often an opportunity to catch up. We had a few difficult moments, but in each case we were patient and took the next opportunity to get back into the race." The lead changed several times: "V" led "Magic Carpet e" from the Gulf of Naples to the north-west towards Ponza, Joost Schuijff's "Leopard 3" caught up with "V" at the turning mark.

Wind holes determined the race

On the way back south-east towards Ischia, "Galateia" broke free from another wind hole and led the passage of Ischia when the wind shifted to the north-west. Despite this wind direction, "Galateia" came to a halt on the windward side of Capri. "We suffered a little worse there than the other guys," says Fisher. "That's always the case when you're the canary in the coal mine: they can always react to what you're doing, and these days they're all working with trackers and AIS." Approaching the Li Galli turning mark off the Amalfi Coast, "Galateia" was slowed down again and "V" passed. On the way back, "V" took the lead off the Sorrento Peninsula, which was lit up by a considerable bushfire. But the race remained open: Back in the Gulf of Naples, "Galateia" chose the westerly course and found wind that "V" lacked, defending the lead all the way to the finish line.

"Galateia" sailed and calculated ahead

Ken Read, tactician on "V", reported: "It was a classic Maxi Europeans long haul: moments of beautiful sailing and dice game racing with lots of holes, especially at night - really tough but entertaining. Nobody sleeps because you can't - you're always on the verge of either changing a sail, tacking, gybing or getting stuck in a doldrums hole." Earlier in the race at the rounding of Ponza, "V" lost a few minutes due to a brief hydraulic failure that forced her to temporarily set the winches in motion by hand. In the end, "Galateia" Maxi 1 won ahead of "V" and "Leopard 3" in terms of both IRC-calculated time and finish time. The 100-foot Wally was steered by Lizz Flowers, daughter of co-owner Chris Flowers.

"North Star" triumphed in Maxi Grand Prix

Among the former Maxi 72 in the Maxi Grand Prix class, the Regata dei Tre Golfi remained close throughout. "Jethou", "North Star" and George Sakellaris' "Proteus" led around Ponza. On the way back south-east, "Proteus" overtook "North Star" before a wind hole let "Jethou" and "Jolt" through, while Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's world champion boat "Django 7X" closed the gap. On the passage of Ischia, another wind hole brought "North Star" and "Jethou" into the best position. Passing north of Capri - no-one is choosing the southerly route this year - "Proteus" regained ground and there was further compression on the approach to Li Galli. The final was a match race between "North Star" and "Jolt", with both being narrowly overtaken by the higher rated "Jethou".

Navigation as the key to success

It was the third victory for "North Star" in the Regata dei Tre Golfi, and its navigator Wouter Verbraak is earning a reputation similar to that of Marcel Van Triest, who regularly steered "Magic Carpet" to victory in the Loro Piana Giraglia. Nick Rogers, tactician on "North Star", praised his navigator: "Wouter is very strong - he's the secret weapon. He just has a really good feel for it, even when things are going badly." Despite the moody conditions, the race ended much earlier than predicted before the start. "North Star's" biggest loss occurred off Capri. "We were actually doing really well and suddenly we just fell into the slipstream of Capri and we just stopped and got overtaken by everyone. It was bizarre." The Regata dei Tre Golfi is the third event of the IMA Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge, currently led by Pascale Decaux's Wallycento "Tilakkhana II".

Maxi 3 and 4/5 complete the field

Guido Paolo Gamucci's Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X with swing keel wins Maxi 3 both by finish and IRC-calculated time, finishing the race in just under 25 hours. Gamucci reflects: "It was very satisfying. On the way to Ponza we weren't in a fantastic position, but then there were four transitions and we managed to handle them all properly. When we got to Li Galli there was a stop as usual, but again we managed to get round and then had the courage to go offshore because we saw that there was no wind inshore. We stayed a mile off the coast and then crossed close to Capri. That saved us hours because it was very tricky to get out from Punta Campanella." Over the winter, Gamucci's team upgraded the hydraulics of the Cippa Lippa X for faster sail changes and manoeuvres. There is also a new tactician in Francesco Bertone Fresia.

Kallima defends position

Paul Berger's Swan 80 Kallima and Jean-Sebastien Decaux's Wally 94 Sensei complete the Regata dei Tre Golfi Maxi 3 podium. Kallima is the defending champion of the class at the IMA Maxi Europeans. Romain Mouchel from the team commented: "It's never really nice when you go offshore and the routing says you have 45 minutes of downwind sailing and the rest is upwind. We knew we had 45 minutes of pretty strong wind - 15-17 knots at the start. Then the new breeze came from the north-west just outside the Gulf." The cross to Ponza offers Kallima champagne sailing: Flat seas, 12-15 knots, so they can stretch their legs. It gets very shifty at Ponza, but they get through okay. Then the wind shifts 180 degrees and they are back on the wind, while the 100-footers get a couple of hours of downwind sailing at 14-15 knots.

"Shirlaf" triumphed in Maxi 4/5

Giuseppe Puttini's Swan 65 ketch "Shirlaf", which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, only reached the finish line off Naples at 22:45. The yacht may have been the last to finish, but it won the combined Maxi 4/5 class - no coincidence, having already won the race twice before. "Shirlaf" beat Riccardo De Michele's Vallicelli 78 "H20" and Vincenzo Addessi's Mylius 18E35 "Fra' Diavolo" to the Maxi 4/5 podium.

Outlook for Inshore Racing

The offshore kick-off will be followed by four days of course and coastal racing until 28 May. The competition promises to be close in all four classes - Maxi 1, Maxi Grand Prix, Maxi 3 and Maxi 4/5. Dee Caffari, helmswoman coach for Pascale Decaux on "Tilakkhana II" in Maxi 1, looks ahead: "The Bay of Naples is always interesting with its weather and swell. There's no reason why we shouldn't be ahead: It's about not making mistakes. Once you sail windward-leewards, anything can happen because it's more strategic and about where you position yourself with other boats." Cameron Dunn, strategist on Peter Harrison's Jolt in the Maxi Grand Prix class, adds: "We're looking forward to some great racing. We had a really nice training session with all six of us. You come to this regatta every year and every boat is a bit different to the year before. This year it seems more balanced than in the past."

Capri round brings surprises

An exciting anti-clockwise lap around Capri opened the first day of the Maxi Europeans on 25 May. The maxis started in an ultra-light breeze, followed by three catamarans competing for the Tre Golfi Sailing Week Multihull Trophy. With changing wind conditions, it paid off again not to lead. Even the final leg back into the Gulf of Naples culminated in a nerve-wracking "final sprint" with boats converging from opposite sides of the course. Yacht of the day was Franz Baruffaldi Prize and Silvia De' Longhi's newly acquired 62ft yacht "Manticore", which finished fourth, well ahead of Maxi 3, but remarkably ahead of almost the entire Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix fleets. A fine result for the boat that was launched 17 years ago as Sir Peter Ogden's "Jethou".

"V" fell and won back

Another colossal ladder game developed among the frontrunners. Karel Komárek's "V" and Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones' "Magic Carpet e" led the fleet to Capri, but "V" came to a standstill for almost a whole hour. When "V" finally broke free, she found herself at the back of the fleet, while her rivals were already past Capri's Faraglioni rocks and halfway to the Sorrento Peninsula. Seeing their predicament, those following gave the west side of Capri a wide berth until the wind shifted. George Sakellaris' "Proteus" was the first to take advantage of this, cutting Capri's south-west corner and overtaking her rival, Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's "Django 7X", at double speed to take the lead as they approached the Faraglioni. After rounding Capri and returning to the Gulf of Naples, there was further drama as the leaders - at this point Chris Flowers and David M Leuschen's 100-footer 'Galateia' and Alessandro Del Bono's 80-footer 'Capricorno' - bobbed around near the Sorrento coast in a dead calm. Seeing this, some of those following rounded the mark off Punta Campanella and then tacked north-west for a more offshore course where they found wind.

"Capricorno" dominated the finish line

Eventually it broke up under land, but not before the manoeuvrable "Capricorno" passed "Galateia". "Capricorno" not only triumphed by calculated time, but was also First Ship Home. Alessandro Del Bono reflects: "We were afraid of the boats from the north, which were really fast, while there was no wind where we were. They did a good job and the guys had a fantastic race. The boat has really improved since last year. Downwind she is totally different since double rudders were fitted. Torben Grael, the tactician, did an amazing job. He understood exactly where we needed to go." Remarkably, given her long parking period, "V" finished less than four minutes behind "Capricorno". Event sponsor Pier Luigi Loro Piana's 80-foot swan "My Song" took the offshore route, finishing five seconds behind "V" and taking second place by calculated time in Maxi 1.

"Bella Mente" caught up dramatically

"V's" story was very similar to that of Hap Fauth's 74-foot "Bella Mente" in the Maxi Grand Prix class, which made a bit start only to fall victim to a spin that catapulted her to last place. Tactician Terry Hutchinson explains: "That basically sealed our fate on the first cross, but then we did a really good job around Capri and made up a lot of distance. At the gate we were happy to go straight, but the breeze we saw in the corner didn't materialise and we got absolutely thrashed there and weren't in good shape at the last turning mark. But then we saw the old sea breeze halfway down Capri and said 'let's just push through and see what happens. It's not going to get any worse'." "Bella Mente" led the offshore route to the finish, crossing the line first just 14 seconds behind "Galateia". In the Maxi Grand Prix class, her time corrected to 19 minutes ahead of "Proteus" and Peter Duben's "North Star".

Multihull Trophy goes to Highland Fling

Three maxi-cats take part in the Multihull Trophy at Tre Golfi Sailing Week, where Lord Irvine Laidlaw's Gunboat 80 "Highland Fling 18" beat Adrian Keller's "Allegra" and the Nisbet family's Gunboat 72 "Layla" in the Capri Round. Ned Collier Wakefield, tactician on Highland Fling 18, commented: "It was a crazy race. It was a reactive day and we benefited from having the big boats in front of us to show us the holes, which allowed us to stay out of them. Considering we haven't raced for a year, we didn't leave much behind." The IMA Maxi European Championship continues with more racing until 28 May as crews prepare for the remaining days to determine the overall winners in all classes.

Results Regata dei Tre Golfi:

Maxi 1:

• 1st Galateia (David M Leuschen/Chris Flowers): Finish and IRC victory
• 2nd V (Karel Komárek): 3:37 minutes back
• 3rd Leopard 3 (Joost Schuijff)

Maxi Grand Prix:

• 1st North Star (Peter Dubens): IRC victory
• 2nd Jolt (Peter Harrison)
• 3. Django 7X (Giovanni Lombardi Stronati)

Maxi 3:

• 1st Cippa Lippa X (Guido Paolo Gamucci): Finish and IRC victory, under 25 hours
• 2nd Kallima (Paul Berger)
• 3rd Sensei (Jean-Sebastien Decaux)

Maxi 4/5:

• 1st Shirlaf (Giuseppe Puttini): Finish 22:45, IRC victory
• 2nd H20 (Riccardo De Michele)
• 3. Fra' Diavolo (Vincenzo Addessi)

Results Capri Round:

Maxi 1:

• 1st Capricorno (Alessandro Del Bono): Finish and IRC victory
• 2nd My Song (Pier Luigi Loro Piana): 5 seconds back
• 3rd V (Karel Komárek): 4 minutes back

Maxi Grand Prix:

• 1st Bella Mente (Hap Fauth): 19 minutes ahead after IRC
• 2. proteus (George Sakellaris)
• 3rd North Star (Peter Dubens)

Maxi 3:

• 1st Manticore (Franz Baruffaldi Prize/Silvia De' Longhi): Fourth overall
• 2nd Kallima (Paul Berger)
• 3rd Sensei (Jean-Sebastien Decaux)

Maxi 4/5:

• 1st Fra' Diavolo (Vincenzo Addessi)
• 2nd Yoru (Luigi Sala)
• 3rd Blue Oyster (Luca Scoppa)

Multihull Trophy:

• 1st Highland Fling 18 (Lord Irvine Laidlaw)
• 2nd Allegra (Adrian Keller)
• 3. Layla (Nisbet family)