Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2026: Light winds and major surprises on Day 1

On Monday, the opening day, the wind was blowing from an easterly direction. There was a light breeze of around seven knots, although as the races progressed the wind picked up to as much as twelve knots. Off Porto Cervo, the Maxi Grand Prix fleet sailed two short up-and-down courses. The other classes took part in coastal races between the islands of the Maddalena Archipelago.

There are no German entrants amongst the 38 yachts, which are divided into five groups. However, there is the ‘Allegra’, a 78-foot catamaran from Switzerland, and the ‘Lunz am Meer’, a Swan 651 from Austria. To World Championship honours is sailed in the IMA Maxi 1 and IMA Maxi Grand Prix classes.

​‘Northstar’ III impresses on its regatta debut

​The biggest surprise came from “Northstar III”. The new Judel/Vrolijk 76 made its regatta debut off Porto Cervo and immediately went on to win both races in the Maxi Grand Prix class. In the first race, Peter Dubens’s team finished 1 minute 44 seconds ahead of “Balthasar”, based on corrected time. In the second race, their lead over “Bella Mente” was 1 minute 25 seconds.

The light breeze clearly suited the new yacht. Persico Marine completed the “Northstar III” in Italy this year. Its owner, the British national Peter Dubens, holds a majority stake in the North Technology Group through Oakley Capital; the group’s brands include North Sails, Southern and Hall Spars, amongst others. As the newest member, it also has the highest rating in its class and faces the highest prize money payments to the other six Grand Prix contenders.

Furthermore, the new “Northstar III” has a canting keel and can therefore do without water ballast. ​“It was good that we managed to get the brand-new boat ready for racing, but we still have a long week ahead of us,” said Nick Rogers, tactician on “Northstar III”. “The course wasn’t easy today – with shifting breezes, the wind was quite unpredictable.”

For the the defending champions, the ‘Django 7x’ crew The start of the event, however, proved disappointing. Following protests, including an incident involving a heavy collision, the team was disqualified from the first race. The second race yielded only a seventh-place finish for the Wallyrocket 71 stands out.

​“Capricorno” beats larger maxi yachts

In the Maxi-1 class, ‘Capricorno’ came out on top. The 82-foot J/V 82 crossed the finish line 2 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of the WallyCento ‘V’ on corrected time. ‘Leopard 3’ took third place. On the water, ‘V’ was initially in the lead, but ‘Capricorno’ chose the right side and subsequently sailed quickly on the downwind legs.

The result shows just how much of an impact light conditions can have on the final standings. The significantly larger ‘V’ was unable to fully capitalise on its advantages in terms of speed and waterline length. ‘Capricorno’ was fast enough in light winds to limit the gap, and caught the better wind shift on the first upwind leg.

Both teams had further developed their boats for the season. Among other things, “Capricorno” reduced its water ballast, thereby lowering its IRC rating. “V” was given more sail area and was systematically trimmed to save weight. The first day therefore provided a comparison of two different development approaches.

“Artemis Bleu” benefits from a penalty

In the Maxi 3 class, ‘Artemis Bleu’ took the win. At first, it looked as though ‘Twin Soul B’ would come out on top. The Mylius 80FD had put in a strong performance on the water and was well ahead in the provisional calculations. However, following a penalty for a collision at the first windward mark, the team dropped back to third place.

As a result, “Artemis Bleu” moved into the lead, with “Astra I” finishing second. The gap between the boats was narrow: before the penalty, according to the provisional calculations, “Twin Soul B” was 6 minutes and 15 seconds ahead of Artemis Bleu and just two seconds ahead of “Astra I”. The result shows just how quickly a tactical or rules-related error can alter the standings in a long coastal race.

The Maxi-3 boats sailed a 25.5-nautical-mile course through the archipelago. Narrow passages, shifting wind conditions and the choice of sails all played a key role. ‘Twin Soul B’ initially made up ground on a close-hauled course under spinnaker, but later switched to the genoa.

‘Sophia’ causes a stir in the multihull class

There was also a surprise in the multihull class. The 63-foot trimaran ‘Sophia’ won ahead of the favourites, the catamarans ‘Allegra’ and ‘Highland Fling XVIII’. In the ORCmh class, ‘Sophia’ finished 20 minutes and 23 seconds ahead of ‘Allegra’.

“Sophia” benefited from a good position on the first upwind leg and initially led “Highland Fling XVIII” and “Gaea” round the windward mark. Although the trimaran subsequently lost ground, it remained competitive right up to the finish. On the final downwind leg, a close battle also developed with “Allegra”, characterised by several gybes.

In the Maxi 4 class, ‘Fra Diavolo’ won ahead of ‘Yoru’ and ‘Wallyno’. The Vallicelli 78 ‘H2O’ came out on top in the Maxi 5 class ahead of the Swans ‘Lunz am Meer’ and ‘Shirlaf’. ‘H2O’ capitalised on its early position in favourable winds and was subsequently largely able to set its own course.

Long coastal races through the archipelago

The Maxi-1 fleet sailed the longest course. Their route covered around 30.5 nautical miles around Caprera and La Maddalena. The Maxi-3 yachts and multihulls covered around 25 nautical miles. For the Maxi 4 and Maxi 5 classes, the route covered around 17 nautical miles.

The fleets had to contend with more than just the light wind. The passages between the islands altered the wind direction and the tactical options. Particularly in the area between the Maddalena Archipelago and the mainland, the course can take the boats close to the coast. ‘Manticore’ ran aground on Schiet but was able to continue the race.

There are still five more days of racing to come; if conditions are ideal, there will be a rest day. Coastal races for all classes were once again scheduled for Tuesday. The first start was due to take place at 12 noon CEST. The forecast continued to predict light winds for the Porto Cervo area, whilst slightly stronger winds were expected to the north of the regatta area.

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup provisional results after Day 1

Book recommendations

Regatta sailing – strategy and tactics by Malte Philipp covers the preparation, strategy and tactics involved in a race. The book explains how wind shifts, course selection, the start phase and post-race analysis all interplay. This makes it directly relevant to the decisions that determined placings and time gaps on the first day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The current tenth edition was published in 2026.

The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025 to 2028 explains the rules currently in force for international regattas. The title is particularly relevant because, at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, a penalty following an incident at the windward mark and a disqualification following protests affected the result on the very first day. This annotated edition helps readers to better understand such situations.