Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup: Mistral hack followed by champagne breeze - furious finale off Sardinia

The 35th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo ended with a conciliatory final day, followed by the traditional prize-giving ceremony on the Piazza Azzurra. Prior to this, the capricious weather continued, with the mistral wind blowing too hard in places instead of calm at the start.

Mistral day demands everything from crews

The Maxi Grand Prix racing machines did not even set off for the planned two up-and-down races. Despite the north-westerly mistral with wind speeds of up to 22 knots and 26-knot gusts, all other classes were sent on coastal courses at the start - after the starting boat had found sufficient hold in the 70-metre deep sea. When the race finally got underway, the fleet sailed skilfully south of Porto Cervo, away from La Maddalena and Bomb Alley and the strongest winds. Nevertheless, the conditions remained challenging, accompanied by short seas.

On the third day, experience, well-rehearsed boat handling and courage paid off. V" played her trump cards impressively. The massively modified Wallycento, a Persico"Tango" built by Mills, was packed with Volvo Ocean Race veterans, including tactician Ken Read, skipper Jack Bouttell and many others, and shot away from the start at over 20 knots. "V" led off the leeward mark north of Capo Figari ahead of "Galateia" and "Leopard 3". However, on the subsequent beat around the tips of the islands of Soffi and Mortorio, the offshore-experienced "Leopard 3" crew moved up to second place and stayed there.

"It's phenomenal how far this boat and this campaign have come in the last two and a half years," Ken Read commented enthusiastically. "Two years ago we would have been fighting for our lives in these conditions, and now we're going out and daring to do anything. From the Afterguard's point of view, you just have to get the boat in the right position instead of worrying about whether the crew can do it. And that's what they did ..."

Ideal conditions after a break day

As the wind continued to pick up, all 47 crew took a break on Friday. The final day began with a breeze of around ten knots, which was increased to 18 knots by a northerly gust at the finish. The Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix groups sailed two hard-fought up-and-down races for world championship honours. For the other classes, it was a mid-distance, anti-clockwise race around Caprera and La Maddalena before returning to Porto Cervo with gennakers through the "Bomb Alley".

Dramatic final in the Maxi 1 World Championship

The Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship was fiercely contested until the very last moment. Victory ultimately went to the Wallycento "Galateia" of David Leuschen and Chris Flowers, with America's Cup veteran Murray Jones as tactician. "Galateia" finished the regatta level on points with the Farr 100 "Leopard 3", whose victory in the sixth and final race was not enough to win the title. The decision was made by countback, with "Galateia's" two race wins tipping the scales against "Leopard 3's" one victory.

Third place went to the Wally 93 "Bullitt" of YCCS commodore Andrea Recordati, just one point behind. The Wallycento "V", which was still leading the provisional standings before the last day of the regatta, experienced an extremely difficult finale: a torn gennaker in the first race dropped her to the back of the field, and a fourth place in the second race was not enough for a podium finish.

"Django 7X" secures world championship title

As "Django 7X" tactician Vasco Vascotto emphasised, it was all about millimetres in the Maxi Grand Prix class. The Wallyrocket 71 "Django 7X" then also took the World Championship title to Italy with a series of 3-3-1-2-2. Peter Harrison's "Jolt" (1-2-5-4-1) with Ed Baird as tactician took second place, while third place - equal on points with "Jolt" - went to Hap Fauth's "Bella Mente" with tactician Terry Hutchinson.

"This victory is a very important result for us," commented Vasco Vascotto. "It was a team effort, everyone contributed so that we could give our best. I would like to thank our owner for giving us this opportunity and Guille Parada for organising everything." "Django 7X" is said to be 15 percent lighter than her IRC-optimised sisters of roughly the same length.

Successes in the other classes

Victory on the final day in the Maxi 3 class, the largest with 13 yachts, put Aldo Parisotto's Mylius 65 FD "Oscar 3" with Paolo Cian as tactician at the top of the overall standings, two points ahead of the Southern Wind 82 "Grande Orazio". Third place went to "Ganesha", one of three Baltic 68 Café Racers taking part in Porto Cervo. The crew from the Bavarian Yacht Club and YCCS turned up the heat in the second half of the Maxi Cup and was six seconds ahead on the strong wind day, despite a time penalty of 1%. This was imposed in accordance with the IMA regulations because the "Ganesha" owner did not steer for the specified time period.

In the Maxi 4 class, victory went to Riccardo De Micheles Vallicelli 78 "H2O" with tactician Lorenzo Bodini with an unblemished record of four consecutive wins in four races. Luigi Salas Vismara 62 "Yoru" took second place with a series of four second places. The Supermaxi class was also dominated from start to finish by Juan Ball's Swan 115 "Moat" with Gonzalo Araujo as tactician, achieving a perfect record of four wins.

Ceremonial award ceremony and honours

Andrea Recordati, YCCS Commodore, summed up on a positive note: "The 35th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup has come to an end after an intense week that included some moments of waiting, but above all sailing at the highest level and two world championship competitions. I would like to congratulate the winners and express a special thanks to Rolex, with whom we proudly celebrate 40 years of title sponsorship of this great regatta, thanks to a shared passion for sailing and the values that define it. This year also had a special significance with the establishment of a new trophy in memory of His Highness the Aga Khan IV, founder of the YCCS, a message that I had the honour of announcing during the awards ceremony. The award will be presented annually at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup starting next year."

Organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of the International Maxi Association (IMA) and long-standing partner Rolex, this year's event not only celebrated its 35th edition, but also the 40th anniversary of the title partnership with Rolex, which began in 1985.

Results Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2025

Maxi 1 (Rolex IMA World Championship):

• 1st Galateia (Wallycento, equal on points with Leopard 3, victory by countback)
• 2nd Leopard 3 (Farr 100, equal on points with Galateia)
• 3rd Bullitt (Wally 93, one point behind the leaders)

Maxi Grand Prix (Rolex IMA World Championship):

• 1st Django 7X (Tactician Vasco Vascotto)
• 2nd Jolt (tactician Ed Baird)
• 3rd Bella Mente (tactician Terry Hutchinson, equal on points with Jolt)

Maxi 3:

• 1st Oscar 3 (Mylius 65 FD)
• 2nd Grande Orazio (Southern Wind 82)
• 3rd Ganesha (Baltic 68 Café Racer)

Maxi 4:

• 1st H2O (Vallicelli 78, four wins in four races)
• 2nd Yoru (Vismara 62)
• 3. @robas (Swan 601)

Supermaxi:

• 1st Moat (Swan 115, four wins in four races)
• 2nd Inti (Wally 94)
• 3rd Inoui (Briand 108)