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Yacht Class n°34 (sept-oct-nov 2023)
YACHT CLUB ITALIANO (YCI)
The Giraglia celebrates its 70th anniversary
The “Queen of the Mediterranean”, as she is called, celebrated her 70th anniversary this year. Organized by the Yacht Club Italiano, the Yacht Club de France and the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the event – one of the oldest and most popular regattas of the Mediterranean – once again offered to the crews coming from all over the world a high-flying competition and a busy program : a night race from Sanremo to Saint-Tropez, inshore regattas there and, to finish, the 241-mile offshore race between the capital of the jetset and Genoa, by the rock of Giraglia which gave its name to this race. A total of 184 yachts participated in this symbolic edition. The German boat Red Bandit took victory of the offshore race, while the Australian Maxi Black Jack wins the “line honors” after a crossing of 23 hours, 30 minutes and 16 seconds. Note that this maxi of 100 feet (30.48 m) is no stranger the history of the Giraglia, since she claimed the line honours title on eight occasions and had twice broken the Rolex Giraglia race record (2008 and 2012) under the names of Alfa Romeo 2 and Esimit Europa 2. This record of 18 hours 3 minutes and 54 seconds still stands.
REAL CLUB NAUTICO BARCELONE (RCNB)
Un spectacle des temps passés
A spectacle of the earlier times
Almost 50 yachts and 400 participants, the 16th Puig Vela Clàssica, which took place last July off the Barcelona club, lived up to its promises. This regatta – one of the most prestigious classic yacht races in the Mediterranean – once again brought together the most beautiful units for three days of regattas, under the gaze of the participants in the future America’s Cup, like Alinghi Redbull Racing from the Société Nautique de Genève (another club twinned with the Yacht Club de Monaco) or Team New Zealand, title defender. The third and final day of this 16th edition offered a grand finale with the parade of the fleet which, after casting off at the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, passed over the large bridge that links Portal de la Pau with the Maremagnum, under the eyes of the public. Once on the race course, the third regatta brought together all the different classes thanks to an innovative Reverse Start System, which offered participants the theoretical possibility to all reach the finish line at the same time. At the end of a race where the outcome of the competition depends on the human factor, the first to cross the line was the winner of the regatta, in its category. The general classification saw the victories of Argyll (Bermudian vintage), Marigan (Cangreja vintage), Disparate (Classic 1), Argos (Classic 2), Ojala II (Classic IOR), Legolas (Modern Classic) and Viveka (Big Boats). Don’t forget that next year, in addition to the Puig Vela Clàssica and many other major events, the Catalan capital will host the 37th America’s Cup and its cutting-edge sailboats. The sponsor of the Vela Clàssica, Puig, has recently announced its partnership with this event and will give its name to the first Women’s America’s Cup.
CLUBE NAVAL DE CASCAIS (CNC)
A successful edition
Three years after its creation, the Mirpuri Foundation Trophy has become one of the highlights of the Portuguese club and European sailing calendar. For this fourth edition, a record number of entries was registered in the six classes taking part in this competition. Early July, 171 boats and 600 sailors competed in the ideal conditions the Atlantic is famous for at this time of year, allowing disputed regattas on the water. After a fierce battle, the professional team of the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, and their VO65 “Racing for the Planet” skippered by the three-time Portuguese Olympian Diogo Cayolla, seized the impressive Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy. The corrected time race saw the victories of “Syone Panther” (ORC), “2Hot2Handle” (ORC B), “Gurosan/Pedemar” (NHC) and “Barba Rija” (NHC mini). The former Olympic Finn class was dominated by Filipe Silva, winner of the six races, while Tiago Morais took victory in the SB20 dinghy class. With over 70 boats competing, the Junior Optimist class was won by Diogo Reis. The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy, created in 2020, is recognized by UNESCO as an Ocean Decade event for the regatta’s work to promote and raise funds for ocean health initiatives. Entry fees for this sustainability-focused regatta are donated by the Mirpuri Foundation to projects dedicated to these goals. In addition to the competitive awards, the Mirpuri Foundation Ocean Award in partnership with ICRI, the International Coral Reef Initiative, was awarded to Tamara Stuij for her work on the potential of humic substances (organic compounds present in humus or peat) to improve coral reef resilience.
The J/70 World Championships in 2026
After Monaco in 2022 and the Yacht Club Argentino in 2025, the J/70 Executive Committee has awarded the hosting of the twelfth J/70 World Championships to Cascais, in 2026. This is yet another major event for the Portuguese club, which already organises many top-level international competitions every year, including the TP52 Super Series, the RC44 Championship Tour, the Extreme Sailing Series and the ISAF World Championships. The club now begins the “road to the worlds” and plans to organise many J/70 regattas over the coming months, to offer the clubs the opportunity to have contact with their waters and wind. This will start with the Invitational Cup, to be held in Cascais from September 29th to October 1st 2023, to which all ICOYC (International Council of Yacht Clubs) members are invited.
A regatta for the 85th anniversary
Late June, the 85th Anniversary Trophy of the Clube Naval de Cascais was disputed simultaneously with the Regional Championship of the ORC Class. During two days of competition, two dozen boats competed in a complete program with medium to strong northwest winds. The SB20 Class was won by Artem Basalkin with his B-Team team, the NHC one by Francisco Brito e Abreu with Cristina A while the new regional champion of the ORC Class is Nuno Neves with his Syone – Panther.
Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro (ICRJ)
Three ICRJ sailors at the Pan-American Games
This October, all the eyes at the Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro will be on the other side of the continent, and more specifically on Algarrobo, coastal city of Chile, where will take place the nautical events of the Pan American Games of Santiago 2023. Three ICRJ sailors will be competing: Gabriella Kidd in the ILCA 6 Fem class, Gabriela Nicolino in Nacra 17 – who will once again be partnered by Samuel Albrecht (VDS) and finally, the double Olympic champion Kahena Kunze will be joined by Martine Grael from Rio Yacht Club in the 49erFX, to defend their title won in 2019.
Bis repetita
After winning the title of South American Optimist Champion last year, Arthur Back repeated the feat at the 2023 championship, which took place recently in Peru after 10 races contested by 143 sailors from ten countries on the American continent. His cousin Joana Freitas, too, once again took silver overall and the title of double women’s champion. These two young hopefuls are part of the group of sailors in the ICRJ’s Flotilha Zé Carioca (FZC). The South American podium was actually entirely occupied by the FZC, with Felipe Vicente (6th place overall) taking 3rd place in the continental ranking after Arthur and Joana. Members of the flotilla were also on the podium in the team competition (Arthur Back and Zion Faria in the team that won the silver medal and Bruno Moraes with the bronze medalist). The club was represented by 13 youngsters, 5 of whom finished in the Top 10 of the competition. A good omen.
YACHT CLUB PUNTA DEL ESTE (YCPE)
The YCPE will host the Clipper
Race fleet for the third time Punta del Este will once again be on the route of the Clipper Race. Next October, the Uruguayan club, host port partner of the competition, will welcome the very first stopover of this race around the world reserved for amateur crews from all backgrounds. After departing from Portsmouth (Great Britain) on September 3rd, the crews will set sail for South America, for a race of over 7 000 miles across the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic. Known for its changins condition, from storms to the testing heat of the doldrums, this tactical leg known as the Atlantic Trade Winds Leg should test the crews embarked on this round-the-world with stopovers that will last almost a year. The YCPE is no novice when it comes to Clipper Round the World Race. Last year, the club’s boat finished second, under the eyes of Juan Etcheverrito, Commodore of the YCPE, who is very enthusiasts: “We are always very happy to be a Host Port of the Clipper Race. Being our third time in a row, I can say it will be hard to top the last two stopovers in Punta del Este, but not impossible! As the Yacht Club Punta del Este approaches its 100th anniversary, what better way to start celebrating than with this incredible event. See you soon and buenos vientos!”. Rendezvous between October 12th and 16th, estimated days of the arrival of the first competitors.
Yacht Club of Greece (YCG)
An iconic race to kick off the summer
In June, the Yacht Club of Greece organised the 11th Spetses Classic Yacht Regatta, an event that pays tribute to classic and traditional sailing boats. This ode to skilled craftsmanship took place off the idyllic island of Spetses. As every year since its creation in 2011, the four-day event was attended by the sailing and social elite. This summer, the YCG also had the honor of co-organizing the 54th Military World Sailing Championship, runs challenging sailing races almost every week, hosts distinguished social and corporate events, and has upgraded its Members’ restaurant with a new Chef and a fresh Mediterranean menu. At the time of writing, the YCG was in preparing for the tough International Andros Yacht Race scheduled for August 31th to September 3rd, while waiting for the next Spetses Classic Yacht Regatta to be held from June 27 to 30, 2024.
Société Nautique de Genève (SNG)
The BCGE Tour du Léman à l’Aviron is back !
From September 22nd to 24th, the Société Nautique de Genève’s rowing section will be organising its traditional BCGE Tour du Léman à l’Aviron. This international endurance competition, held every year at the end of September, is the world’s longest closed-dock rowing regatta. It starts at 8am on Saturday morning from the North Pier of the Port Noir (Geneva) and consists of a complete clockwise circumnavigation of Lake Geneva, starting in and passing through all the checkpoints. This race of 160 kilometres takes between 12 and 17 hours, depending on the weather conditions, the boat’s equipment and the skill level of the crew. The record was set in 2011 at 11h 43min 30sec. Created in 1972, the year of the Club’s centenary, this is one of the oldest long-distance competitions. Since last year, it is organized in partnership with the Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE), which also supports one of its members, rower and world champion Eline Rol.
The elegance of boats from yesteryear
Late June, classic boats from around the lake met up at La Nautique for the Hélice Classique with Wood & Boat. The wind was a bit of a spoilsport, but the magnificent Riva, Boesch, Chris Craft and other Rio boats moored at the Club’s quay of honour were not impacted. The rather insistent wind all day nevertheless forced the crews to remain within the Club’s harbour for the aquatic events. The skippers put on a great show and demonstrated their agility, particularly during the traditional manoeuvrability contest, much to the delight of visitors ashore. A partner of the event, Wood & Boat was present with several restored masterpieces. The Boesch 650 caught the eye with its trompe-l’oeil hull effect. The 1959 Christ Craft and the Riva Olympic were equally breathtaking. The Club’s partner, Bentley Genève – Groupe Chevalley, was also on deck to present the range from this inescapable English car manufacturer.
Written by Aurore Teodoro
