Porto Cervo, Italy.
2nd September 2008.

After the first days racing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo the leaders of the forty-strong fleet, divided into four divisions, are Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo (NZL) for the Racing division; Ernesto Bertarelli’s Numbers (USA) for the Mini Maxi division; John Williams’ Ranger (CAY.ISL) for the Cruising Division and Magic Carpet2 (FRA), owned by Lindsay Owen Jones, for the Wally division. With four more days of racing to go, however, and competition fierce on the waters off Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, all is yet to play for.



Conditions at the start of race one were practically perfect with 12 to fifteen knots of stable 290° wind combining with blue skies and searing sunshine to provide a spectacular show on the start line for the many press and spectator boats looking on. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee set a course of 30 nautical miles for the Cruising division which took them from the start just off Porto Cervo through the strait at Capo D’Orso and northwards to round the Barretinelli di Fuori islands before a long south-westerly stretch around the outside of the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago and back past Porto Cervo to the finish. The Racing, Mini Maxi and Cruising divisions followed a similar course which was lengthened to 39 nautical miles by heading further north to round the Ecueil de Lavezzi just off Corsica before turning back towards Porto Cervo.

The Racing division provided few surprises with Alfa Romeo 2 leading Rambler (USA) around the course with a 20 minute gap between the two at the finish. Crichton’s canting-keel supermaxi, which boasts pluri-Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie as strategist, managed to hold her lead by just over one minute on corrected time.

Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL), launched last month and competing in her first ever regatta, also excelled in the Mini-Maxi Division taking real time victory just 14 seconds ahead of Numbers with Andy Soriano’s Alegre in third. On corrected time Alfa Romeo3, with Torben Grael at the helm, moved back to fifth while Numbers took first ahead of the two competing STP65s: Jim Swartz’s Moneypenny, with America’s Cup and Whitbread winner Paul Cayard aboard and Rosebud/Team DYT, owned by Roger Sturgeon and division winner of the Sydney Hobart Race 2007.

In the Cruising Division Arnie Glimcher’s Ghost (USA) crossed the line first ahead of Salperton but corrected back to eighth on handicap while Ranger moved up to first ahead of Salperton with the J Class Velsheda in third.

Claus Peter Offen’s Y3K(GER), with led the Wally fleet in real time ahead of Magic Carpet2 but suffered on handicap to finish fifth overall. Magic Carpet took first place ahead of Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling X (GBR) and Genie (MON) with Prince Carlo di Borbone at the helm.

Tomorrow’s forecast predicts south-easterly winds of approximately 11 to 14 knots. Racing is scheduled to start at 11.30 am.

Results

Racing
1) Alfa Romeo, NZL, 1 – 1.00
2) Rambler, USA, 2 – 2.00

Cruising
1) Ranger, CAY.ISL, 1 – 1.00
2) Salperton, CAY.ISL, 2 – 2.00
3) Velsheda, GBR, 3 – 3.00

Mini Maxi
1) Numbers, USA, 1 – 1.00
2) Moneypenny, USA, 2 – 2.00
3) Rosebud/Team DYT, USA, 3 – 3.00

Wally
1) Magic Carpet2, GBR, 1– 1.00
2) Highland Fling X, GBR 2 – 2.00
3) Genie, MON, 3 – 3.00