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Recent
yachting
and boating events covered by Outimage Publications |
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| Giraglia Rolex
Cup 2010. |
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Giraglia Rolex
Cup 2010
by Studio Borlenghi. |
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| Rolex Capri
Sailing Week 2010 |
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Louis Vuitton
Trophy
La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy.
May 22 -June 6, 2010. |
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| Jessica Watson |
| Round the World
Sailor |
| Photos by Howard
Wright. |
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| Portofino
Rolex Trophy |
| Photos by Carlo
Borlenghi. |
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| America's
Cup Index |
| Photos by Carlo
Borlenghi. |
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| Rolex Farr
40 World's |
| Casa de Campo,
Dominican Republic April 21-24, 2010. |
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| Audi Melges
32 Series |
| Photos by Guido
Trombetta. |
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| Rolex China
Sea Race 2010. |
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| Louis Vuitton
Trophy |
| Auckland New
Zealand |
| Photos by Howard
Wright. |
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| Louis Vuitton Trophy |
| Auckland New Zealand |
| Photos by
Stefano Gattini. |
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| RORC Caribbean
600 |
by Carlo Borlenghi
and Stefano Gattini. |
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XXVI Primo
Cup - Trophée
Credit Suisse by Stefano |
| Gattini
and Bruno Cocozza. |
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| Alinghi, defender
of the |
| 33rd America’s
Cup |
| Photos by Carlo
Borlenghi. |
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| Rolex Sydney
Hobart 2009. |
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| SOLAS Big Boat
Challenge. |
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China Cup 2009
by Carlo Borlenghi. |
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| Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009. |
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| Maxi Yacht
Rolex Cup 2009. |
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| Rolex Fastnet
Race 2009. |
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| Audi Sydney
to Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009. |
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Audi Winter
Series
Sydney Harbour 2009. |
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RORC Caribbean
600
Antigua
February 23-25, 2009.
by
Carlo Borlenghi
and Stefano Gattini. |
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Volvo Ocean
Race
2008-2009. |
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XXV Primo Cup
Trophée Credit Suisse
Montecarlo, Feb 5-15, 2009.
Photographs by
Carlo Borlenghi. |
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Louis Vuitton
Pacific Series
Auckland New Zealand,
Jan 24 - Feb 14, 2009.
Photographs by
Stefano Gattini. |
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| The 2008 Rolex
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race |
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| The 2008 SOLAS
Big Boat Challenge 2008. |
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| The 2008 Rolex
Trophy One Design Series |
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Sydney Short
Ocean
Racing Championship
November 29-30, 2008. |
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Rolex Middle
Sea Race 2008 Valletta, Malta.
October 18 - 25, 2008. |
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| Norse gods align
for the winners. |
| By the Maxi
Yacht Rolex Cup Media Team. |
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Photos by Carlo
Borlenghi for Rolex,
Page edited By Peter Andrews. |
| September 11, 2010. |
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| The final day
of the 2010 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup has proved every bit as
fascinating as those leading up to it. But what would one
expect with forty-nine of the world’s biggest sailing
yachts racing off the stunning Sardinian coast, in bright
sunshine and on azure blue waters. Today was the day to determine
the winners and losers at the year’s premier exposition
of inshore maxi yacht racing. For those ending the day on
the podium, an array of trophies and prizes awaited, including
the coveted Rolex Yacht-Master chronometers. |
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The Maxis beat upwind behind Tahiti Beach, during the Maxi Yacht
Rolex Cup 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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This year’s
maxi aces are Igor Simcic and Esimit Europa 2 (SLO)
in Maxi; Claus Peter Offen and Y3K (GER) in Wally;
John Williams and Ranger (CAY) in the J-Class; and
Otto Happel and Hetairos (CAY) in Supermaxi. For
the inaugural Mini Maxi Rolex Worlds, Niklas Zennstrom and Rán (GBR)
took pole overall, while Brian Benjamin and Aegir (GBR)
struck gold amongst the Racer Cruisers.
Before the prize-winners could be formally declared there
was the small detail of today’s competition that
needed to be resolved. The Mini Maxis were set two windward-leeward
races of 8.8 and 8 nautical miles in distance. The classes
for the larger contestants were sent on a 35 nautical mile
challenge that took them to pastures new, certainly for
this week.
Winds were by no means settled and nor was the sea-state.
The swell leftover from the southeasterly earlier in the
week was being buffeting by more northerly winds. Two metres
of lump and bump greeted the yachts, with 15 to 16 knots
of near-northerly. The wind swung about during the day,
with persisting southward shift to end up from the northwest. |
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Igor Simcic, Esimit Europa 2, winner of the Maxi (Racing
and Racing-Cruising) division, at Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2010 prizegiving.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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The entertaining
quest for navigators and strategists in the Maxi, Wally and
Supermaxi classes commenced with a short beat to a laid windward
mark, followed by a shallow dive into the channel to a mark
in the Golfo di Saline; avoiding Isola delle Bisce and Secca
di Tre Monti by leaving both sufficiently to starboard. The
course then took an upwind scoot to the faithful rocks of
Monaci, before a headlong downwind descent south to Mortoriotto
and the novelty of a circumnavigation of the island chain
formed by Mortorio and Soffi. finally, the competitors had
to head north and upwind to the finish off Porto Cervo.
Final day winners were Rán, (twice in Mini Maxi); Irvine
Laidlaw’s Highland Fling (MON) in Maxi; Y3K in
Wally; Ranger in J-Class and Marco Vogele’s Gliss (SUI)
in the Supermaxi.
The big story of the day with the most surprising outcome was the final
outcome of the Mini Maxi Rolex Worlds. Niklas Zennström’s Judel
Vrolijk designed seventy-two footer Rán put her troubles
of yesterday to one side, to score two bullets and to steal the world championship
from right under the nose of Andres Soriano’s Alegre (GBR),
which had led the series from day one. |
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Niklas Zennström’s Rán, during the Maxi
Yacht Rolex Cup 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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The first hour-long
race was relatively straightforward with Rán winning
by over a minute on corrected time, from Hap Fauth’s Bella
Mente (USA). Significantly, Alegre were down
in fourth and the pressure had piled on good and proper.
A four-point lead over a supposedly wounded opponent had
reduced to just one and the north wind appeared to be looking
after its own.
The second race start was a boiling kettle by comparison.
A huge left-shift, boats over early and an apparent massive
pin-end bias all culminated in an abandonment before the
windward mark. It was a deep breath for all round, before
trying a second time. Rán had a game plan,
which took some nerve to maintain, according to her stand-in
strategist, Olympic medallist, Thierry Peponnet.
"On the second race we wanted to be to leeward of our opponents
because we expected the wind to go left. At the start there was
a right shift, which did not help us. It did go left eventually,
but very late and only once we were at the top mark. Shockwave was
in front at this point doing a very good job. Downwind, fortunately,
we were very fast. I was really impressed by the boat speed." |
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Niklas Zennström’s Rán, during the Maxi
Yacht Rolex Cup 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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For Zennström
the result is a dream come true after a less than simple
week. "Today I am very, very proud of the team. It has
been hard, we had a dreadful start on the very first day,
we lost (strategist) Tim Powell through a land-based injury
and then hit a rock. It has been a struggle." But struggles
are what make life interesting, sorting the men from the
boys, presenting challenges that must be risen to.
"Before yesterday, we were behind by only one point" said
Zennström who continued to describe the scenario. "It
went pear-shape when we hit the rock and had to pull out. We
knew it was still possible to win, but only if we won both races
and Alegre had two poor races."
Rán’s physical shape was uncertain.
There was no where to lift the yacht last night and properly
check the damage, so there was some finger-crossing onboard
the largely British crewed boat. "We didn’t
know this morning if the keel would stay on and it was
quite a lumpy sea. We made the decision that if we heard
anything we would bear away quickly. Before the start we
sailed upwind, hit a few big waves and thought ‘the
keel is still hanging on so lets still go for it’." Good
job too, in the eventual circumstances. |
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Niklas Zennström, owner-skipper of Rán, winner
of the Rolex Mini Maxi World Championship 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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Brian Benjamin
was sailing his last races on Aegir today, with
a new 82 foot yacht nearing completion in Newport, Rhode
Island, so he was thoroughly impressed to have won the battle
of the Racer Cruisers in the Mini Maxi Rolex Worlds fleet. "We
had a very good week. The boat sailed well, the crew was
fantastic, we had lots of problems all week, but we just
overcame them. We’ll be back with the new boat. Our
first mission in Europe (next year) will be the Giraglia
Rolex Cup, then Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, and finally Rolex Middle
Sea Race."
With both Rán and Aegir named
after Viking gods; gods that actually were married according
to legend, there is reasonable cause to think that both
winners in the Mini Maxi had something extra on their team. |
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Brian Benjamin's Aegir, during the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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In the Maxi
division, Esimit Europa 2 had done enough not to
have to race today. With a discard coming into play if five
races were conducted, Esimit was unbeatable and
with two big tests still to come this season; La Barcolana
and the 606 nautical mile Rolex Middle Sea Race, expediency
won the day. Simcic was understandably delighted with the
overall result. "Our rating is very big, we have to
arrive very far ahead of the second boat to win on corrected
time. This is not easy in all conditions, but we got three
first places and one second place. This means that not just
is the boat very fast, but the team is very good."
For a project that took off just a few months ago, Simcic
and his crew have come a long way. Simcic is well aware
of that and the win this week is icing on the perfectly
rising cake. "This boat is very complex, with a high
level of technology, so we are learning everyday and we
have come a long way since the Giraglia Rolex Cup in June.
Right now I feel very good. I have great confidence in
both my crew and skipper Flavio Favini." |
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Igor Simcic's Esimit Europa 2, during the Maxi Yacht Rolex
Cup 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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The Wallys were
led home for the second year in a row by Y3K. Claus
Peter Offen’s crew have sailed consistently well this
week, and whilst the maths suggested they could lose today
on count-back if Magic Carpet 2 had won, Y3K would
have needed a shocker of a result. As it was, Y3K put
the issue beyond doubt by winning the race from the front.
Offen expressed his huge satisfaction, post racing. "It’s
our third win at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the second
time in a row. It is really a great feeling, even more
since it is with our new boat. So, of course, we are coming
again next year to try to make it a triple win! This will
not be easy, since the level of the Wally fleet is very
strong, especially this year. This makes it even more interesting
and so the win counts for even more." |
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Claus Peter Offen, Y3K, winner of the Wally division, at
the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2010 prizegiving.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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| Hetairos took
the Supermaxi class after a second place today. Apart from
a sixth in the first race, which could be dropped with today’s
result, Hetairos has been all but unstoppable scoring
two firsts and two seconds. Owner, Otto Happel, has participated
at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup a number of times before and
really enjoyed the contest. "We had a great week with
good breeze most days which is extraordinary and much better
than previous years. There were forty-nine boats, which we
have never had before, so it was a lot of fun to have that
kind of competition." |
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Otto Happel and Rockport Ltd's classic ketch Hetairos, during
the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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In the J-Class
battle, Ranger put the issue beyond doubt pretty
much from day one. The only blip on the otherwise horizon
of perfection was a second in race four, which was discarded.
John Williams has been in this position before at the Maxi
Yacht Rolex Cup and was no less impressed that the first
time he won. "When you have just four-points you cannot
do any better than that. The boat was great and we never
made a tactical or mechanical mistake. When you sail perfectly
and you have a great crew you expect to do well."
Williams plans further campaigns in the J-Class and is
looking to the future, even whilst the dust settles on
his latest victory. "We continue to make little tweaks
to the boat, to improve it, to make it a little bit better,
which is our goal and something you have to do. We’ve
already got lists to work on for the next four or five
months!" |
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John Williams and RSV Ltd's J-Class Ranger, during the Maxi
Yacht Rolex Cup 2010.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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At the prize-giving
on the Piazza Azzurra in front of host club, the Yacht Club
Costa Smeralda, the winners received their spoils from the
weeklong gladiatorial combat. For two owners though there
were trophies to be collected for a season-long campaign,
the Rolex IMA Championship, where Andres Soriano and Alegre secured
the Mini Maxi class, and, Andrea Recordati and Indio,
the Maxi class.
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is organized by the Yacht Club
Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi
Association (IMA), From the most luxurious, through the
most traditional, to the most advanced monohulls afloat
today, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is nothing if not an astonishing
line up of sailing power.
Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup - Provisional Final Standings
Place, Boat, Skipper, Races 1-2-3-4-5, Total Points
Maxi (Racing - Racing Cruising)
1) Esimit Europa 2, Igor Simcic, 1-2-1-1-(DNC 7), 5.0 points
2) Highland Fling, Irvine Laidlaw, (2)-1-2-2-1, 6.0
3) Singularity, Deniy Yacht Mngmt, (4)-3-3-4-2, 12.0
Supermaxi - J Boats
1) Ranger, R.S.V. Ltd, 1-1-1-(2)-1, 4.0 points
2) Velsheda, Tarbat Investment, 2-3-(7)-1-2, 8.0
3) Hetairos, Rockport Ltd, (8)-2-3-3-4, 12.0
Supermaxi
1) Hetairos, Rockport Ltd, (8)-2-3-3-4, 6.0 points
2) Gliss, Marco Vogele, 3-(7)-4-2-1, 10.0
3) Visione, Hasso Plattner, (4)-3-1-3-3, 10.0
Place, Boat, Skipper, Races 1-2-3-4-5-6, Total Points
Wally
1) Y3k, Claus Peter Offen, 2-2-2-1-(4)-1, 8.0 points
2) Magic Carpet 2, Lindsay Owen Jones, (5)-1-3-4-2-4, 14.0
3) Indio, Andrea Recordati, (4)-3-4-2-3-3, 15.0
Place, Boat, Country, Skipper, Races 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, Total Points
Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship
1) Ran (GBR), Niklas Zennstrom, 6-2-1-2-2-2-DNF(25)-1-1, 17.0
points
2) Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 1-1-4-1-1-4-3-4-(5), 19.0
3) Shockwave (NZL), Neville Crichton, 2-3-2-(5)-5-3-4-3-2, 24.0
Mini Maxi Racer-Cruiser
1) Aegir, Brian Benjamin (GBR), 8-8-13-8-(140-9-2-6-9, 63.0 points
2) Stig, Alessandro Rombelli (ITA), (14)-7-8-14-11-13-7-13-6,
79.0
3) Charis, Fabio Mangifesta (ITA), 11-13-(18)-13-9-10-5-7-14,
82.0
For more information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2010 including entry
lists and results please visit www.yccs.it. |
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| Outimage and
Rolex © 2010 |
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| Scuttlebutt Europe Daily News Feed. |
| Produced by boats.com Europe, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinion, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors. |
| To the Scuttlebutt Europe Daily News Feed Page. |
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