Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta
MY SONG, VIRTUELLE AND BEQUIA WIN DAY 1 OF RACING
The sun rose early on Wednesday morning to greet the 21 sailing superyachts taking part in the 2013 edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta. The regatta, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) with Boat International Media and hosted at the YCCS marina in Porto Cervo, marks the beginning of the Mediterranean regatta season.
The diverse fleet, ranging from the 24m Starck-styled Virtuelle and Hoek-designed Drumfire to 45m regatta regulars Salperton IV and Saudade, and 49.7m Zefira, were looking forward to racing getting underway in earnest. The fleet, which is racing under the International Super Yacht Rule (ISYR), covers a broad spectrum of superyachts, from modern classics to ocean thoroughbreds, sloops to yawls, and pure cruising yachts to those with a more performance orientated design. The 21 yachts have been divided into three equal cruising divisions – A to C – according to their ratings, and each yacht has three ratings that can be applied depending on the windspeed on the course.
Unlike the sun, though, the wind appeared a little more reluctant to get up this morning, and as a result the race committee decided to postpone at the dock. Three knots of wind gradually crept up to six, and as the AP flag dropped with word that the first start would be scheduled for 1300 local time, the fleet headed into the bay under glorious blue skies.
As the breeze continued to fill in towards eight knots, the patience of the yacht owners and crews was rewarded as the race committee announced they had a variety of options open. Choosing use the medium wind handicaps and opting to set three courses – of roughly 29, 25 and 23 nautical miles for class A to C respectively – the Arkin Pruva-built gulet-inspired 42m Daima was first to start, with yachts then starting at two minute intervals according to rating in a staggered sequence. The three courses followed roughly the same track – a short beat to a laid mark, followed by a fetch to the Mortorio islands, then a long run to Monaci, a short dog leg to the south of Caprera and then home to the finish off Porto Cervo.
At Isola Mortoriotto it was the 24m Drumfire that had the early advantage, rounding some two minutes ahead of the yawl Bequia, with the 24m Virtuelle rounding third. As the rest of the fleet headed up, it was clear that the extensive briefing on the changes to the racing rules – Appendix SY, which puts in place certain rules to ensure that no superyacht gets within 40m of another on the course – on Tuesday evening was paying dividends. The fleet was tightly bunched, yet all yachts rounded safely with no protest flags flying.
By the time the fleet had got to the famous Monaci rocks at the end of the run, Virtuelle had powered into the lead on the water, rounding the rocks and dowsing her spinnaker nearly six minutes ahead of the second yacht, 49.7m Zefira. The rest of the yachts came round in tight formation, making for a spectacular sight as the faster yachts such as 30.3m Southern Wind Cape Arrow began to haul in the slower yachts.
At mark Golf – set for classes A and B – Virtuelle held a slender lead until Zefira and the mighty Salperton – who were locked in an epic battle – managed to squeeze through. As Virtuelle settled onto her new tack after the mark, a man suddenly shot up the mast – sent to free the light jib which was refusing to come down.
The fleet compression continued, and with the slowest rated yachts missing out the dog leg to the finish there was all to play for. The 30.8m Oyster Sarafin snuck through to take line honours for Race One, closely followed by Bequia, Drumfire and the sleek 45m Baltic Yachts-built Visione. Of course, it is the corrected time that counts, and the provisional results showed that in Cruising Class A the 25.4m My Song – owned by Pier-Luigi Loro Piana – had won through; Virtuelle held on to take Class B on corrected, while Bequia took the win in Class C.
‘It looks like it’s going to be a light regatta,’ said Seamas Meharg, boat captain and safety officer of Bequia. ‘The lighter airs and flatter water are good for us, and today’s long downwind leg was also beneficial. We got a good start, and did well at the bottom rounding at Monaci – we ducked Zefira’s stern and managed to get inside her, staying close in to the rocks.’ Meharg will be hoping that the forecast light airs continue. ‘We’re keeping an eye on Drumfire,’ he continued, ‘and there might be a little more breeze tomorrow, but if we can hold on tomorrow we might be looking good…’
For Zefira, today’s second place in Class B was a strong result – not least because she beat arch-rivalSalperton by just 10 seconds on corrected time after an epic battle that played out round nearly the whole racecourse. ‘We tried hard,’ her delighted captain, Federico Biaturri, smiled on the dock. ‘We were a bit slow on one gybe and had to tack to avoid Visione near the end which allowed Salperton to sneak over the line ahead of us, but it was a great race and we’ve been getting better and better since the start of the Dubois Cup last weekend. The owners are very happy!’
The close-fought battle with Salperton is a fine demonstration of just how accurate the ISYR rating system is getting. ‘The handicaps are getting better and better all the time,’ Biaturri commented. ‘It shows in our battle with Salperton – it’s very close and it’s just going to get better and better from here.’
The stunning curves of the Tencara-built Virtuelle – styled by Philippe Starck – made for a real contrast to the classic lines of Bequia and the modern elegance of Zefira, but she showed her mettle today with her Class B win. ‘Our first surprise today was coming first!’ said her captain, David Miroux, after racing. ‘The conditions today were perfect for the yacht, right in the 10-to-14 knot bracket. More wind means the larger yachts can stretch out on the longer legs… We didn’t really do anything wrong today and sailed our best, and we perhaps had the advantage that we were able to overtake the slower yachts and get into clean air.’
As I leave the boat after talking with Miroux, I offer a ‘bonne chance’ for tomorrow for good measure. ‘Thanks,’ says Miroux, ‘but there’s no luck involved!’ She will certainly be a yacht to look out for over the next three days of racing…
