MAXI YACHT ROLEX CUP 2016 will be held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy as the ultimate test for some magnificent craft, their Owners, sailors and designers.
MAXI YACHT ROLEX CUP 2016 will be held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy as the ultimate test for some magnificent craft, their Owners, sailors and designers.
It is open only to yachts over 18.29 metres (60ft) in length. The event is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and the International Maxi Association, with Rolex as the sponsor. Fifty-three yachts are enrolled for the highlight of the Maxi racing season.
The 27th edition will feature a number of high-profile designs. Galateia is the newest Wallycento from the pen of Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design; Rambler 88 is the brainchild of free-thinking Juan Kouyoumdjian; while Highland Fling, a Swan 115 Race drawn by German Frers, is the latest Supermaxi from Nautor’s Swan, the Finnish boat-builder, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
The Maxi 72 Class World Championship will be held during the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, pitting the finest exponents against each other in close gladiatorial combat.
The yachts competing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup & Rolex Maxi 72 Worlds cover the full spectrum of racing and racing-cruising yachts of over 60 feet in length. Divided into various categories based on their size and performance characteristics, the fleet hosts everything from classic J-Class yachts such as the 153-foot Lionheart and the 1933-launched Velsheda, to the ultra-modern Galateia, launched in late 2015 and one of the Wallycento box-rule performance cruisers competing. The race has been attracting Maxi Owners to this corner of the Mediterranean each September for decades and all six of last year’s division winners –Bella Mente, H20, Open Season, Inoui, Windfall and Supernikka – will be looking to defend their titles in 2016.
Among those challenging Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente for the title of Maxi 72 World Champion 2016 will be Proteus, division winner at the St Barths Bucket in March and winner of the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy, as well as Robertissima, a regular competitor in YCCS regattas that missed out on victory by just one point last year.
After five days of intense competition, the individual class winners will be rewarded with Rolex timepieces during the final prize-giving ceremony at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
