Loro Piana Giraglia, Day Three. Capricorno rising

The pecking order at maxi events is typically well defined with the largest, fastest yachts coming home first. However, this was nearly upset on day three of the inshore racing at Loro Piana Giraglia, organised by the Yacht Club Italiano in collaboration with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, when Alessandro Del Bono’s 80ft Capricorno managed to put two 100 footers in her rear view mirror for the majority of the first race. 

“We had a good start at the committee boat and tacked almost straight away,” explained Flavio Favini, a key member of Capricorno’s afterguard. “It looked like there was a bit more pressure on the right.” Coming back on the starboard layline, Capricorno enjoyed both Chris Flowers and David M Leuschen’s Galateia and Karel Komárek’s V on port having to take her transom. Remarkably it was only on the final beat that both 100 footers finally overhauled the 80 footer. “Our boat seems a little better in light air, so we had a good day,” continued Favini. Under IRC corrected time Capricorno won the Maxi 100 class and was three seconds ahead of Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou which won the Maxi Grand Prix class. 
 

While the first race had taken place in a 10-12 knot northeasterly, after a long pause the second race got underway in 10 knots, ultimately dropping to 5 knots leaving several smaller maxis unable to finish. In race two Capricorno got a poor start and was then held up by a cruising boat that had erred on to the course. Nonetheless she recovered to claim second in the Maxi 100 class to Galateia. 

With a 2-1 in the Maxi 100 class, Galateia ended the day equal top scoring boat with Capricorno and, overall in the class, leads V and Capricorno by two points. In the second race Galateia’s situation had benefitted from V being locked out at the race committee boat and had come home fourth in the Maxi 100 class behind Huang-Seng Lee's SHK Scallywag. On Galateia Chris Flowers has been sharing helming duties with his daughter Lizz, who steered in the big conditions yesterday. They also have a new afterguard here with Kelvin Harrap moving on to tactical duties aided by Ian Budgen and Jochen Schümann.

The day was also notable for Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s brand new Botin Partners-designed wallyrocket 71 Django 7X making her race debut, with her all-star crew led by tactician Vasco Vascotto. While she finished last in today’s first race, she came home third in the Maxi Grand Prix class in today’s second race. 

In the Maxi Grand Prix class Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou comfortably won today’s first race, then suffered a fourth in the second, but still maintains her overall lead, albeit just one point ahead of George Sakellaris’ Proteus, which, scoring a 3-1, was top boat in the class today with Filip Balcaen’s Balthasar.  

“It was close racing - we managed to keep it clean and had a couple of solid results,” commented Proteus tactician Stu Bannatyne. “[In the second race] we got a great start and that made all the difference - we were able to sail clean lanes the whole race.”

Today’s Guido Paulo Gamucci and his crew on the canting keel Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X fully shed their habit of perpetually finishing second, winning both races in the Maxi Alpha class (as well as the combined Maxi Alpha and Beta classes). As a result she goes into the final day tied with Jean-Pierre Barjon’s Botin 65 Spirit of Lorina. 

“Compared to Spirit of Lorina, they are quicker with high winds and we are quicker with less wind, but today we had two perfect races,” explained Gamucci, although admitting that today’s flukey conditions made steering tougher even than yesterday’s 20-30 knot winds. “The second start was not as good, but it was tough, because there were waves and you didn't know where they were coming from.” Gamucci was pleased that while they have a boat that ostensibly should be best offshore in breeze, they can also perform in the light – thanks partly to Gamucci having spent some 40 years racing in these conditions in the Med. Today in fact they didn’t cant the keel and kept their canard retracted. 

As the wind disappeared none of the Maxi Beta class finished the second race. However the first had been won by Gunter Birkner's Swan 65 Cloudy 7, which has now moved into the lead in the class, albeit by just one point from Enis Ersü's Contest 63 Blue Vision. Doing well today was Robert Szustkowski and his Polish crew on the Mylius 60 R6, which finished second in the first race. “We prefer a little stronger wind, because we just have a #3 jib and no #2 or #1 yet,” commented boat captain Robert Janecki. “But we work step by step – this is just our third regatta with this boat and we still have some room for improvement.”

Tomorrow further light winds are forecast as competitors are looking with concern at predicted conditions for Wednesday’s offshore race, from Saint-Tropez to the Giraglia rock and on to Genoa. While last year there was famously too much wind for some of the maxis, this year there may be too little. As Proteus navigator Will Oxley advised: “In a one day 19 hour race, there's one day, one hour and 37 minutes of 0-4 knots - so over 50% is in less than five knots of wind…”

 (Race report by James Boyd/International Maxi Association)