Final Day at Regate di Primavera-Splendido Mare Cup in Portofino

The final day of the Yacht Club Italiano's Regate di Primavera-Splendido Mare Cup saw little wind, but plenty of sun, with the boats waiting patiently out on the water until 1400 when a long blast from the horn of the race committee boat sent the maxis back to port, racing having been cancelled for the day. 

Therefore the results remain the same as they were yesterday, after four days of extremely varying weather conditions: from 25 knots and rough seas for the first race to today's summery conditions.
 

“I dedicate our victory in these races to Portofino and to my crew,” said Capricorno’s owner Alessandro Del Bono, once back in port. “We’ve been sailing together for ages and once again we have shown our yacht is still very fast.” 

Built by McConaghy in Sydney in 1995 to a design by Reichel/Pugh, the 78ft long Capricorno has enjoyed a successful career that has included line honours in the 2006 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, setting a record that stood until 2013. In her original colours, as Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory, she was also first home in the 1996 Sydney to Hobart and the Cape Town-Rio Race. She has travelled around the world from Patagonia and Cape Horn to Polynesia and Australia.

Behind Capricorno, the Mylius 80 racer-cruiser Twin Soul B, put in an excellent performance against the pure racers such as Capricorno and Pendragon. Helming Twin Soul B was the Mylius Yachts owner Luciano Gandini, assisted on tactics by Gigio Russo and a reliable, tightly knit crew.
“We are very satisfied not just by the results of our yachts and their crews having been away for 18 months because of the pandemic, but also by this way in which our racing has restarted," said Valentina Gandini, CEO of Mylius Yachts, “We hope that the performance of Mylius and the overall spirit with which all the yards, owners, organisation and partners have handled this event is a good omen for increased consolidation and participation in the Splendido Mare Cup and looking ahead to this new season of yachting.”

Third overall was new International Maxi Association member Carlo Alberini and  his  Lightbay Sailing Team aboard Pendragon VI, a thoroughbred racer from Laurie Davidson, one of New Zealand's most successful yacht designers. Racing in Pendragon VI's afterguard this week were Lorenzo Bodini and Slovenian champion Branko Brcin.

"Prior to this wonderful event, well organised by the Yacht Club Italiano, I never imagined we would finish in such a good position," said Alberini. "Although I had unshakeable confidence in my crew, I realised that because of the pandemic we hadn't put in the hours of training we would have wished to have had: yachts like Pendragon VI are very complex and getting the best out of them is not easy and should not be taken for granted. Today, although I knew it meant risking third place, I would have liked to race, but at no time did the breeze look likely to fill in across the whole the course. 

"We leave Portofino with a smile on our lips, hoping for a repeat in Naples, where next weekend we will take part in the Regata dei Tre Golfi." 

This event will be the second in the IMA's Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge for 2020-21 following last autumn's Rolex Middle Sea Race. 
 
On the prizegiving platform, owners received a valuable silkscreen print by maestro Marcello Morandini, printed by Rinaldo Rossi. Morandini also designed the YCI Challenge Trophy. There were also special prizes for the best placed member of the International Maxi Association (Pendragon VI, Carlo Alberini) and of the YCI (Itacentodue, Adriano Calvini).
 
There was also success on land where 1700 COVID tests were given. Once tested, guests and crews brought to life Portofino's Piazzetta,  which had been decorated by Loro Piana, and the Banca Passadore with its terrace facing the bay and by Rolex, with a privileged view of the crews and the Yacht Club Italiano. In the evening, there were lights and music in the Piazzetta, organised by the staff of the Splendido Mare, a Belmond Hotel, Portofino mixed with the clinking of glasses filled with the vintage bubbles of Veuve Clicquot.

 Official tenders of the Regate di Primavera – Splendido Mare Cup were the two models of the Wallytender line: 43wallytender and 48wallytender. The boats were made available by Wally as shuttles for the guests of organisers and sponsors.
 
The YCI intend for the Regate di Primavera-Splendido Mare Cup to be an on-going event, the maxi racing season opener in years to come.  

(James Boyd / IMA)

Full results, photos and video highlights are posted on the event' website: www.yci.it