Alfa Romeo and Southern Star Lead Superyacht Fleet

Though the winds were not strong enough to send these giant sailing yachts hurtling 'round the courses set by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee through the golden granite islands and islets of the la Maddalena Archipelago, they certainly were challenging enough to make today’s racing technically demanding and spectacular to watch. The overall leaders of the Performance and Cruising divisions on corrected time are, respectively, New Zealander Neville Crichton aboard Alfa Romeo and Claudio de Eccher of Italy aboard Southern Star.

The Performance division, which counts the five thoroughbred racers of the fleet, started first on a course that brought the fleet from the start just off Porto Cervo through the strait between Capo Ferro and the Isola delle Bisce (Island of the Snakes) before passing between the island of Caprera and the Secca Tre Monti rock. The fleet then headed north, leaving the La Maddalena Island to starboard. After rounding the Barretinelli island, the fleet then took on a long upwind beat to reach the finish line in the Pevero Gulf for a total of approximately 30 nautical miles. Alfa Romeo took the lead from the offset, followed by Senso One - the former Mari Cha IV - and Claus-Peter Offen’s Y3K. The leaders maintained their positions throughout, although Y3K lost some time changing a torn spinnaker.

Despite the spinnaker setback, Claus-Peter Offen, owner of Y3K and president of the International Maxi Association, said he had a great day of sailing. “In total it was a wonderful race. I think we had very good speed and a good start exactly in the position we wanted. We were able very soon to extend our lead until Capo Ferro when, in the gybe there, the gennaker was ripped in a block. The whole manoeuvre of taking down and setting the new one did cost us about two minutes due to the fact that the new one did not come immediately free from the socket. After that, we found our rhythm again very quickly, and eventually we finished second behind Alfa Romeo (on corrected time). So we are very happy. "

Alfa Romeo also corrected ahead of Lindsay Owen Jones’ Magic Carpet 2, which finished third, but Senso One slipped back to the bottom of the fleet.

Each of the yachts in the Cruising Division had a separate start based on their IRC rating, and the Race Committee set a 17-mile course, which shared the same final beat as the Performance division and generated the stunning spectacle of the “formula one” yachts racing alongside cruisers such as the beautifully restored 1920s gaff cutter Lulworth. The 78-foot Southern Star was fastest around the course in this group followed by Salperton with Ed Dubois at the helm. On corrected time Southern Star led Acaia Cube, with Marco Pecorella at the helm, and Charles Dunstone’s Hamilton II.

Stronger southeasterly winds of approximately 15 to 17 knots are forecast for tomorrow along with more sunshine and blue skies. Racing is scheduled to start at 12 noon.

Provisional Results 23/06/08
Place) Boat, Owner
Performance Division
1) Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton
2) Y3K, Claus Peter Offen
3) Magic Carpet 2, Lindsay Owen Jones
Place) Boat, Owner

Cruising Division
1) Southern Star , Claudio de Eccher,
2) Acaia Cube, Pegaso Srl,
3) Hamilton ll, Lockstock Ltd