32nd Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse in Monaco - Weekend 2 Day 1

Dockside ambiance at the 32nd Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse © Stefano Gattini

Three new classes on the starting blocks

This is what one calls a warm-up lap despite the rather wintery conditions for the first day of racing. The 300 sailors in Monaco for the second weekend of the 32nd Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse were champing at the bit, with the Race Committee doing everything its power to launch one race but to no avail.

Rest assured better conditions are forecast for tomorrow, and if the contest for the three classes (73 boats) has been somewhat postponed, the spectacle looks set to be just as good tomorrow. If anything the delay has upped the pressure for the J/70, Melges 20 and for the first time in Monaco the super-fast trimaran Diam 24od class, official boat of the Tour de France à la voile since 2015.

A major international winter regatta, the Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse attracts sailing's elite and, for the first time, sailors from across the Atlantic with a J/70 team from the Manhattan Yacht Club. Its reputation has gone before it - even as far as the United States!

As the event has grown over the years, organisers at the Yacht Club de Monaco can count on its Flotte des Commissaires, a large pool of committed, qualified volunteers who take time out to improve on their skills at training sessions held at the Yacht Club.

For the 47 J/70 teams competing this weekend it is also Act 4 of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series that started straight after the European Championship hosted in Monaco last October.

Held once a month from October through to March, these weekend regattas are designed to help experienced crews, professionals and amateurs prepare for the upcoming season's big meetings. Initiated by Valentin Zavadnikov in 2013, the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series offers a programme of high level regattas for one-designs.

Supported by Monaco Class Association President Jacopo Carrain, the J/70 class has grown exponentially in the Principality and now counts no less than 18 boats.

Meanwhile, the technically demanding Melges 20 class, dominated last season by the YCM's own Guido Miani, is also surfing a wave of success. For this 32nd edition there are 29 teams, 16 of which hail from Russia. They include Alekxandr Ezhkov (Pirogovo) and Vladimir Prosikhin (Nika), currently lying 1st and 2nd respectively in the 2015-2016 Winter Series.

And finally, making their first appearance in Monaco are the Diam 24ods, with Monegasque Pierre Casiraghi at the helm of one of these trimarans alongside Gwen Riou, his team-mate on the VOR 70 Maserati.

Enjoy the show! As always the public are more than welcome to watch the show. Races can be seen from various observation points in the Principality including the Luciana Jetty near the Yacht Club, the esplanades and slopes of the main harbour wall, Fort Antoine, terrace of the Oceanographic Museum and Casino Gardens.

To follow the races 'live' (thanks to a tracking system) check out the website, www.ycm.org