The Superyacht Cup Palma - Overall
by Kate Branagh 24 Jun 2017 21:54 BST
21-24 June 2017
This morning's on board briefing saw concentrated faces on the aft-deck going into today's deciding St. Regis Mardavall Resort Race.
The race committee sent the fleet on two riveting custom courses ranging between 17 and 22nm, which befitted today's menu of light winds (varying between six and ten knots). The shorter 17nm course was sailed by the awe-inspiring yachts in Class B.
Two was the magic number this morning as in Class A Win Win went into today's race holding a two point lead over second placed Saudade. This well-powered Wally was separated from Ribelle (who sat in third) also with two points. In Class B Bolero went into this third race with a margin of two points over Atalante 1. Two points also stood between this stunning Truly Classic and her newer, bigger sister Atalante.
The first boat (the 32m Southern Wind Farfalla) slid over the line at 13.05, as it were the highly-competitive yachts in Class A that got racing underway today. The 34m Ribelle led the fleet with gusto around the first, second and third mark with Farfalla and the 33m Win Win in hot pursuit! Southern Wind Farfalla ducked behind Win Win on her way to mark three, which resulted in Win Win rounding five minutes and eleven seconds before her, as well as Farfalla dropping two places. A tough tussle ensued between the 34m Ribelle and the Baltic-built Win Win as they sailed neck-and-neck towards the fifth, Aranol, mark, which the uncompromising Win Win managed to round a hair-raising 32 seconds first. Previous event-winner Win Win was unstoppable as she flew over the finish line a mere 39 seconds before the newly-launched Ribelle.
In Class B the impeccably turned out Atalante blazed the trail with Claasen-classic Atalante 1 and the 46m Windrose of Amsterdam trying to hunt her down. The leading pack bunched up while rounding mark two but it was the aforementioned 39m Atalante, designed by Hoek which kept control of the class and rounded ahead of her adversaries. After the third mark she stretched her legs and seriously got into gear speeding over the finish line 13 minutes and one second ahead of her namesake, the beautiful Atalante 1, who slipped across second.
After corrections were applied, the final calls were made and it was the 33m Win Win who's powerful performance over the last three days consolidated her Class A win by 2 points over second place finisher Ribelle. The latter, a sparkling new yacht designed by Malcolm McKeon, captured Class A today. Captain Federico Biatturi was pleased: "It's been a great pleasure to see her perform so well. We fixed several issues after Loro Piana (her debut regatta) and blew a winch on day one. This set us back but we won first today and second yesterday. It's a great experience and Palma is always a great place to be, a lot of fun" About the close racing this afternoon Biatturi said: "All five of us were very close, of course we will be back and we will try and win it next time!".
In Class B the delightful 27.5m Atalante 1 sailed a flawless race, not leaving a second behind on the race course, which put victory in the bag for this modern classic. However, the overall class win went to welcome return competitor Bolero. Moreover, elegant sail-handling on both Race Day one and two by this sophisticated Frers-sloop resulted in her officially become the overall winner of The Superyacht Cup 2017! On learning team Bolero had bagged overall victory, a beaming captain commented that: "winning the regatta this year was the cherry on the cake."
This 21st edition of the regatta concluded spectacularly with a festive prize-giving ceremony, which saw all the competing yachts empty and the Superyacht Cup's main tent packed with hundreds of smiling sailors, still enthusiastically talking about today's exhilarating racing.
Teams of at least 20 beaming sailors besieged the stage as 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes were awarded in each class. Amidst the cacophony of whistles and bravo's from the convivial crowd, opponents were assured they would be able to get their own back during our 2018 edition. The best part of the evening was, beyond question, the announcement of this year's overall winner, the 32m Bolero!
The Superyacht Cup and its competitors also presented a cheque of 2,500€ to the long running local charity Joves Navigantes. Initiated by an enthusiastic group of sailors, the foundation reaches out to some of the island's less privileged boys and girls through the practice of sailing.
While the winning teams embark on a big celebratory night out, the sun set spectacularly on the Regatta Village, marking the close of another sunny and highly successful edition of Palma's Superyacht Cup.
thesuperyachtcup.com