Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - Day 3
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 5 Jun 2015 20:40 BST
2-6 June 2015
Into the home stretch
With one more day to go at the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta a few fortunate teams are already able to kick back and celebrate while for others everything will come down to the wire in tomorrow's final race. Following another highly tactical race in fairly light conditions, Pier Luigi Loro Piana's My Song is now unbeatable in Class B. Meanwhile in Class A all is yet to play for as Saudade has moved up to first place thanks to a winning performance in today's race, but now sits on equal points with second-placed Ganesha. Grande Orazio today strengthened her lead in Class C and is inches from her second consecutive division win in the event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with Boat International Media from 2nd to 6th June.
In a change to conditions over the past few days the YCCS Race Committee found more stable winds - up to 15 knots out of the north - to the south of Porto Cervo and sent the fleet to round the islands of Mortoriotto and Mortorio off Porto Rotondo before turning for an upwind stretch to the finish line.
The 45-metre Saudade took the upper hand today in a battle that has been raging all week with previous event-winner Ganesha. As a result the Dubois-designed Ganesha slipped back to second place overall, but as the two remain on equal points tomorrow's final race will be decisive. This class will also see a fight to the finish for third place as the Perini Navi superyacht Clan VIII and the 55-metre Marie also head into the final day on equal points behind the top two boats.
My Song, with Tommaso Chieffi on tactics, today crossed the finish line just seconds ahead of WinWin, this third bullet was enough to provide the Italian boat with a sufficient delta to ensure overall victory. The 33-metre WinWin remains in second place overall ahead of Marco Vogele's Inoui.
Division C saw entries from the Southern Wind Shipyard claim all three top spots in today's race: Grande Orazio continued her domination of the Class with a third consecutive bullet while the 30-metre Blues took second place ahead of Cape Arrow. The overall classification therefore sees Grande Orazio firmly in control with the Farr-designed Wally 80 Nahita in second place and Blues, fielding a mainly Brazilian crew, in third.
The owner of Blues was happy with his result: "At the beginning there was no wind but at the end it improved to around 15 knots which is better for us because we need power. I think we did a good race with some mistakes to improve, but second for me is a good place. The finish was good for me because I went down a bit which gave a bit more speed to try to finish before Cape Arrow. I have been to Sardinia cruising a few times but this is my first time racing here - it's wonderful, it's fantastic. I was at the Caribbean event. Both are fantastic - the Caribbean event is more windy and has more sea, but here you have the Italian feeling, the Italian way of life."
Owners and crews will enjoy a Sunset Party at the nearby Phi Beach this evening before the event concludes tomorrow, Saturday 6th June. Racing is scheduled to begin at 12 midday. Light breezes are forecast.
Follow the regatta via Live Tracking from the YCCS homepage. News and images will be posted on the YCCS Twitter account (#LoroPianaSYR). The full entry list and complete event schedule are available on www.yccs.com and www.loropianasuperyachtregatta.com.