Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta 2025 - Day 2
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 29 May 22:22 BST
27-31 May 2025
The second day of racing at the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta and Southern Wind RendezVous was characterised by a light northerly breeze, which went on to drop below an initial 10 knots and swing slightly to the east.
At 11.30 CEST, the sequence of individual starts for the five yachts in the Southern Wind RendezVous class got under way as scheduled, with the Superyacht and Corinthian Spirit sequences commencing at 12 noon.
First to set off was the SW 105 Sorvind by Giorgio Armani, the yacht chartered by Giorgio Armani for this 2025 edition of the regatta, marking the brand's increasingly strong ties with the world of sailing. Followed by the remaining yachts at two-minute intervals, Sorvind by Giorgio Armani headed south from the starting line to round the islets of Mortorio and Soffi, before turning upwind towards mark Tango, positioned off the Capo Ferro lighthouse. From here, the fleet headed away from the coast towards mark Uniform and the finish line - a course shortened to a total of 20 miles due to the fading wind.
In the Superyacht class, YCCS member Juan Ball's Swan 115 Moat collected another first place finish, confirming her lead in the provisional ranking after two days. Behind her was Anomaly, a Vitters 107 designed by Malcolm McKeon and skippered by Mike Toppa, America's Cup veteran and previous winner of the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta.
"Today was a day with not much wind," explained Toppa. "It's hard to beat Moat because they are very fast in light air, but we fought back and had a good race, finishing in second place. Our boat was second to last in the starting sequence, so we had a lot of traffic to weave through to pass the rest of the fleet. We had a nice beat back up to Tango and from there a reach out to Uniform. We're happy with second place. Porto Cervo is one of the most beautiful places I have ever sailed in and even though I've been coming here for a long time I always find something different, today for example there was a lot of current, something I would not have expected."
Third place went to Morgana, an RP/Nauta 100 built by Southern Wind for an Italian owner, with Gabriele 'Ganga' Bruni calling tactics.
The Southern Wind 108 Gelliceaux came out on top in the Corinthian Spirit class, followed by the SW 94 Magic Blue and SW 82 Grande Orazio. "After a difficult start due to a wind shift we managed to find a clean line to follow our sailing plan close to the coastline, which paid off. Precise manoeuvres and good boat speed helped us to extend our lead to the finish line," commented the owners of Gelliceaux. Today's victory takes Gelliceaux into the lead in the provisional classification, just one point ahead of Grande Orazio.
The yachts taking part in the Southern Wind RendezVous sailed on a similar but slightly shorter course compared to the other two classes. After reaching mark Tango, they headed into the Gulf of Pevero where they were able to spend several hours relaxing.
The SW 100 Grillo Parlante hosted guest racer Federico "Freddy" Pilloni, an athlete from the Young Azzurra programme run by the YCCS: "Sailing is always fantastic, whether it's flying on the iQFOiL or sailing on a 30-metre superyacht like the Southern Wind Grillo Parlante - I'd like to thank everyone for the hospitality, I was welcomed as if I'd always been a member of the crew. Sailing the waters of the Costa Smeralda is a unique and special experience, my thanks go to the YCCS and the Young Azzurra programme for offering me this opportunity, I'll continue racing on board until the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta finishes on 31 May."
This evening, owners will attend the Giorgio Armani Owners' Dinner on the YCCS terrace. Guests will enjoy a special "four-hands" menu, created by resident chef Alessio Savona and Massimo Tringali, Michelin-starred chef at the Armani Ristorante in Paris.
The Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta will continue tomorrow, 30 May, with the Southern Wind RendezVous starting at 11.30 a.m., followed by the Superyacht and Corinthian Spirit classes from 12 noon. The forecast is for light wind from the east-northeast.