Maxi boat blast off on day two of Loro Piana Giraglia
by James Boyd / International Maxi Association 9 Jun 00:33 BST
7-10 June 2025
The Maxi 100 and Grand Prix classes set sail with Peter Dubens' North Star and Pier Luigi Loro Piana's My Song to leeward - Loro Piana Giraglia 2025 © Loro Piana / Studio Borlenghi
After getting under way yesterday in light to moderate conditions, day two of inshore racing took on a different complexion at Loro Piana Giraglia. When the first of today's two windward-leewards started at 1130 it was in an offshore northwesterly, blowing off Saint-Tropez's famous Plage de Pampelonne. Today conditions were far brisker with the wind gusting into the high 20s for the second of today's races.
The big wind-flat water was very much to the liking of Roberto Lacorte's 61ft AC75-style foiler FlyingNikka, enabling them to fly well. Despite sailing conservatively in the gusty conditions, the Italian speed machine hit 39 knots. "It was the perfect situation to go 40+ knots but we used the drag of the upwind foil to reduce speed and maintain a safe situation to not damage the boat," explained Lacorte. In both races FlyingNikka started on port and, engulfed in a ball of spray, had screamed past even the mighty 100 footers early up the first beat going on to arrive home first on the water, but by never enough to make an impression on the corrected time results.
In the Maxi 100 class Chris Flowers and David M Leuschen's Galateia and Karel Komárek's V managed a 3-1 and 1-3 respectively, leaving V overall leader. It was a good day for Alessandro Del Bono's JV80 Capricorno which scored two seconds, to remain firmly in touch with the 100s. "It was a better day for us, especially in the windy conditions," commented her Brazilian tactician and multi-Olympic medallist, Torben Grael, adding that Capricorno had hit 25 knots. "The crew did a great job with the boss [Del Bono] driving well. We avoided big mistakes, which I think was the key for the day along with playing shifts. It was not easy picking the lay lines due to the shifts. I like this kind of racing."
Among the former Maxi 72s in the Maxi Grand Prix class, Sir Peter Ogden's 77ft Jethou still leads despite a third place in today's first race, having clawed their way back from an OCS. Today's winner was George Sakellaris' Proteus with a 2-1, pulling her up to second overall while Peter Dubens' North Star scored a 1-3 leaving her third. "We had a pretty good day," commented tactician Nick Rogers. "In the first race we started to the left, cleanly, tacked, followed round at the top and then gybeset - which was a huge call and actually we ended up first at the leeward gate." North Star went on to beat the resurgent Jethou by two seconds on the water, to claim the win overall under IRC.
"A lot was about just managing yourself into the leeward mark. Picking lay lines was key and crew manoeuvres when you're doing 20+ knots and everything's super loaded. That was our strategy, and it worked well," Rogers continued. North Star's win was all the more remarkable in the big winds given she is the only Maxi Grand Prix boat to make use of the reduced crew numbers allowed under IMA rules.
While yesterday ended with a three-way tie for the top of Maxi Alpha, the faster of the two cruiser-racer classes, this was split today after Jean-Pierre Barjon's Spirit of Lorina scored two bullets. The French-flagged Botin 65, present leader of the IMA's 2024-25 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge, won the first race by more than five minutes from Guido Paolo Gamucci's canting keel Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X and by just under three minutes in the subsequent race. Barjon was delighted by his boat's speed and the crew work. On one run they had hit 22 knots, although someway off their record of 28.5. The boat is going especially well now that their water ballast is fully plumbed in and working well.
Although they won last weekend's 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar, it has been back to second-placed finishes again over the last two day for Cippa Lippa X. Tactician Michele Regolo acknowledged that their French rivals had outsailed them today. In the first race they had suffered a broach coming out of a gybe and had destroyed a kite in the process. "We had a top speed of 22 knots which made Guido Paolo quite happy today but tomorrow is in light winds. I think the game is still open."
In the Maxi Alpha class, Spirit of Lorina is now two points ahead of Cippa Lippa X in turn another two ahead of Maurits Van Oranje's Wally 80 Sud. Dario Castiglia's Baltic 65 RE/MAX One2 is fourth after a difficult day maintaining control in the gusts. "We found ourselves on our side a few times in the gybes," admitted her tactician Jes Gram-Hansen, who admits they are still figuring out the best way of handling the spinnaker with powered winches. "This is our first day sailing this boat in this amount of breeze, so we had our hands a bit full..."
In the Maxi Beta class, a 1-3 for Enis Ersü's Contest 63 Blue Vision sees them leading two points ahead of Gunter Birkner's modern Swan 65 Cloudy7, which was the top scoring boat in the class today with a 2-1.
The present inshore races at Loro Piana Giraglia constitute the third of five events in the 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge (MMIC). They continue tomorrow with further windward-leewards with a green flag at 1100.
See the current leaderboard from the 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge here.
More information on Loro Piana Giraglia here.