Penultimate day of Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup beset by Mistral conditions
by International Maxi Association 12 Sep 16:11 BST
7-13 September 2025
Maxi 1 reaching start © IMA / Studio Borlenghi
Sadly the second day of the northwesterly Mistral proved stronger than the first at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
The maxi yacht fleet was called out on to the water an hour early, at 1100, to make the best use of available conditions. At this point it was blowing 21-22 knots, however come start time it had built to 24 knots gusting to 29. At 1130 the AP over H flags were displayed sending teams back to Porto Cervo Marina to await further instructions. Finally at 1300 PRO Stuart Childerley confirmed that racing would be cancelled for the day.
Mike Broughton, navigator on board Marco Vögele's 33.4m long Briand-designed electric green Inoui in the Super Maxi class, shared his assessment of the meteorological situation having been racing here in Porto Cervo since the 1990s.
"It was a little bit stronger than yesterday," he confided. "When there's this WNW wind through the Bonifacio Strait, you get a Venturi effect from the mountains of Sardinia and Corsica, which are quite high, and it keeps the wind going through the gap like a pump. Then it curves around to Porto Cervo. The weather models seemed to underestimate this power.
"The wind today was averaging 22-25 knots until about 1300, but offshore or further north, it was 3-4 knots more, which is above our limits. To the north of La Maddelena there's 30 knots of wind."
Fortunately the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is forecast to end on a high tomorrow. "It should be quite a lot lighter although sometimes that pump just keeps going longer than people think. But basically -it's just gone up - it's 11-19 knots, going down in the afternoon to 9-14, which is definitely sailable and three of the models are showing the wind more from the northwest to NNW."
This year celebrating the 40th anniversary of Rolex's backing, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA) and is the penultimate event of the 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge.