Loro Piana Giraglia 2026 - More than a race, a living tradition
by Yacht Club Italiano 30 May 17:14 BST
12-16 June 2026
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
The Loro Piana Giraglia is organised by Yacht Club Italiano in collaboration with Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, under the guidance of the Federazione Italiana Vela and the Fédération Française de Voile.
First held in 1953, the 73rd edition will feature over 140 yachts from around the world for four days of inshore racing in Saint-Tropez from 12 to 16 June, followed by the 241nm offshore race starting on 17 June. The offshore course starts from Saint-Tropez, rounds the Giraglia Rock off Corsica, and finishes in Genoa.
The entry list paints the Loro Piana Giraglia as far more than a race. It is a gathering of sailing nations, styles and ambitions, with boats identified from more than 20 countries by their sail numbers. Italy leads the fleet in numbers, followed by Great Britain and France, giving the event a powerful Mediterranean heart within a truly international fleet.
The Loro Piana Giraglia 2026 fleet brings together elegant classics, modern racer cruisers, grand prix offshore machines and majestic maxis. It is a meeting place for world class professionals, seasoned offshore teams and passionate amateur crews. That is the enduring magic of the Giraglia: history, performance, style and pure love of sailing. The spirit can be seen right across the fleet, where every entry brings its own story, character and ambition. The Loro Piana Giraglia continues to draw boats and sailors that reflect the many faces of the sport.
My Song: a race and a cultural voyage
Pier Luigi Loro Piana's Swan 80 My Song brings a blend of elegance, performance and quiet intensity to the Loro Piana Giraglia 2026. While the yacht has a natural association with the event's headline partner, the story of My Song is best told through the sailors who bring her to life on the racecourse. Among them is American sailing legend Paul Cayard, whose career spans the America's Cup, the Olympic Games, World Championships, the Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race, and some of the most celebrated maxi victories in the past as well as the present. Cayard is a reigning Star and Etchells World Champion.
For Cayard, the Giraglia has a special place in the offshore calendar. "It is a classic offshore race," he says. "At about 250nm it is a sprint which can be completed in less than 24 hours in the right conditions. It is one of the most famous offshore races of the Mediterranean."
For American fans more familiar with the Newport Bermuda Race or Transpac, Cayard sees the Giraglia as something distinctively European. It is not just a test of speed and seamanship, but a passage through culture, geography and history. The fleet leaves "the iconic French village of St. Tropez, with all of its beauty and charm," heads south to the Giraglia Rock, a small but legendary mark rising from the sea off northern Corsica, before finishing in Genoa, "one of the most important sea ports in history."
That combination of elegance, challenge and setting fits naturally with My Song. The Swan 80 is a yacht of style, but also one with a serious racing programme, where detail matters in every decision. For Cayard, Pier Luigi Loro Piana gives the campaign its character. "Few people combine elegance, style and grace along with a strong competitive spirit," he says. "PG, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, is one of those individuals. It is my honour to race with him."
Cayard adds that a successful campaign needs more than resources. It needs leadership and feeling. "PG sets the tone, leads with his vision and charisma and the rest of us follow and execute."
Albator 3: French precision, Saint Tropez passion
Albator 3 is Philippe Frantz's new Botin design, a light, powerful IRC racer with the look and intent of a pocket sized TP52. Built for both inshore and offshore performance, she brings a fresh and potent French challenge to the 2026 Loro Piana Giraglia, starting from Frantz's home club, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez. Among the crew is Jules Ducelier, one of France's rising offshore talents. Part of Albator 2's 2025 Admiral's Cup campaign and fourth in the 2025 Solitaire du Figaro, Jules will be Albator's strategist inshore and navigator for the offshore race.
For Ducelier, Albator 3 represents a significant step into a new style of racing for the team.
"The new boat is more geared towards inshore racing, whereas the previous Albator was clearly designed for offshore competition," says Ducelier. "That changes the way we sail on board. The manoeuvres are more frequent, the trimming is more precise, and it pushes us to develop new skills and aim for ultimate precision."
The new boat brings together sailors from some of France's strongest high performance backgrounds, including Figaro and Tour Voile racing. "It creates a very well rounded crew, comfortable both offshore and in close contact racing," says Ducelier. "But above all, it allows us to share our experiences and learn much faster together on this new boat."
The Loro Piana Giraglia also has a special resonance for Albator. "Racing in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, where Philippe is a member, definitely gives the event a special meaning," says Ducelier. "For a French crew, competing at home always feels a bit different. There is a stronger sense of connection and an extra layer of motivation."
Samurai: a family classic comes home
Luigi Pavese's Samurai brings one of the most evocative stories to the Loro Piana Giraglia. Designed by Cesare Sangermani and launched in 1962, Samurai is from a golden age of Mediterranean offshore racing. The wooden Marconi sloop first raced the Giraglia in 1963 and has remained in the Pavese family ever since. For Luigi, a long standing member of the Yacht Club Italiano, her return to the race is a continuation of family history, club heritage and Italian yachting tradition.
"Samurai is not just a yacht," says Pavese, "but a living part of the history of our family, the YCI, and Mediterranean sailing." Each return to the Giraglia, he says, is "a deeply emotional experience" and a way of keeping alive "a spirit made of the sea, friendship, and genuine passion," values passed down by his father, who rests in Genoa, his birthplace.
For Pavese, Samurai's greatest quality is her authenticity. She was built, he says, "in an era when yachts were born from a balance of elegance, craftsmanship, and true seamanship." Preserving her means respecting her racing record and "a sailing culture rooted in tradition and in the attention to detail that was characteristic of the master shipwrights of that time."
The Giraglia has changed greatly since Samurai first raced, but Pavese believes its essential character remains intact. "Technologies, materials, and even the way of racing have changed, but the spirit has remained the same," he says. "The charm of the Mediterranean Sea, offshore sailing, respect for the sea and its environment, and the challenge between sailors, wind, and boats." Passing the Giraglia Rock, or seeing the Gulf of Genoa appear, still brings "an electrifying emotion" on board.
Preparing a wooden classic for an offshore race requires "enormous dedication accompanied by true passion." Every detail must be checked, from sails and structure to safety, but Pavese says the crew is the heart of the campaign. "Ours is a completely amateur crew, made up of lifelong friends," he says, "who come together to share the pleasure of sailing aboard a yacht that lives in all our hearts."
At the finish in Genoa, home of the Yacht Club Italiano and of Samurai, the emotion will be profound. Pavese imagines the Race Committee's call of "welcome home, Samurai" as "pure magic," followed by an embrace that gathers together "the emotions, the effort, and the satisfaction of completing yet another Giraglia Race."
From My Song's elegance and world class experience, to Albator 3's French precision and Samurai's family legacy, the 2026 Loro Piana Giraglia shows why this race continues to hold such a special place in Mediterranean sailing. It is a contest of speed and seamanship, but also a celebration of style, heritage and passion. From Saint-Tropez to the Giraglia Rock and on to Genoa, every boat carries its own story. Together, they make the Giraglia more than a race. They make it a living tradition.
Organisation
The Loro Piana Giraglia is organised by the Yacht Club Italiano, in cooperation with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, under the patronage of the Yacht Club de France, Yacht Club Sanremo and Yacht Club de Monaco, and with the support of the Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL) and the International Maxi Association (IMA).
The event is held with the support of the City of Saint-Tropez, the City of Genoa and the Liguria Region.
The Giraglia is a qualifying event for the IRC-UNCL Mediterranean Championship and forms part of the 2026 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge, organised by the International Maxi Association (IMA).