IRC at the heart of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
by Royal Ocean Racing Club 15 Sep 19:14 BST
IRC was at the heart of the 36th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, with all five monohull classes racing and being scored under IRC at one of the world's most prestigious maxi yacht regattas.
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in collaboration with the International Maxi Association (IMA) and with the support of title sponsor Rolex, has a long-established relationship with IRC stretching back more than two decades.
That tradition continued in 2026, with IRC providing the rating system across the entire monohull fleet. The Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship, Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship, Maxi 3, Maxi 4 and Maxi 5 were all decided under IRC.
The week in Porto Cervo produced a full range of conditions, from light winds at the start of the regatta to a powerful Mistral with gusts exceeding 28 knots. The IRC fleet raced on spectacular coastal courses through the La Maddalena archipelago, while the IRC Maxi 1 and IRC Maxi Grand Prix fleets also contested windward-leeward races off Porto Cervo.
For the final day, a north-easterly breeze of around 10 knots allowed the concluding coastal race to take place as scheduled. From the start off Porto Cervo, the fleet sailed upwind towards Isola dei Monaci before reaching towards Soffi island via the Passo delle Bisce and returning to the finish over a course of approximately 24nm. The IRC Maxi 4 and IRC Maxi 5 classes sailed a slightly shorter version of the course.
Final-race victories went to Leopard 3 in IRC Maxi 1, Northstar III in IRC Maxi Grand Prix, Artemis Bleu in IRC Maxi 3, Wallyno in IRC Maxi 4 and H2O in IRC Maxi 5. Allegra won the final race in the separate Multihull class.
Leopard 3 takes IRC Maxi 1 World title
The Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship went to Joost Schuijff's Farr 100 Leopard 3 with Chris Nicholson calling tactics.
Racing against a highly competitive fleet under IRC, Leopard 3 recovered from third place in the opening race to produce an outstandingly consistent series. The Farr 100 won five of the seven races contested, including the final four races in succession.
Victory in the final IRC race, ahead of Capricorno and My Song, left Leopard 3 on 13 points. Karel Komarek's WallyCento V finished second on 20 points, with outgoing champion Galateia, owned by David Leuschen and Chris Flowers, third on 22 points.
It was Leopard 3's second victory in the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship, following success in the inaugural edition in Porto Cervo in 2024.
Team manager Chris Sherlock credited the result to the considerable work put into both the boat and the team, describing Porto Cervo as one of their favourite racing venues and confirming that Leopard 3 plans to return in 2027 following further development.
Northstar III wins IRC Maxi Grand Prix World Championship
The Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship was decided under IRC in favour of Peter Dubens' Northstar III, with two-time Olympic medallist Nick Rogers calling tactics.
Making her Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup debut, Northstar III made an immediate impact on the IRC competition with four consecutive victories at the start of the series.
The IRC Maxi Grand Prix World Championship had been secured with a race to spare, but Northstar III finished the regatta in style by returning to winning form in the final coastal race.
She completed the IRC series on 14 points, ahead of Filip Balcaen's Balthasar on 25. Peter Harrison's Jolt and Proteus both finished on 28 points, with the IRC tie-break placing Jolt third after two race victories during the week.
Artemis Bleu comes out on top in IRC Maxi 3
Competition was equally intense in IRC Maxi 3, where RORC member James Neville's British Botin 65 Artemis Bleu, racing with New Zealand tactician Dean Barker, produced a strong finish to claim the class.
Artemis Bleu won the final three races of the IRC series, including an exceptionally close final encounter with Silvia De' Longhi and Franz Wilhelm Baruffaldi Preis' Manticore.
After IRC time correction had been applied, just 17 seconds separated the two boats in the concluding race—an illustration of the close competition produced by IRC between very different maxi yacht designs.
Artemis Bleu finished the IRC Maxi 3 series on nine points, ahead of Manticore on 13 and the Wally 94 Astra I on 17.
Neville described the victory as particularly rewarding after racing in conditions ranging from light airs to strong winds. The result completed a memorable season in Sardinia for the past RORC Commodore, following victory at the Sardinia Cup earlier in the year.
Yoru claims IRC Maxi 4
The IRC Maxi 4 contest remained open until the final race. Benoît de Froidmont's Wallyno took the last IRC race victory, but the overall class win went to Luigi Sala's Vismara 62 Yoru.
Two second places at the beginning of the regatta followed by consecutive victories in the stronger Mistral conditions gave Yoru an IRC series total of 11 points.
That was enough to defeat Vincenzo Addessi's Fra Diavolo, winner of the opening two races, by a single point. Lasse Petterson's Why Not completed the IRC Maxi 4 podium on 15 points.
For Yoru, the victory followed several previous attempts to win at Porto Cervo, with tactician Gabriele "Ganga" Bruni highlighting the significance of finally securing the class after a week-long battle with Fra Diavolo.
H2O dominates IRC Maxi 5
In IRC Maxi 5, Riccardo De Michele's Vallicelli 78 H2O, with Lorenzo Bodini on tactics, produced one of the strongest performances of the regatta.
H2O won four of the five IRC races, including the final contest, to complete the series on six points.
The Swan 651 Lunz am Meer, owned by Riccardo Genghini, took second in the IRC standings on 12 points, with Giuseppe Puttini's Swan 65 Shirlaf third on 13.2.
The result completed the line-up of winners across five diverse monohull divisions, all competing under the IRC rating system.
IRC across the maxi fleet
From the 100ft Leopard 3 at the front of the Maxi 1 fleet to the performance cruiser-racers competing in Maxi 5, IRC provided the common rating platform across the monohull competition at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
The five IRC divisions brought together markedly different yacht types, sizes and generations of design, with IRC corrected time deciding two IMA World Championships as well as the Maxi 3, Maxi 4 and Maxi 5 class titles.
IRC remains firmly established at the highest level of international maxi yacht competition, maintaining a continuous partnership with the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup since 2003.
The Multihull class was raced separately from the IRC monohulls. Victory came down to a close contest between Adrian Keller's Allegra and Lord Irvine Laidlaw's Highland Fling XVIII. Allegra won the final race, bringing the two boats level on points, but Highland Fling XVIII took the overall class victory on countback after recording three race wins during the week. Marcos Sirota's trimaran Sophia finished third.
A packed prize-giving ceremony in Piazza Azzurra brought the 36th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup to a close, with trophies presented to the leading boats across the IRC monohull classes and the Multihull class.
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup remains one of the flagship events in the international maxi yacht calendar and the worldwide IRC events both inshore and offshore. Combining some of the most technologically advanced racing yachts in the world with the spectacular coastal racing of the Costa Smeralda—and once again demonstrating IRC's role at the very highest level of the sport.
For more information about the Royal Ocean Racing Club: www.rorc.org