Excellent weather and sea conditions for the start of the 36th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which will award the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship and the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship.
On the first day of racing, all classes competed in a coastal race among the islands of the La Maddalena Archipelago, with the sole exception of the Maxi Grand Prix class, which competed in two windward/leeward races off Porto Cervo. Light easterly winds were forecast, rising from 7 knots at the start to gusts of 11 knots along the course.
Leading their respective classes are Capricorno among the Maxi 1s, Northstar III among the Maxi Grand Prixs, Artemis Bleu among the Maxi 3s, Fra Diavolo among the Maxi 4s, H2O among the Maxi 5s and the trimaran Sophia among the Multihulls.
The Maxi 1, Multihull and Maxi 3 classes completed a counterclockwise circuit of the islands of Caprera and La Maddalena before crossing the finish line in front of Porto Cervo.
The Maxi 1 course also included a passage to the island of Monaci, which they left to starboard before returning upwind to Porto Cervo, for a total of 30.5 miles.
The other two classes passed directly through the Bisce Pass for a total route length of 25 miles.
The Maxi 4 and 5 classes raced a 17-mile course that took the two fleets past the island of Monaci and the Tre Monti reef to port before returning to Porto Cervo via the Bisce pass.
Among the Maxi 1s, the J/V 82 Capricorno won by 2 minutes and 27 seconds over the WallyCento V, while Leopard 3 came in third.
In the Maxi Grand Prix class, Northstar III made its debut with a one-two finish, followed by Bella Mente in second place and Balthasar in third.
Artemis Bleu leads the Maxi 3 class, with Astra I in second place and Twin Soul B in third.
Among the Maxi 4s, Fra Diavolo won over Yoru, with Wallyno taking third place.
H2O won the Maxi 5 class ahead of Lunz am Meer and Shirlaf.
The Maxi Multihulls saw the 63-foot trimaran Sophia take victory ahead of the catamarans Allegra and Highland Fling XVIII.
The conditions expected for today, Tuesday 8 September, are similar to those of the opening day, for which the Race Committee has arranged coastal racing for all classes.
LP
