Rip-Roaring Final day at Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta

Three days of thrilling competition at the Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous 2016 concluded  with another nail biting race where victory or defeat in several cases came down to the final cross, in the final leg, of the final race.

A downwind start and 20-24 knots of blustering easterly winds added further excitement to an already charged atmosphere, and the owners and crews on the 21 competing sailing superyachts gave their all in what Bouwe Bekking, tactician on Class A winner Nilaya termed “one of the best races of this year in the Caribbean.” The event, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Boat International Media, ran from March 9-12 the yacht club’s winter home in the British Virgin Islands.

Class A saw the battle between Nilaya and Inoui, which had been progressing since day one, reach its conclusion with a win for the 34 metre Baltic-built Nilaya. This victory was achieved despite a most spectacular spinnaker blow-out at the end of the first downwind leg.

“It was just at the last gybe,” explained Bekking. “We were on the inside and lost control of the boat and we had a big puff and we broached, and the spinnaker wasn’t strong enough for that. So that was game over for the spinnaker.”

He went on to explain how they clinched the win: “When we have spinnaker starts it suits us pretty well, we are a little bit quicker downwind, and Inoui are a little bit quicker upwind. So we got ahead at the bottom mark and then we just had to stay ahead.”

Nilaya also claimed the Loro Piana Prize: Boat International Media Trophy for the top scoring superyacht overall.

Nilaya_ Class A winner. Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous. Photo YCCS/BIM/Borlenghi

P2_ Class B winner. Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta _ Rendezvous 2016. Photo YCCS_BIM_Borlenghi

Class B boasted a different winner on each of the three race days and today it was the turn of P2 to claim her first bullet of the event which, coupled with a disappointing fifth-place finish today from closest rival Hetairos, put victory in the bag for them.

P2’s tactician Tony Rey explained some of the challenges the crew faced this week: “This is a new boat for our team and luckily on the last day everything came right for us. It’s been a challenge for us to figure out how to do things ‘the P2 way’ but we improved each day and that was the goal, to feel like we’re sailing the boat better every time we pulled the sails on.”

Rey was understandably happy with the ORCsy rating rule used at the event: “Everyone was gathering together at the finish and that’s what pursuit racing superyachts is all about — to have us all come in at the end. It keeps it exciting for anyone watching, for the owners and guests and certainly for the sailors. This is one of the greatest regattas we do, it’s an incredible place to race.”

Class C saw a mighty battle raging on the final upwind leg which saw 43-metre Dubois yacht Bella Ragazza cross the line in first place, just five seconds ahead of overall winner Seahawk. Italian boat Ohana took third place both today and overall, after being penalised by an equipment failure which prevented her racing on day one.

Donald MacPherson’s Swan 90 Freya was the undisputed champion of Class D, with three consecutive bullets posted. Second place went to the Oyster yacht Maegan and the Southern Wind yacht Blues came in third.

“Normally it is very difficult to keep superyacht owners happy but this week I think we managed to do that,” commented YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo. “My thanks go to the Race Committee, the ORC ratings team, the event staff from YCCS and from Boat International, to our sponsor Mr Pier Luigi Loro Piana – a YCCS Member, a sailor, a good friend and a great supporter of our superyacht events – and of course to the owners and crews who make this event better each year.”

Speaking as both title sponsor and a competitor, Pier Luigi Loro Piana was able to look on the bright side of his fourth place finish with Windfall in Class A: “I’m so happy with this record edition with so many boats. I have noticed that the quality and the level increases every year and I can’t seem to win here! I can’t even complain about the ratings system because it works really well.”

Seahawk_ winner Class C. Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta _ Rendezvous 2016. Photo YCCS_BIM_Borlenghi

The motor yachts taking part in the Westport Rendezvous rounded off their programme with an entertaining scavenger hunt and lunch at Oil Nut Bay today.

The superyachts will be back racing at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo in the s spring for the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta (June 7-11). Owners are also invited to take part in the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta in 2017. Organised by the YCCS and the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein on occasion of their respective 50th and 150th anniversaries, the regatta will leave from the Canary Islands with destination Virgin Gorda in November 2017.

Freya_ winner Class D._Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta _ Rendezvous 2016. Photo YCCS_BIM_Borlenghi.

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About YCCS 
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was founded in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in 1967 by current president H.H. the Aga Khan and a group of founder-members as a non-profit sporting association for fellow sailing enthusiasts. The YCCS is renowned for organizing international sailing events such as the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Audi Sardinia Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup as well as World and European championships for top one-design fleets. In recent years the Club has focused on promoting new superyacht events such as the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, the Dubois Cup and the Perini Navi Cup.

The Club has also promoted international challenges such as Azzurra - the first Italian challenger for the America's Cup in 1983 which became a legendary Italian brand and was relaunched by the YCCS in 2009 with a victorious participation in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Nice, the participation in the Volvo Ocean Race with a two boat campaign one of which had an all-female crew, and the motor yacht Destriero which to this day holds the transatlantic crossing record set in 1992. The YCCS continues to expand its activities and in 2012 inaugurated its winter base in Virgin Gorda overlooking the island's new YCCS Marina.