Giraglia Rolex Cup

Marco Paolucci's Comet 45S, Tartaruga, has taken overall honours in the Giraglia Race 2008, concluding this year's week-long Giraglia Rolex Cup. The 45-footer completed the 243-mile course in 31 hours, 43 minutes, 27 seconds. Tartaruga won a very close three-way battle on ORC corrected time, beating a Canard 41, Aurora, by just 57 seconds, and third-placed First 44.7 Argo by 2 minutes 13 seconds. Tartaruga wins the title of overall honour due to the fact that more boats were entered in the 88-strong ORC division than the 82 registered in IRC. In the IRC fleet Fissa, an A-40 RC entered by Ettore Yachting, took first place by more than 50 minutes on corrected time ahead of Vinicio Petracchi's Cookson 12M, High Five. Good wind on the final approaches to Genoa benefited the medium-sized boats this year, relegating the Maxis to the minor placings on handicap.

Giraglia Record Smashed!

Neville Crichton has smashed his own course record in the Giraglia Race, after steering Alfa Romeo across the finish line at Genoa at 0803 hours this morning. This means the 100-footer completed the 243-mile course in just over 18 hours, a massive improvement on the record set by Crichton's previous Alfa Romeo, a 90-footer which set a time of just over 22 hours back in 2003.

The New Zealand skipper said they had a good run all the way up to Giraglia Rock, off the northern tip of Corsica, before 'parking up' for three hours. Then the wind filled in again close to the Italian coast and the supremely efficient Alfa Romeo finished off the job.

This is the 56th edition of the Giraglia Race, a 243-mile marathon starting from St Tropez via the Giraglia Rock at the northern tip of Corsica to the finish in the Italian port of Genoa.

Image: New Zealand 2008 Giraglia Rolex Cup © ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

Giraglia Offshore

Alfa Romeo led a fleet of 170 boats out of the Gulf of St Tropez this afternoon as the fleet set out on the 243-mile Giraglia Race. After winning two of the three inshore races of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, Alfa Romeo's skipper Neville Crichton has high hopes of notching up a handicap victory in the offshore race to Genoa. The other big target is a shot at the course record, a time of 22 hours, 13 minutes, 48 seconds which Crichton and his team set in 2003 with the previous Alfa Romeo, a fixed-keel 90-footer. The current Alfa Romeo is a 100-footer with canting keel and powered winches, an altogether more potent beast. And yet the Giraglia record has eluded the newer boat.

The fleet bobbed around on a windless Gulf of St Tropez for two hours until the race committee was satisfied the wind had settled down enough for a fair start. The big boats came off the line at 2pm in 5 knots of wind, although as they made their way to the first Rolex mark about 1.5 miles from the start, the breeze dropped away again to almost zero.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

Alfa Romeo dominated the final heat of the inshore series in the Giraglia Rolex Cup today, but it wasn't good enough to win the series. In IRC Group A, a 5th place was good enough for Paolo Scerni's Swan 42 Kora 4 to secure overall victory comfortably from the 40-footer Fissa.

The wind was a long time coming to the Gulf of St Tropez. The fleet of 167 boats waited until almost 3 o'clock before the race committee was satisfied there was sufficient wind, at which they point they sent the fleet on a short course which took line honours winner Alfa Romeo just an hour and a quarter.

In addition to line honours - which is to be expected for a boat as sleek and well-sailed as Alfa - Neville Crichton was pleased to win today's race by more than five minutes on handicap from Farr 52 Nikimar, especially as the wind increased slightly as the race progressed. "We thought we'd sailed well yesterday," said the New Zealand skipper, "and we ended up 31st." So in a similar scenario today he somehow managed to secure the win, even if he still only finished 4th overall in class.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

It was champagne sailing for day 2 of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, with beautiful sunshine and up to 13 knots of wind in the Gulf of St Tropez. But the thing that really determines a sailor's mood, regardless of the blue skies or azure seas, is the scoreboard. Today the sailors with the sunniest dispositions came from the smaller boats, because the best wind didn't arrive until later in the afternoon when the 167-boat fleet was already more than half way through its meandering 30.7 mile race around the Gulf. That late-coming wind propelled the smaller boats back to the finish line in good time, and there was nothing the larger boats could do about it. Neville Crichton could only manage 34th on corrected time in IRC Group A. Winner of the big boat division was one of the smallest, the 40-foot Fissa, which now lies 2nd overall on the IRC Group A leaderboard. It was a similar story in ORC Group A where a French IMX-40, Laurent Lavaysse's Magic Simca won the race. There were three IMX-40s in the top four. Sandro Montefusco's Airis had the best set of scores from day 2 of the GP42 Quebramar Cup, the Italian team racking up scores of 2,1,3.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

Day one of the Giraglia Rolex Cup was a day for keeping a cool head in a day of ever-changing breeze in St Tropez. With big holes in the 10-knot breeze, along with windshifts of up to 70 degrees, today was what sailors like to call a 'heads-out-of-the-boat-day'. Boatspeed was less important than picking your way through the virtual minefield in the Gulf of St Tropez. Tomorrow sees the 167 boats in the IRC and IMS divisions contest the second heat of their four-day inshore series, while the GP42s will race another three of their shorter courses. On Thursday, a fleet of more than 200 yachts will start the Giraglia Race, a 243-mile marathon starting from St Tropez via the Giraglia Rock at the northern tip of Corsica to the finish in the Italian port of Genoa.

Giraglia 2007

Maurizio Biscardi's sailing experience is not very extensive by his own admission, but that did not stop him and his crew onboard Libertine from taking home the top position in this classic Mediterranean regatta. Maurizio Biscardi's Comet 45s, with a corrected time of 28:42:29, became the IMS category winner with a lead of more than an hour and ten minutes over Ernesto Gismondi's Edimetra VI. Libertine had an excellent start on Wednesday in St. Tropez that allowed them to clear up their position among the fleet and stabilize their navigation. The first tactical decisions came in on Wednesday night when Libertine moved close to the coast and sailed on a stable wind of 6 knots. In the IRC class, it was nine full hours after Alfa Romeo that the second boat of the class arrived at the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa. Quinta Santa Maria was second to arrive and Damiani Our Dream followed, only two nautical miles behind, taking 2nd place overall in the IRC Class on corrected time. Third place in the class went to K2Wind who came in on corrected time 10 minutes before Quinta Santa Maria, who was 4th and last overall in the class.

IRC Class

1. Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton (NZL)

2. Damiani Our Dream, Claudio Uberti (ITA)

3. K2 Wind, Nicholas Wrigley (GBR)

IMS Class Group A

1. Libertine, Maurizio Biscardi (ITA)

2. Edimetra VI, Ernesto Gismondi (ITA)

3. Bcube, Andrea Siano (ITA)

Giraglia Offshore

She may not have broken the current record, but Neville Crichton's 100-foot super maxi Alfa Romeo still had a stunning race finish today in the waters off the Port of Genoa. At 1230 CEST the super maxi crossed the finish line entirely alone as the rest of the 159 boat fleet had just started to round the Giraglia rock. Only 32 minutes and 10 seconds separated Neville Crichton and his crew from breaking the 243-mile course record set by Crichton's former 90-foot Alfa Romeo maxi yacht in 2003. It was 0543 CEST this morning when Alfa Romeo rounded the Giraglia rock, 80 nautical miles ahead of her fellow competitors and sailing at a speed of 9 knots. Only better wind conditions could have helped the silver-grey maxi yacht to sail any faster as everything on board went smoothly throughout the race. The crew of Alfa Romeo including tactician Michael Coxon had a true test on their hands in the prevailing light airs if they were to beat the course record set on the old, conventional keeled Alfa Romeo. Neville Crichton and his crew were welcomed at the docks of the Yacht Club Italiano by the YCI president Carlo Croce, the claps of the spectators and big bottles of champagne. Behind Alfa Romeo, Carlo Puri Negri's Atalanta II led a small chasing of boats around the Giraglia rock in second position, closely followed by Damiani Our Dream, and Silvano Bortoli's Quinta Santa Maria.

Giraglia Offshore

The 159 Giraglia Rolex Cup Race participants left for Genoa today at 13.00, with a south-easterly wind of two knots. The energy at the starting line was electric and there were a few collisions although the race committee did not call back the boats. With three different starts, the race committee had a difficult time pushing back the numerous spectator boats who wanted to be as close to the action as possible. The spectators along the shoreline were in the best position to catch the first tacks and jibes of the race. Even though they left St. Tropez last, the Maxis and the Super-Maxis quickly caught up to Groups A and B of the IMS Class. After only a couple of minutes on the course, Alfa Romeo took the lead and seemed to fly on her way to Genoa. Wild Oats did not participate in the offshore race so that they could be sure to arrive in Palma de Mallorca on Saturday for the start of the Super Yacht Cup, leaving Neville Crichton to concentrate on breaking the current Giraglia record. Alfa Romeo holds the current race record, set in 2003, of 22h 13mn and 48s. In the next few hours, the winds must favour the long strides of the giant New Zealand boat in order for her to keep her current pace until the finish. Alfa Romeo must cross the finish line tomorrow morning, Thursday to break her four-year old current record, but only the weather decides if she will make it. The teams are well on their way now and will spend their first night in calm conditions, navigating with winds between 15 and 5 knots.

Giraglia Inshore Completed

The third day of inshore races drew to a close here today in St. Tropez with very light winds and a race that reaffirmed the positions of yesterday's leaders. In the IRC class, Alfa Romeo's lead never faltered as she finished the race in 1st position, 12 minutes ahead of Wild Oats XI who ended up finishing 3rd in the race after Magic Carpet Squared took 2nd place on corrected time. The Overall standings see Alfa Romeo in the top position, followed by Magic Carpet Squared in 2nd and Wild Oats XI in 3rd. In the IMS Class Group A, Edimetra VI came 1st overall, followed by Atalanta II and Nikimar who took 2nd and 3rd overall respectively. Group B saw Calima take 1st overall, followed by Citta' Di Genova in 2nd and Lima Golf 3 in 3rd.

It was the last day of the 2007 Giraglia Rolex Cup inshore races here in Saint Tropez and tensions were high as the leaders of each class set out on the water. The start for the IRC class and the IMS Class Group A was at 11:15 due to favourable weather conditions early in the day. As the Maxi's rapidly left the bay, Alfa Romeo was at the head of the group, leading the fleet into the 30-mile course along the coast which was later shortened due to a complete lack of wind. This lead never faltered, as Alfa Romeo was also the first of the IRC class to return to St. Tropez.

Today's races saw the first part of this weeklong regatta come to a close as the focus now shifts towards the second part of the Giraglia Rolex Cup. Tomorrow will see the start of the offshore race that is known as the "The Fastnet of the Mediterranean", a race that is well into her 55th year and that is one of the most popular regattas in Southern Europe. The Giraglia Race is a famous 243-mile course that takes the boats from the Gulf of St Tropez, South West along the French coast, around the island of Levant, across the Ligurian Sea and to the Giraglia Rock just North of Corsica before finishing in front of the Italian Port of Genoa. The Giraglia Rock is one of yacht racing's most famous landmarks, lending her name and serving as the turn mark for this now classic regatta.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

It's Bob Oatley's 79th birthday, and he could not have celebrated better than he did on the water today during the second inshore race of the 2007 Giraglia Rolex Cup. Taking first place on Monday 11 in both real and corrected time, the Australians move into the top 3 below Favonius and Magic Carpet after two days of inshore races. In the much disputed IMS Class Group A, Atalanta II lost her first place position to Edimetra VI, who came in 7th in the second race and who is now leading the overall ranking. The lack of wind on the course made navigation difficult for the leaders of Group B. By 17.00 the results were still unknown. The race committee once again announced delays for the start for the Super Maxis and the IMS Class A, after a few moments of hesitation. The first race mark faced the port of Saint-Tropez, a unique set-up which allowed for direct speed comparisons between the maxis and which could not have made the tourists any happier. Magic Carpet Squared welcomed Maud Fontenoy on board, and finished in 3rd place after the day's race and 2nd place overall in the IRC class. Alfa Romeo had a poor start and had to sail perfectly in order to join back up with the leaders finally finishing 2nd for a 4th place overall ranking. Wild Oats almost lost their comfortable advantage when they had a mishap. In the IMS Class Group A, the top three finishers were all French. Unfortunately for Group B, the once strong wind died out after a couple of hours. The provisional leaders of the class find themselves in a delicate situation as the conditions put their top positions in jeopardy.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

The first day of the Giraglia Rolex Cup finished with a beautiful real time victory for Alfa Romeo. Wild Oats tried but could not compete with the Kiwi boat's supremacy on the course. It was Pieper Roel's Swann 80, Favonius (ITA), that moved in to take the lead on corrected time in the IRC Class just ahead of Magic Carpet Squared and K2 Wind.

It may have been the first time that Wild Oats XI has appeared here in the waters of St. Tropez, but she did not disappoint. Wild Oats, face-to-face with all of her challengers, headed for the start line out of the harbour, no easy task with a draft of 4m50. In 2006, Alfa Romeo attempted this exact same manoeuvre and found herself stuck in the channel when the hull scraped ground.

After an initial delay, the wind finally stabilized in a south south-easterly direction and the race committee could go ahead with the two first starts of the 2007 Giraglia Rolex Cup just after 12:00 noon. Situated at the entrance of the Pointe des Sardinaux and west of Saint-Raphaël and Sainte-Maxime, the start line was the site of the first duel between the two super maxis, a confrontation that quickly turned to favour Alfa Romeo. The New Zealanders set the rhythm from the start, a rhythm that was only accentuated with every advancing meter. Only with the last few tacks was Wild Oats able to catch up to the leader and finally finish 46 seconds behind in real time. It was Favonius who finished this 29.5 mile course in first place for the IRC Class, just 2 minutes and 11 seconds ahead of Lindsay Owen Jones and his Magic Carpet Squared. Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats XI finished in 4th and 5th place respectively on corrected time. This year's edition of the Giraglia Rolex Cup is said to be characterized by the battle between the two super maxis Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats