With the 26-strong maxi fleet sub-divided into three classes, the remainder of the Regata dei Tre Golfi maxi fleet arrived throughout the course of Saturday afternoon.
Giuseppe Puttini’s Swan 65 ketch Shirlaf was last home at 17:45CEST. Due to the slower boats experiencing shutdowns around the race’s southerly turning mark of Li Galli and gusty rain squalls as they approached the finish line off Massa Lubrense, to the west of Sorrento, the offshore race of this second International Maxi Association Maxi European Championship, has proved to be a big boat affair. For a second consecutive year, Peter Dubens’ former Maxi 72 North Star has won the race’s maxi division by just over seven minutes under IRC corrected time from the race’s line honours winner and new record holder, Sir Peter Ogden’s Maxi 77 Jethou.
Peter Dubens' North Star won the Regata dei Tre Golfi maxi class for a second consecutive year under IRC corrected time, sailing with minimum crew thanks to her powered winches. Photo: ROLEX / Studio Borlenghi
The 150-mile race from Naples to Sorrento, via Ponza in the north and the Li Galli islands in the south, was organised by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia (CRVI) in conjunction with the International Maxi Association, the body officially tasked by World Sailing to administer and develop maxi yacht racing internationally.
While the superbly sailed former Maxi 72s occupied four of the top five spaces on the overall IRC maxi leaderboard for the Regata dei Tre Golfi, holding third was Riccardo de Michele’s serial Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup class-winning Vallicelli 78 H20, topping the combined Maxi 4-5 class.
Full results here
