The 37th edition of the Régates Royales-Trophee Panerai came to an end on Saturday in Cannes. The seventy-nine classic yachts profited from a whole week of summer-like conditions. The year’s edition of the traditional gathering on the Cote d’Azur showed that classic yachting is alive and well, with many veterans, but also several new boats joining in for the first time. Save the date for September 2016, au revoir Cannes!
The 37th edition of the Régates Royales-Trophee Panerai came to an end on Saturday in Cannes. The seventy-nine classic yachts profited from a whole week of summer-like conditions. The year’s edition of the traditional gathering on the Cote d’Azur showed that classic yachting is alive and well, with many veterans, but also several new boats joining in for the first time. Save the date for September 2016, au revoir Cannes!
Perservation, attention, focus, self-confidence and maybe a little bit of luck were needed today to decipher every puff and shift on the race coarse. Despite granting a great show to the many specators crowded on the beach and on the water, the long triangle coastal race on a coarse set from La Napoule to the Lerins Islands, past la Croisette, was a painful effort for the seventy-nine classic yachts. The light easterly, not exceeeding 8 knots and at times falling to a mere 4 knots, made the crews’ life hard today. forcing them to go as close to the beach as possible to grab even the slightest puff. In these exhausting conditions, tactics were key to avoid any unnecessary tack, gybe, or manoevre. A game that the afterguard of the 15MI Mariska knows very well: today they led all the way, from the first mark to the finish line, beating the J-Class Shamrock Y in real time and accumulating an incredible margin in corrected time. Unfortunately today’s success was not enough for MARISKA to grab the overall title, as MOONBEAM IV got a clean score on the first three races of the regatta. It is then MOONBEAM IV to seize the gold in the Big Boats division at the Regates Royales-Trophy Panerai, ahead of her older sister MOONBEAM OF FIFE!
It was clase race among the gaffers too, as MARIGOLD, the “oldest of the oldies” needed to win today’s race to get the overall trophy title, but the conditions were not what the Charles Nicholson design needed, and so she finished in seventh. Despite being tied at points with TILLY XV, MARIGOLD finally managed to take hold of the title thanks to two wins in the previous races. In the Vintage group, at the eve of today’s race, the situation was also uncertain, with three boats aspiring to the final victory. The day’s race went to GANBARE, but thanks to two first places EA got the better of SAGITTARIUS on the overall scoreboard while NAIF jumped onto the third step of the podium.
Among the 15m Marconi Italy’s California 32 CHOLITA won the regatta with an almost clean score, three wins out of four races. The Swiss *MI CARRON II, particularly at ease in light wind, tried to boance back but could only manage the silver and JALINA the bronze. When one is sailing on a yacht once owned by a president of the USA, one can overcome almost all obstacles. That was the case for MANITOU, the Sparkman & Stephens yawl that. despite a disappointing fifth today, finished two points in front of SKYLARK of 1937 and three in front of LEONRE, with the NY 40 ROWDY in fourth place overall. In the Spirit of Tradition group HELISARA, the boat once owned by famous orchestra director Herbert von Karajan, despite a less than perfect performance today, claimed the highest step of the podium, with FREYA 2003 getting the gold and the Australian 12MI KOOKABURRA III the bronze. And finally, PITCH was crowned winner among the Tofinou, PIPPA finished in second and NIRVANA II clinched third place.