| Wind Gods Fail to Deny the Giants Their Battle |
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 Alfa Romeo, Roma, Atalanta II, Magic Carpet Squared and Hetairos win their respective divisions at the end of a light wind weekThe crystal-clear waters of the Costa Smeralda, this year hosted one of the most impressive gatherings of sailing yachts ever - the 17th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which attracted a record fleet of 46 teams representing 15 nations. The event, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), ran from 3rd to 9th September, and included five days of racing and one lay-day for the five competing divisions. Throughout the week, the Race Committee selected a variety of inshore race courses off the coast of northeastern Sardinia in and around the Archipelago de La Maddalena, with its narrow straits, rocky outcrops and shifting winds. Over the last two days of the series, the more race-oriented fleets also enjoyed some traditional windward-leeward courses. Light northeasterly winds prevailed through most of the week, with the exception of the final day of the series, when the crews were challenged by a 16-knots north westerly breeze, more typical of this part of Sardinia. The Racing division was dominated throughout the regatta by the two Super Maxis, Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI (Australia) and her near sistership, Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo (New Zealand). Designed by Reichel/Pugh, both come in at 98 feet with canting keel technology and a host of other high-tech innovations. Their week-long tussle ended with Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo (New Zealand) claiming the title and Bob Oatley's Wild Oats (Australia) ending third, on equal points with Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory (Germany), who finished second thanks to a series of consistent results. While Alfa Romeo sailed into the last race with the certainty of having won the championship (an unassailable 4-point lead over Wild Oats and a 6-point lead over Morning Glory), Wild Oats still had to fight to secure the second spot on the podium. In the end it all came down to the final run of the final race, when the otherwise exemplary Oats made two costly errors. It was as if the pressure of an aggressive and weeklong match-racing duel with Alfa plus the added stress of knowing that the conditions on the last day suited Morning Glory conspired to undermine the confidence of the accomplished crew on Wild Oats. Although Wild Oats led around the course throughout the last race race, claiming line honours, it was not by enough tome to stop Morning Glory from claiming the top spot on handicap. Thrilled with his victory at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2006, Neville Crichton could not have been happier: "It's been a fantastic week of sailing, there have been enjoyable competitors and this is the best sailing in the world in my book." For American Olympic Star gold medallist, round the world and America's Cup veteran Steve Erickson, claiming the second spot on the podium with Morning Glory was just reward after a hard-fought struggle during which they did not give up, even on the last day when the odds were seemingly against them: "In order to finish second [overall] we had to get a boat in between us and Wild Oats, which was hard because it hadn't happened all week. In the end we beat both boats [Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats], so I think we far exceeded our expectations. We were all presently surprised." The Volvo 70 ABN AMRO ONE, winner of the most recent Volvo Ocean Race, competed alongside the Super Maxis. Kiwi skipper Mike Sanderson, at his second Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, having sailed it in 1999 aboard Larry Ellison's Sayonara, would have preferred stronger winds, but felt that this has been a great event for his team: "It's lovely to be here. We are very much here with the whole idea that we've brought to Porto Cervo the boat that was designed to win the Volvo Ocean Race [and] to have some fun sailing in a beautiful place." The final outcome of the series within the Cruising division was also decided on the last day of racing; an uncharacteristic mistake by Velsheda when she misread the course allowed Filippo Faruffini's Roma from Italy to claim the overall victory over the magnificent J-Class, designed by Camper & Nicholson in 1933. Gunter Herz's British entry Allsmoke (UK), which last year won in the combined Cruising division, wasn't able to defend the title, and finished the 2006 series in third. Italian former Olympian Paolo Semeraro, skipper of Roma, felt that the week-long match with Velsheda had been particularly interesting due to the opposing characters of the two yachts: "Velsheda, a J-Class boasting a carbon fibre mast and sails, comes from the past while we are probably the most modern cruiser/racer Maxi on the scene - and in the end it all came down to a delta of a few seconds." In another throwback to the past, American film producer and art gallery founder Arne Glimcher, owner of the 37-metre Ghost (also competing in the Cruising division) sailed the week with a legendary figure from the world of sailing, Halsey Herreshoff. Sailor, designer and museum founder, Herreshoff has been crew on four different 12-Metres in the America's Cup and is currently director of the Herreshoff Marine Museum (Bristol, RI, US) and the America's Cup Hall of Fame. At his racing debut in Porto Cervo, as a navigator no less, Herreshoff was highly impressed by the level of the Maxi fleet: "I've sailed a lot in the Mediterranean but I have actually never raced here before. I think the Maxis are a magnificent fleet. I was particularly struck on the first day of racing when it was light and we were all kind of milling around, and all of a sudden [on the line] there were about 10 Maxis all fitting in together, all beautiful and top quality - that was very impressive to see and I will remember that view for a very long time." The Italian Farr 70 Atalanta II, owned by Carlo Puri Negri, confirmed its reputation as one of the toughest competitors to beat by winning in the Mini Maxi division. Puri Negri, who claimed the overall victory of 2005 Rolex Middle Sea Race, won with a 6-point lead over Ernesto Gismondi's Edimetra (a winner in 2001). Massimo Violati's OPS 5 came in third in the overall scorings. The Mini Maxi division was introduced this year in order to accommodate the more traditional Maxi yachts, smaller than those in the Racing Division, ranging between 18 and 23.9 metres in length. Great Britain's Magic Carpet Squared owned by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman of the Board of Directors of L'Oreal, won the overall title in its division with an impressive record. Dark Shadow finished second overall, ahead of Carlo Sama's Tango. Owen Jones was relieved to finally end a regatta in Porto Cervo on a high: "We're thrilled. We've had some tough experiences here; one year we hit a rock and last year we broke the mast. So it's often been very difficult. We worked very hard to get it all ready and perfectly practiced, and it just all went right for us. When she's just right she's a dynamite boat." Owen Jones also thinks that a feminine touch on board was a key factor in the good result: "Emma [Westmacott] is one of the key figures in our team. She has sailed with us a lot. She's very good. She just keeps the boys a little bit less noisy and quarrelsome. Having girls on the boat definitely keeps the atmosphere cheerful, everyone a little bit more careful about what they say. That's very good for a good amateur boat, a key issue." The beautiful blue-hulled Hetairos won the series among the Spirit of Tradition fleet, ahead of Dutch entry Annagine. This fleet encompassed vintage yachts and modern day classics, yachts that are built to look like they are from a bygone era, but which may sport the latest keel configurations and be equipped with all modern comforts. Adela, the world famous schooner owned by American gas and media tycoon, George Lindemann, ended the championship in third. The largest yacht of the fleet by some 15-metres, with a LOA of just over 55-metres, Adela is a regular competitor at this event and is accustomed to leading the rest around the course. This time she found her match on the water in the form of Hetairos. At the end of each racing day, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda along with title sponsor Rolex provided a lush array of social events, which included daily après-sailing refreshments, the celebrated Rolex Crew Party, the Rolex Gala Dinner at the Cala di Volpe luxury resort and the YCCS Dinner. During the final Prizegiving Ceremony, which took place in the Piazza Azzurra, the heart of the Race Village, the overall winners of each Division were awarded with the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and Rolex gold and steel Submariner timepieces. FINAL STANDINGS Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1/R2/R3/R4/R5/R6/Points Racing (6 races) 1. ALFA ROMEO Neville Crichton NZL, 1/1/1/2/1/(2)/6.0 2. MORNING GLORY Hasso Platner GER, 3/2/2/3/(3)/1/11.0 3. WILD OATS XI Robert I. Oatley AUS, 2/(4)/3/1/2/3/11.0 VOR (6 races) 1. ABN AMRO ONE ABN Amro Brand NED, 1/1/1/1/1/(1)/5.0 2. AMER SPORT TOO Giovanni Marangon EUR, 2/2/2/2/2/(2)/10.0 Cruising (5 races) 1. ROMA Filippo Faruffini ITA, 2/1/1/(3)/2/6.0 2. VELSHEDA Tarbat Investments GBR, 1/2/(4)/1/3/7.0 3. ALLSMOKE Gunter Herz GER, 3/3/3/2/(4)/11.0 Spirit of Tradition (5 races) 1. HETAIROS Rockport Ltd CAY IS, 1/2/1/(3)/1/5.0 2. ANNAGINE C. E. Van Asbeck NED, 2/1/3/2/(5(RET))/8.0 3. ADELA George Lindemann USA, 3/3/2/(4)/2/10.0 Mini Maxi (5 races) 1. ATALANTA II Carlo Puri Negri ITA, (4)/3/1/3/1/8.0 2. EDIMETRA Ernesto Gismondi ITA, 3/6/(6)/1/4/14.0 3. OPS 5 Massimo Violati ITA 2/5/5/4/(5)/16.0 Wally (6 races) 1. MAGIC CARPET SQUARED Lindsay Owen Jones GBR, 2/1/(4)/1/2/1/7.0 2. DARK SHADOW Antexis Ltd MON, (5)/3/1/4.50/1/4/13.50 3. TANGO Carlo Sama MON, 3/2/2/2/5/(7)/14.0 Related Items:
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