This year’s Giraglia Rolex Cup was successfully completed by the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg’s Swan 60 sailing yacht Bronenosec, sponsored by Gazprom, at 12:18 yesterday afternoon. The Giraglia Rolex Cup is a 242-nautical mile yacht race from Saint-Tropez, around the Giraglia islet, and into Sanremo, Italy.
Luxury yacht Bronenosec Credit: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo 2012
The Swan 60 yacht Bronenosec tackled winds of up to 40 knots, which caused five boats to retire, and completed the race in just 23 hours, 58 minutes and twenty seconds.
This is a special year for The Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg and the Gazprom sponsored Swan 60 yacht. After their third event, the team is really starting to get into the groove and the campaign is coming to fruition.
“It’s so amazing to see the team get progressively better from one event to the next,” said Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg Commodore Vladimir Liubomirov. “The momentum is just carrying forward, and we can’t wait to race again in July at Copa del Rey.”
As well as this being a special year for Bronenosec yacht, it is also an important year for Russian Sailing as 2012 marks the one hundred year anniversary of the establishment of the Russian Yachting Federation (RYF) and also the one hundred year anniversary of a Russian sailor bringing home the first Olympic medal in sailing. The Russian Yacht Racing Union was created to unite several yacht clubs within Saint-Petersburg and to help prepare the sailors for the 1912 Olympic Games that were held in Sweden.
A lot has happened within Russia in the last one hundred years, but Vladimir Liubomirov has been determined to keep Saint-Petersburg as the sailing capital of Russia and to continue to build upon that historic union created by the Russian Racing Union by opening up the Yacht Club of Saint Petersburg to the local community and allowing local talent to flourish and grow.
“Hosting events like the Sails of White Nights – National Congress Cup ISAF match racing event really puts Saint-Petersburg on the map and gives our sailors a chance to compete with the best. Hosting events for the Optimist class gives our youth the opportunity to train from an early age to become the best that they can. I am proud that the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg is at the forefront of this preparation and development…again.”
The Giraglia Rolex Cup was organised by the Yacht Club Italiano, in conjunction with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez and the Yacht Club de France. The Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg Swan 60 yacht Bronenosec, sponsored by Gazprom, will next race in Palma, Spain, at the Copa del Rey, between the 16th and 21st July.
