The recently concluded Giraglia Rolex Cup 2015 saw Igor Simčič’s 100-ft Maxi yacht Esimit Europa 2 claim line honours, while Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones’s Wally Cento superyacht Magic Carpet Cubed has become the overall winner of the race. This year, the Mediterranean’s oldest offshore race was attended by a record fleet of 240 international yachts.
Wally Cento Superyacht Magic Carpet Cubed – Photo by Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
Crossing the finish line in Genoa at 18:32 CEST on Thursday evening, sailing yacht Magic Carpet Cubed arrived some 65 minutes behind Esimit Europa 2 yacht. On arrival, Owen-Jones’s thoughts focused on having narrowly lost out on line honours – the crew’s first objective. “We knew before we started we had a faster boat than us this year (Esimit Europa 2), and therefore wanted a tactic which would separate us from them so we could get away and have a lucky shift from the wind or something like that,” comments Owen-Jones. “They tried to cover us all of the way which I think they did quite successfully up until the Giraglia rock, then less successfully on the way back in (to Genoa).”
ESIMIT EUROPA 2 Yacht approaching the finish line in Genoa – Photo by Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
On Thursday, superyacht Esimit Europa 2 claimed line honours at the Giraglia Rolex Cup, finishing as the fastest boat for the fifth time in six years in an elapsed time of 29 hours, 11 minutes and 58 seconds, nearly 15 hours outside of her own race record. The vessel led from start to finish. “It means we still have a very fast boat and that everything went well,” comments Simčič. “We have confirmation that in the Mediterranean that this boat is unbeatable even with the arrival of newer boats. We won in strong wind in 2012, and in light wind this time. We have a very good boat and a crew which gives everything and this is the result.”
Nearly 280 yachts participated in the week’s three events, including the Sanremo-Saint Tropez race, three days of inshore competition in Saint-Tropez and the main event, the 243-nm offshore race from Saint-Tropez to Genoa.
The final prizegiving, hosted by race organisers Yacht Club Italiano’s (YCI) base in Genoa, saw Magic Carpet Cubed and Esimit Europa 2 yachts receive Rolex timepieces for their exploits on the water and the race winner the coveted Giraglia Rolex Cup trophy.
