This year’s 62nd edition of the Giraglia Rolex Cup has recently come to its end. Bernard Vananty’s sailing yacht Tixwave from Switzerland has become the overall winner of the offshore race, while Igor Simcic’s superyacht Esimit Europa 2 took the line honours trophy as the fleet’s fastest boat.
Final prize giving of the Giraglia Rolex Cup 2014 at the new Yacht Club de Monaco clubhouse - Photo by Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
The 62nd Giraglia Rolex Cup ended in true style, befitting “an old lady of yacht-racing” as Carlo Croce, President of ISAF and the Yacht Club Italiano described the Mediterranean’s top offshore race during his prize-giving remarks. Hosted by the Yacht Club de Monaco on the upper level of its new clubhouse, the occasion was a mix of emotion, pride, celebration and humour as the winners were rewarded for their efforts.
206 yachts including 12 double-handers – a first for the event – took part in this classic contest that attracts crews from around the world. 189 finished this year’s race that began with light, troublesome winds, offered most competitors an unusually easy rounding of the Girgalia rock, and, for some of the smaller yachts, a welcome steady beat to the finish.
Overall winner, Bernard Vananty, took to the stage with his entire Tixwave crew to receive deserved plaudits for a job well done. Vananty was awarded the Rolex Trophy and a Rolex Timepiece.
Superyacht ESIMIT EUROPA 2 (SLO) sailing her last miles to Monaco - Photo by Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
Vananty came second overall last year and was delighted to have gone one better this year. It had not been plain sailing though: “This year’s race was more complicated than last year given the wind conditions. We had to avoid losing contact with the bigger boats and constantly find ways to profit from the opportunities presented by the wind. We handled this quite well, especially during the night, when we managed to keep up with the bigger boats on the leg from the Giraglia rock to Monaco.”
Vananty felt things were going well, until the final moments: “We arrived in windy conditions, but 20 to 30 metres from the finish line there was hole and we were in trouble. We started to check the time, thinking that all our efforts had been ruined in these last metres… it took us 14 minutes to cross the finish line!” Their concerns were without foundation. Tixwave had sailed well enough to correct out 3 minutes 36 seconds ahead of their nearest rival, Thetis. Luca Locatelli and Thetis’ consolation was to win the Trofeo Challenge Marco Paleari for the Combined Classification of Sanremo to Saint-Tropez Race + Saint-Tropez Inshore Series + Offshore Race.
Igor Simcic, a member of the Yacht Club de Monaco and owner of Esimit Europa 2, won a Rolex Timepiece, the Rolex Trophy and the Trophy Rene Levainville for first place on elapsed time and the Beppe Croce Trophy for the first yacht to reach the Giraglia rock: “The race was perfect. In the beginning we had some light wind, which made it a little tricky in deciding which tactic to follow. Then it became much easier when the fresh breeze came in during the night and we were really fast. For me it was the best finish in my life. It was a unique idea to finish the race in Monte-Carlo.”
Bernard Vananty's Swan 42 Yacht TIXWAVE on her way to an overall win in the 2014 Giraglia Rolex Cup - Photo by Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
Line Honours: 62nd Giraglia Rolex Cup offshore race
Esimit Europa 2 (SLO), Igor Simcic,
24 hours, 35 minutes, 56 seconds
Overall Results: 62nd Giraglia Rolex Cup offshore race
1. Tixwave (GBR), Bernard Vananty
2. Thetis (ITA), Luca Locatelli
3. Magic Twelve (ITA), Francois Pailloux
