It has been another successful St Barths Bucket Regatta for the majestic SW 100 RS sailing yacht Cape Arrow by Southern Wind. Superyacht Cape Arrow has once again confirmed her amazing potential in racing by claiming the central podium in one of the most popular Caribbean regattas, annually hosted by the lovely St. Barth yacht charter destination.
SW 100 RS superyacht Cape Arrow by Southern Wind – Photo by Carlo Borlenghi
For the third consecutive year luxury yacht Cape Arrow features amongst the fiercest competitors in the fleet, chartered for the occasion by Pigi Loro Piana and his sailing team, made up of leading figures in international sailing, including former America’s Cup, Olympic and World Cup champions (Tommaso Chieffi, Lorenzo Mazza, Francesco Mongelli).
With three seconds on each day of the three coastal races, luxury yacht Cape Arrow was awarded first place in the category of Les Mademoiselles des Mers, followed by sailing yacht Bequia (Brooklin 90) and super yacht Freya (Nautor 90).
“After a silent début in 2013, and a third place last year, we presented ourselves at the St. Barth Bucket Race with a grudge and the desire to prove ourselves. The yacht had already demonstrated herself to be perfect for races of this type in previous years, but given the new ORC Ratings (which are more objective and scientific than the preceding standards), we were sure that Cape Arrow would be even more competitive. The crew was highly motivated and had time to familiarise themselves with the boat during the week before racing at Virgin Gorda in the Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta. This allowed us to make a series of adjustments and develop tactics that gave us the edge on opponents with more racing oriented structures. The perfect race was that of the second day, when we were able to keep up with our main opponent, Freya, and increase our advantage even when sailing upwind, where Freya was favoured. Cape Arrow is a winning yacht that ensures prime racing performance while guaranteeing the racing crew, living on board, the comfort of a luxury five star cruise“, states Giorgio Benussi, crew manager and Commodore of the Yacht Club at the Marina di Loano.
“The challenge of sailing aboard a Superyacht like Cape Arrow is created by the need to plan the tactic from the beginning so as to minimize unexpected events,” says Tommaso Chieffi, tactician on the SW 100 yacht Cape Arrow, “the initial strategy in this type of racing includes far more tactical decisions during the regatta: things are planned well in advance to avoid having to make unexpected manoeuvers, which result in a loss of about 4/5 lengths on the opponents each and every time. From this point of view, the crew performed extremely well, especially in the second race, which led us to victory.”
Pigi Loro Piana won maximum satisfaction, making his name as one of the best Superyacht “owner drivers” while living the wonderful spirit of this fascinating race to the full with his remarkable crew.
