Dates for the 2015 Ibiza Rendezvous Superyacht Regatta have been announced, following a very successful first edition of the event, hosted by Marina Ibiza, a beautiful Ibiza yacht charter destination, last October. The second edition of the regatta will run from October 7 to 10, 2015.

2014 Ibiza Rendezvous Superyacht Regatta

Winter has been a time of reflection for the Ibiza Rendezvous team. Looking back at the first event last October and speaking with those involved the response has been fantastic and the event was a success. There are many elements attributed to this achievement; Marina Ibiza was the perfect host with its first class services, location and fantastic view point over the old town, especially at sunset; there had never been a superyacht regatta in Ibiza; the island itself in October is a pleasure to visit with fewer tourists but so much still to offer in terms of entertainment and warm hospitality; the experience and enthusiasm of the team behind the event and of course, the ethos of the Ibiza Rendezvous: to bring back the fun of the original regattas by allowing all classes and styles of sailing yachts a chance to race. A difficult balance to achieve in fact – how to include any yacht over 20m which is either modern, cruising or classic, remain fair, be competitive and safe, whilst retaining the ‘spirit of the race’ and having a fun closing season regatta.

Part of the answer comes from Jim Teeters, President of the Sailing Yacht Research Foundation, who has developed rating systems for regattas worldwide for the last 25 years. Jim’s knowledge of fair racing systems is unsurpassed in the industry, so having him as part of the team working alongside John Grandy RYS of GWM Racing, is a favourable addition to the Ibiza Rendezvous as it looks towards the future and its development. Speaking with Jim in Antigua this week we talked about his techniques, progress and relevance to our regatta.

Superyacht Clan VIII – The overall winner of the 2014 Ibiza Rendezvous Superyacht Regatta

“For the America’s Cup I worked inside the design team running tank test programs and predicting how fast each boat would perform. This lead to involvement with the handicap rules IMS, AMERICAP and ORR. In 2004 I was asked to handicap the St Bart’s Bucket. Using my experience I defined and designed a system, ISYR, to suit both luxury and cruising yachts, the challenge being that all boats have some degree of compromise to performance in the pursuit of luxury cruising. Using that handicap experience I designed a new system, the Bucket Rule, to suit the full diversity of the superyacht fleet, the challenge being that all boats have some degree of compromise to performance in the pursuit of luxury cruising. The Bucket Rule, rebranded as the International Superyacht Rule (ISYR), was created to predict for each boat what they could achieve when sailed at their best.

Superyacht racing has evolved to the point where some of the more competitive programs are unwilling to race under a rule that has a subjective element to it, but the focus of the Ibiza Rendezvous is the same as conceived for St Bart’s, so this system is perfect to preserve the original spirit of superyacht racing.”

Sailing yacht Windfall at the 2014 Ibiza Rendezvous Superyacht Regatta

So with this in mind, all boats that have had a Jim Teeters rating are welcome with open arms to our regatta and even if they have not, we can easily organise one. The point of the matter is that the system is part of the foundation of pursuit racing and as we look to shaping the future of the event with its fun philosophy, community spirit, Corinthian style and attitude, it is good to know that all the right ingredients will be in place to make the Ibiza Rendezvous enjoyable and fair for all.