The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, a week of coastal ragatta in Sardinia, Italy, begun with a great start on Monday with a 29 nm course through the La Maddalena archipelago. Despite the rain predictions, the 34 yachts raced in sunshine, blue skies and south-easterly winds of 10-15 knots. Sailing Yacht Esimit Europa 2 and the crew of 18 finished the course in 2:32:01.
Sailing Yacht Esimit Europa 2 - Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2012
On Tuesday, after a promising morning in Porto Cervo with sunshine and moderate breeze, worst fears, forecasted by the sailing yacht Esimit Europa 2’s navigator Juan Vila, came true. Even worse, as the day went on, the race was cancelled due to thunderstorms and strong winds, blowing with almost 30 knots and occasional gusts with up to 40 knots at the open seas. After docking out, the Esimit Sailing Team was patiently waiting and hoping for the race to start at any second. A 31 nautical miles coastal course was selected, when the principal Race Officer Peter Craig postponed and finally cancelled the race.
After Tuesday’s abandonment, racing continued on Wednesday with a 38 nautical miles coastal course. Esimit Europa 2, skippered by Jochen Schümann, had a very good start at moderate breeze of 11 knots and immediately took the lead. During the race the Esimit Sailing Team kept good pace, made a perfect 90-degrees shift under the cloud and was increasing the distance to the nearest competitor all the way until the finish line. Satisfied with the performance of the yacht and the crew, Schümann highlighted excellent result with very few, but meaningful words: “Just one of those days, when performance and result match perfectly.” As a result, Esimit Europa 2 yacht has an amazing lead also in corrected time, which is, due to her extremely high rating, a truly impressive achievement.
Sailing Yacht Esimit Europa 2 - Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2012
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the International Maxi Association, continues with today’s coastal race. Three more challenging days are still awaiting the Esimit Sailing Team, which is eager to continue with this season’s excellent performances.
The Esimit Europa 2 yacht sails under the flag of the European Union, is registered in Cyprus, a member of Yacht Club de Monaco, competes for the Slovenian Sailing Federation and on board joins sailors from 7 different European countries. It is under the patronage of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and endorsed by Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament. Its main sponsor is the global energy company Gazprom, while BMW is the official partner.
