The Wally sailing yachts have started to gather in the enchanting port of Portofino in time for the official registration and opening ceremony of the first edition of the Nespresso Cup sailing Regatta. A striking catwalk of awesome beauties, the Portofino quayside offers more than just breathtaking good looks: the Wally yachts moored here will soon be competing in the Nespresso Cup – a unique single type regatta for Wally Yachts. A total of 12 Wallys representing a diverse range of these unmistakable streamlined yachts from the 143ft (43m) Esense, combining vintage and contemporary concepts, to the 88ft (27m) canting keel Tiketitoo.
Luca Bassani Antivari, President and Founder of Wally: “The Nespresso Cup is the first all-Wally regatta in our history that is why it is so exciting and I believe the competition will be even higher than the other events. All the crews and owners love sailing and they all want to win! All the boats will start together but we have Racing and Cruising divisions – it is in the Racing Class we will see the fastest boats on the water but we will have to wait until the end of each day’s racing to know the winners. We expect a high level of competition on these short and fast courses but with a good Corinthian spirit.” The Wally fleet will be divided into four divisions identified by the different yachts’ characteristics – Performance, Cruising, 80ft and over 100ft plus the Overall Racing division. Podium rankings will be defined in the divisions but it is the overall Nespresso Cup Trophy that the owners and crews have their eyes on. The trophy is designed by legendary industrial designer Konstantin Grcic.
Set against the famous fishing village of Portofino, this regatta brings a new dimension to the Mediterranean yachting calendar – presenting a combination of outstanding beauty, performance and lifestyle. Portofino represents the ideal location for this first edition of the Nespresso Cup and offers the charm and intimate setting to create a real Nespresso Cup community, where the racing teams and event participants will all be together for three exciting days.
Nespresso Cup Race Ambassador, Paul Cayard, who arrived in Portofino today commented: “Portofino is an iconic sailing venue in Italy – the sailing conditions in Portofino can be a bit challenging but it’s a beautiful place and everyone gets together and tries the boats out and has plenty of good times ashore and it will be a fantastic weekend.” Paul will be joined by two other Ambassadors Loick Peyron and Francesco de Angelis who are all here to support this unique event.
Some of the racing teams have already spent the afternoon on the water, training for the first race taking place tomorrow morning. The weather forecast should add another exciting dimension to the Nespresso Cup. A mix of sunshine and rain is expected for the first day of racing (Friday, 7th) with a southerly breeze of around 10mph/16kmh (8-9 knots). Sunday could see the best day’s racing with sunshine and a stronger breeze.
By Julie Royer.
Entry List/Divisions at 6.5.10:
Name/Owner/LOA/Division
P=Performance / C=Cruising / R= Overall Racing
O-100+over 100ft / 80=80ft
Dark Shadow / 30.45 / P/O-100
Genie / 32.72 / C/O-100
Esense / 43.70 / P/O-100
Magic Carpet Squared / 29.00 / R
Tiketitoo / 27.00 / P
Ryokan 2 / 24.00 / P/80
J One / 24.00 / R/80
Indio / 30.50 / R
Y3K / 30.50 / R
Gibian / 30.45 / C/O-100
Kenora / 32.72 / P/O-100
Tango / 24.00 / P/80
CharterWorld is a specialist yacht charter company which offers the world’s complete selection of superyachts for charter as well as performance or racing sailing yachts and Wally Yachts.
