PORTO CERVO, SARDINIA – Yachts Kora 5 and Highland Fling win Day 3

Sailing yachts Kora 5 of Portofino and Highland Fling were the winners on Fitzroy Race Day, the third day of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2011 in Porto Cervo.

The sun was strong and the wind blew hard, the wind gusting up to 24 knots. Wisely the race committee set a southerly race course away from the stronger breezes that funnel past La Maddalena island.

Kora 5 is one of the lighter boats in the Cruising Division, and was not expecting to fare as well as she did today, as owner/driver Paolo Scerni commented afterwards. ‘These were not the best conditions for Kora, but she still did very well.

‘I saw that one of our competitors Thalima had a problem with the spinnaker, and without that they might have beaten us. We had no real problems and sailed a good course around the track. Our tactician Lorenzo Bortolotti has done a great job, and so did the crew.’

Kora 5 now moves to just 1 point behind series leader, Harry Macklowe’s Unfurled, but Scerni knows that Unfurled are a class act. ‘They don’t make many mistakes, they are great sailors and really nice people. In the end all we can do tomorrow is sail our own race and see what happens.’ Photograph by Carlo Borlenghi

3rd day of Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta

Unfurled skipper Adam Bateman said he was ‘nervous and confident’ all at the same time, when looking to securing victory in the series tomorrow. He has big faith in the crew. ‘The majority have been sailing together for five years, so we have a lot of experience on board, and we work really well together as a team.’

Owner Harry Macklowe has been racing Unfurled in Porto Cervo for more than a decade, but keeps on coming back year after year. ‘The place, the people, the organisation are all wonderful. We really enjoy being here and the sailing today was sensational.’ For Macklowe and Unfurled, a regatta win tomorrow would be the icing on the cake.

Today’s contest had a lot to do with keeping the boat together. Others didn’t manage so well. Lady Thalima, Ganesha and Saudade all failed to finish, in Saudade’s case due to a broken mainsheet that snapped just before rounding Monaci. Liara sailed most of the race without a mainsail, but still managed a finish in 11th place.

Twizzle may not have finished high up the rankings, but the owners said they enjoyed themselves all the same. ‘It was a great race, nothing broke and no one was hurt. Safety takes priority in such winds, and we have learned a lot. We’re used to sailing in strong winds, but racing in strong winds is different.’

Irvine Laidlaw loves racing in strong winds, and proved it with an emphatic win in the Racing Division aboard Highland Fling. The 82-foot Reichel-Pugh design won by almost 14 minutes on corrected time ahead of Indio. ‘Upwind the boat is more or less the same speed as other boats in the class, but when we turn downwind, the boat is incredibly fast,’ he said. ‘It’s easy to helm, amazingly stable, and twice we saw the clock tip over 24 knots. But we do have a very good crew; at that speed things could get nasty very quickly. Today was just a lovely day on the water, a really great sail, and a great race.’

Pier Luigi Loro Piana may only have finished 5th in the race with My Song, but he was cheered all the way by title sponsor Loro Piana’s VIP guests, who enjoyed following the racing from the comfort of a Maxi Dolphin 50ft tender. My Song lies in 3rd overall behind Highland Fling and Indio.

This evening, owners look forward to an evening of delicious food, cocktails, music and dancing at the Owner’s Beach Party held in the beautiful grounds of the 5-star Hotel Romazzino, considered one of the world’s most beautiful resorts.  Guests will enjoy a reception on the lawn overlooking the enchanting beaches and jewel-coloured waters of the Costa Smeralda, before dancing the night away to music by top international DJ Oliver Fatemi.  Meanwhile, the 27 sailing teams are rewarded with a Crew Party in Porto Cervo Marina Piazza with food, drinks and live music courtesy of contributing sponsor Sardinia Yacht Services.

With a strong wind forecast set to increase throughout the day tomorrow, the race committee has pulled forward start time by an hour to 11:00 local time, with the intent of completing a short race before the breeze gets too strong for safe racing.

Race Day 3 Results:

Cruising Division
Provisional Results as of 10 June 2011 at 18:18

YACHT
Kora 5 of Portofino
Unfurled
Thalima
Visione
Scorpione Dei Mari
Marie
Zefira
Solleone
Acaia Four
Timoneer
Liara
I-SEA
Annagine
Django Too
Twizzle
Ivanka
Ganesha
Lady Thalima
Saudade

YARD
OY Nautor AB
Royal Huisman
Southern Wind
Baltic Yachts
Jongert
Vitters
Fitzroy Yachts
Nautor Swan
Southern Wind
Vitters
Southern Ocean Marine
Southern Wind
J.O.M. BV The Netherlands
Tréhard
Royal Huisman
Seaway
Fitzroy Yachts
Southern Wind
Wally

Performance Division
Provisional Results as of 10 June 2011 at 15:05

YACHT
Highland Fling XI
Indio
Magic Carpet 2
Open Season
My Song
Ryokan 2
Il Sovereign
Y3K

YARD
Goetz Custom Technologies
Wally
Wally
Wally
Cookson Boats
Wally
Wally
Wally

Race Day 3

Wally Class
Provisional Results as of 10 June 2011 at 15:03

YACHT
Indio
Magic Carpet 2
Open Season
Il Sovereign
Ryokan 2
Y3K