I have just finished racing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia September 6-11 aboard the Richael – Pugh 82 HIGHLAND FLING. This is one of the biggest events of the year and includes classes for Mini-maxi (under 80’), Maxi, Wally, and Classic. We were in the Maxi class and enjoyed some great racing in and around the islands and rocks of Sardinia. We saw the full range of conditions, from light and moderate to one day of 25-30kts. Our primary competition was the R-P 100 Espirit Europa (previously Alfa Romeo) with a swing keel and sailed by a great Italian team led by Flavio Flavini.

We sailed a really good regatta and traded 1^st and 2^nd against them the first few days but they seemed to enjoy an advantage over us in the lighter days when their narrow boat was not as sticky as our wide twin rudder design.

The highlight of the regatta was day 3 when it blew over 25kts for most of the race. Our R-P design enjoys great stability from its wide chimed hull and great control with its twin rudders. Upwind it was perfectly balanced and easily hitting it’s targets of 11kts. And then downwind with our A3 reacher, the entire crew piled aft on the transom to keep the bow up, we were on a sustained plane with speeds of 20-28kts!! They have really hit a home run with these new light weight and wide designs, giving large yachts the never before seen exhilarating speeds of a small planning dinghy. There is now a Porsche version of racing yacht that offers extreme performance characteristics in a large yacht that owners and teams can truly enjoy.

The final outcome for us was 2^nd behind Espirit Europa, with the 80’ Singularity with Bowe Bekking in 3^rd. All in all a great regatta, where we learned a great deal more about the boat and our sail crossovers which are quite specific, with specialty sails making a major difference for the different wind angles. We are looking forward to our next event, the Voiles de St. Tropez in France in late September, which offers a nice mix of competitive racing, with a sailing festival and gathering of beautiful classic yachts.