The superyachts competing in the Perini Navi Cup had a stunning day of racing on Friday, which saw the monsters competing in more breeze than any previous regatta. Unfortunately, Saturday dawned even windier and, with upwards of 35 knots recorded off Porto Cervo, the race committee first announced a postponement and then consulted with the yacht owners and made the decision to cancel racing, which left the Maltese Falcon winning the event.
Well known yacht designer Ron Holland, who has designed several Perini Navi superyachts, said “Friday was extreme, that really was the limit. What I reflected on was that these large cruising yacht regattas are a relatively new thing, starting about 15 years ago, but the boats have kept getting bigger. The standard of sailing that we witnessed on Friday was certainly of a higher order than the first Perini Cup; the boats are being handled more accurately, the level of experience of the crews is higher. On Salute, we had the owner of the yacht steering the boat very well for the whole day, so it’s another level of what Perini yachts are all about….it’s really extreme in those conditions, you have to sail extra carefully, you have to know the limits of the boat, so this was a hell of a test for the fleet.” Pic from Carlo Borlenghi and plenty more of the beasts here.
