Sea, luxury and sport: the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup returns to Sardinia
Among the many debutants at the 35th edition was the Magic Carpet E built by Italian shipyard Persico Marine, with interiors designed by Hermès and owned by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, former CEO of L'Oréal
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After the ritual preparations over the past few days, the regattas of the 35th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which will be held in the archipelago of La Maddalena, Sardinia, until Saturday 13 September, have begun. There are 47 registered boats, including maxi yachts and multihulls, all with a minimum length of 60 feet (just over 18 metres), which will race to win the world titles for both the Maxi 1 class and the Maxi Gran Prix class, the latter also open to pure racers, the former Maxi 72 class, now no longer active. Also competing in the latter will be Jolt 3, an M72 owned by Peter Harrison, recent winner of the Admirals Cup held from 17 July to 1 August in Great Britain.
Among the debutants at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will be the innovative Magic Carpet E, a 100-foot-long (30.48-metre) Wally built by the Italian shipyard Persico Marine, with interiors designed by Hermès and owned by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, ceo from 1988 to 2011 of cosmetics giant L'Oréal.
Other participants in the Maxi 1 class include Bullit, the 28.50-metre Wally 93 owned by Andrea Recordati, commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo, and Viriella, the largest boat in the regatta (36 metres) owned by entrepreneur Vittorio Moretti, which will be helmed by famous sailor Mauro Pelaschier, former helmsman of Azzurra, the first boat to compete for the America's Cup in 1983.
The event, born in 1980, is co-organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda of Porto Cervo and the International Maxi Association and is supported by the watch brand Rolex as title sponsor. A partnership, the latter, active since 1985, which this year therefore crosses the 40-year milestone, while the beginning of the collaboration between the Swiss maison and the YCCS began in 1984. And it was precisely in 1985, at the first edition together with Rolex, that one of the brand ambassadors, sailing legend Paul Cayard, who is well known in Italy for having led the boat Moro di Venezia to conquer the Louis Vuitton Cup in 1992 and to reach the final act of the America's Cup.
"Over the years," Cayard recalls, "the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup has become a hugely important event that has been instrumental in the growth of my career: here I have developed many of the skills and competences useful to my profession.
