A supermoon for the Superyachts

It was a supermooon that rose over the Es Baluard Museum where the prize giving dinner was held on Saturday night, it was the closest that we will see the moon to the earth this year and the perfect symbol to celebrate not only the longest day of the year, but the end to the 2013 Superyacht Cup in Palma.  The guests and crew of the 20 participating yachts enjoyed cocktails and canapés whilst they grooved the night away to a fantastic live band.

 Prize giving at the Es Baluard Museum (© Clairematches.com)

This week has also seen some exceptionally close racing between the two Classes in the 15 strong Superyacht Fleet.  In Class 1, the performance Perini P2 picked up the Yachting World starters prize for the most consistent starts (all under 5 seconds), with stiff on water competition from the 45m Dubois sloop Salperton, helmed by Shirley Robertson, and Rebecca the Frers designed ketch built at Pendennis racing back in the Med for the first time since 2007.  On corrected time, Highland Breeze flying her Gaastra spinnaker was the overall winner, her Owner congratulated all for a fantastic time, and threw down the gauntlet for next year’s event.

In Class 2, the female Owner driver of Heartbeat, one of the Claasen Yachts, was estatic to be collecting the Big Bent Cleat trophy for the first time holding off last year’s winners Maria Cattiva to second.  Third placed Atalante collected their prize courtesy of Nespresso, with praise for the event and race management team saying “it was another great week at the Superyacht Cup it all worked perfectly.”

 Crew of Heartbeat collecting the Big Bent Cleat Trophy (© Clairematches.com)

 It goes without saying that the “cream on the cake” was to see 5 of the magnificent J Class Yachts fleet racing with a mix of windward leeward and coastal courses for the first time in the Med, with the hopes that this will see the beginnings of a growing class of these unique and historical yachts. It’s exciting times, competition is tough and the calibre of crew is impressive “it’s the who’s who of yachting”, commented Jerry Kirby sailing aboard Hanuman, “we have the best sailors in the world right here right now.”  Even with a fairly even playing field, it was Hanuman who took three bullets this week showing that the boat is quick and certainly “has legs”.  Jim Clark, the Owner of Hamuman, extended his thanks to the Owners of Velsheda and Ranger for having the vision to create the competitive J Class fleet that we see today.

 Jim Clark and his Crew from Hanuman (© Clairematches.com)

A big thank you to the Owners and Crew for participating in the 2013 Superyacht Cup, sunshine and the steady afternoon sea breeze make for perfect sailing conditions in the protected bay of Palma “it’s by far our favourite regatta of the season” commented one crew member.

“Racing this week has been brilliant”, thank you to the Race Officers Ariane Mainemarie and Gasper Morey for setting fair and interesting courses, as well as to John Winder from ISYR.

Many thanks to our sponsors - for the Happy Hours, Prizes and other contributions that enable this event to be a success.

We look forward to welcoming you all back next year!

For more information and photo gallery, visit www.superyachtcup.com. The races from this event can be replayed live. www.tractrac.com

 Ranger running to the line (© Jesus Renedo)

Overall Results
Overall Winner SYC Fleet
1st: Heartbeat
2nd: Atalante
3rd: Maria Cattiva
Winner Class 1: Highland Breeze
Winner Class 2: Heartbeat
J Class
1st: Hanuman
2nd: Lionheart
3rd: Ranger
Yachting World Performance Trophy (most consistent starts):  P2
Hoek Award: Heartbeat

Day 4: Heartbeat the winner!

Heartbeat was the overall victor of the Superyacht Cup in Palma 2013; today's first gave her the edge over Maria Cattiva and Atalante in Class 2.

Manon Borrius Broek, the Owner on board Heartbeat was over the moon with the result, she bought the 23.8m Claasen yacht specifically big enough (and still the smallest in the fleet) so that she could enter the Superyacht Cup. "It was our dream to participate in the Superyacht regatta, we have been fine tuning for 3 years and are now the winners. We are very happy."

 Copyright: www.clairematches.com

In Class 1, Highland Breeze ranked first overall in front of P2, Salperton. However competition was tough in the last legs of today's final race; Salperton had the edge on P2 and Rebecca as they rounded the final mark, however lost out to P2 over the line as they had to put a final gybe in to lay the line. 

Freya has put in some consistent results over the event, Mike Toppa the tactician aboard summed up the general feeling of the event perfectly; "We have been having a ball, the sailing here is fantastic. The Owner has never raced before and is doing a great job at driving his boat, he is here with his friends and family and having a brilliant time."

For the J's, it was all about the start in their last coastal race today. Velsheda charged the line and had by far the most spectacular start of the regatta.The all important first beat saw Hanuman round the first windward mark first, followed by shortly after by Velsheda. The next leg was a short reach, with Hanuman, Velsheda having a good lead on Ranger, Rainbow and Lionheart. Hanuman continued to lead the procession around the 2 hour course,second place was Velsheda making good on her fantastic start, followed by Ranger, Lionheart and Rainbow. Overall results, see Hanuman the victor (this will be 7 out of 8 firsts for her), Lionheart and Ranger have equal points however with a first in Race 3 Lionheart takes second, with Velsheda fourth and Rainbow fifth.

Tonight the Prize Giving will be at the Es Baluard Museum with a cocktail dinner and live entertainment.

 Copyright: www.clairematches.com

Day 3

Maria Cattiva - the Huisman built Bruce King design - was the fleet victor of the second day’s racing at the Superyacht Cup Palma, with Highland Breeze the Nautor Swan 112 winning Class 1.

Over the line, the Hoek designed Firefly took line honours for the second time, it was quite a sight to see all the superyachts running down wind towards the finish line just behind the magnificent J’s.

“Another fantastic day out,” said Melle Boersma, the helm aboard Tulip “it was a little lighter than we would have liked, but a good opportunity for us to practice our sail handling - we are a new boat with a new crew so are on a steep learning curve, but we are having fun and today was the best day out by far!”  Tulip may not be placing so well in the standings but definitely making up for it on shore by winning the finals of the Boat Blow competition organised by Jongert.

The J’s finished up their third race of the regatta and their first coastal race – Hanuman unfortunately was over the line at the start and was scored with an OCS.  Lionheart however, had a fantastic day on the water leading from the first mark, “the Owner helmed his best race ever,” said Bouwe Bekking, the tactician aboard.  Results over the line saw Lionheart first, Ranger second, followed by Velsheda and Rainbow.  This changes the overall standings, with Lionheart leading by one point from Ranger and two points from Hanuman.

There is a great atmosphere on the dock this evening, with plenty of smiling faces aided by the Happy Hour sponsored by North Sails.  Thanks also to Bodegas Ferrar for providing fine local wine during this event.

Tomorrow will be the final day of racing, there is all to play for with Heartbeat, P2, Atalante – on equal points – in addition to Maria Cattiva and Highland Breeze – again on equal points - in the running for the Bent Cleat Trophy.

 Copyright: www.clairematches.com

Day 2: Pantaenius Race Day – no passion without risk!

There was some spectacular sailing enjoyed by all today on Pantaenius race day; the start of racing designed to coincide with the arrival of the sea breeze in the early afternoon was much the same if a little lighter and shiftier than yesterday. Rebecca, one of the most admired of the modern classics from Pendennis, had one of the best starts. It is great to see her back in the Med competing here for the first time since 2007 on the eve of her 15th year with still many of the same team enabling her to be as competitive as ever. In typical superyacht fashion Jens Christensen, from North Sails, the tactician on board stated “We sailed a good race, everything went up and everything came down”, it is all about getting round the course safely and having a good time.

Firefly led the fleet for majority of 3.5 hour race with her bright orange spinnaker providing a beacon for all to follow, she took line honours and would have finished well ahead of P2 if it had not been for a blown spinnaker in a downwind leg. Firefly is one of four boats from Claasen yachts participating in this event, others include Atalante who is presently first overall and Heartbeat lying third, in addition to Lionheart who is providing some stiff competition in the separate J Class event. P2 put in a good performance and is looking forward to maintaining her lead in Class 1.

“This is some of the closest superyacht racing that we’ve seen, the results are proof that the rating system works as there are only seconds between the yachts on corrected time.” John Winder, ISYR. This is the first time that real time wind data (strength and direction) has been applied per leg to create a more accurate result, rather than relying on a pre race estimate.

The J’s had another thrilling windward leeward race; Rainbow and Hanuman were quick off the start with Hanuman then taking the lead for another bullet. It was a tight race, again with only 5.5 minutes elapsed time splitting the fleet over the 2 hour 10 minute race.

Happy Hour was sponsored by RSB Rigging and Southern Spars – thank you! As the sunset the crew and guests of the 20 yachts enjoyed some respite from the heat with shade provided by the stylish Undercover Events tent on the dock. A great evening was had by all catching up on the day’s happenings, fuelled by some delicious paella and tasty mojitos.

Friday will bring the third race for the J’s and the second for the Superyacht fleet.

For further information and a full list of entries please visit our website: www.thesuperyachtcup.com or contact Kate@thesuperyachtcup.com

For images please contact clairematchesimages@gmail.com

 Copyright: Ian Roman

Wednesday 19th

The first day of the Superyacht Cup proved to be a fantastic opportunity to showcase the powerful J’s.  Conditions in the bay of Palma were predictably perfect with the early afternoon sea breeze averaging 15-19 knots and wave height of only 1.5m, a contrast to the last battle of the J’s in St Barths – teams today were anticipating that the flatter more protected sea would provide a more level playing field where tactics and team work would be paramount.

An all clear start at 1.05pm for a 3 lap windward leeward, with Lionheart taking the windward end of the line. The right hand side of the course seemed to pay off for the first beat, and indeed for most of the race.  Those that headed towards the cathedral seemed to have the advantage.

Lionheart led Hanuman around the first mark, and it was a tight pack that followed with only boat lengths between the 5 J’s.  At the first downwind gate it was neck and neck between Hanuman and Lionheart on the rounding, however on the second beat Hanuman gained a steady lead favouring the right hand side of the course.

Nearing the top windward mark Hanuman was nearly a full ten boat lengths in front of Lionheart, before Lionheart unfortunately had an issue with her jib enabling the rest of the fleet to catch up and give Hanuman the clear lead.  Second around the mark was Velsheda, followed within seconds by Rainbow and Ranger; Lionheart was quick to rejoin the race although now at the back of the fleet.

The second downwind leg saw another movement in the positions, Hanuman still in the clear but Ranger again taking the preferred side of the course took second round the mark from Rainbow by a close 30 seconds. Velsheda, with a torn spinnaker meant that she was last through the gate. Up the last beat, Ranger kept a good four boat lengths over the remaining fleet, covering Velsheda as she tacked over.

At the last windward mark, Hanuman retained first, followed by Ranger four minutes later. The tousle was now on between Rainbow, Lionheart and Velsheda, who were covering tack for tack.

The last downwind leg was glorious, a true spectacle that all had come to be party to.   It was a close race, after two hours all 5 J’s crossed the line within five minutes of one another.

Copyright: Ian Roman

On corrected time Hanuman won by one and half minutes, Ranger took second with the closest finish between Lionheart and Rainbow whose positions were reversed on handicap with Lionheart taking third by eleven seconds.
Tomorrow will see the first race for the 15 Superyachts, and the second windward leeward for the J’s.

Final preparations for The Superyacht Cup

Final preparations are well underway for The Superyacht Cup with the usual bustle of activity on the STP and Moll Vell docks as tents are erected for the event village and sponsors put the final touches to their stands. The event village will be open to participants as from registration tomorrow morning from 10.00, an all yacht obligatory safety briefing at 1800 followed by the Welcome Cocktail Party at 20.00 at the SYC Village.

This afternoon will see the arrival of the remainder of the 20 strong fleet, welcoming back a full entry list to this 17th year of the Cup.

The 5 J’s were seen out on the bay of Palma yesterday, the sun bringing in an early afternoon sea breeze of 18-19 knots.  Today, a cloudy start as the J’s left the dock for their second practice day, so lighter and cooler conditions in which to perfect those all important start sequences and manoeuvres.  The battle begins tomorrow for the first race of 4 for the J’s, with Hanuman, Lionheart, Ranger, Rainbow and Velsheda all competing again for the first time since the St Barths bucket in March and the first time 5 J’s have raced in the Med.  Let the games begin!

  www.clairematches.com

Countdown to the Superyacht Cup Palma 2013

With just over a week to go to the Superyacht Cup Palma the 20 participating yachts are gathering in Palma making final preparations for the four day regatta which starts on June 19 ^th . The event is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Superyacht regattas of the year with a truly world-class fleet including 5 of the famous J Class yachts.
 
The racing starts for the J Class on Wednesday 19 ^th with an exhibition race and the two Superyacht classes will start racing on Thursday 20 ^th . The final race for all will be on Saturday 22 ^nd June and the event will be brought to a close with a spectacular Prize Giving Evening at Es Baluard Muesum of Contemporary Art overlooking the yachts and the Port of Palma.
 
For the first time in Palma all the yachts will carry tracking devices which enable spectators and keen followers in any location to view the races live via the website www.thesuperyachtcup.com , the tracking has been kindly sponsored by Absolute Boat Care, Moll Vell Marina and UBS. The races will also be shown on a screen in the tent at the Race Village and can be watched via the website at any time after the race.
 
This year the grand tented bar and entertainment area, which is the focus for the social programme, will have a comfortable chill-out area with a cooling gin and tonic bar provided by Puro Beach. Hogan's will once again be managing the main bar and Nespesso will provide the morning coffee before racing. Music and Entertainment will bring everyone together each afternoon after racing in the usual informal Superyacht Cup style.
 
Jongert Yachts have just confirmed silver sponsorship and to celebrate the opening of their new office in Palma they will hold an inauguration cocktail party for their guests and clients on their stand on Friday evening. 
 
Press please note : Due to high demand places on the Press Boats are provided only for Official Media Partners. If you wish to charter a RIB or join a group charter for viewing the racing please contact our Official Tender Provider: www.ribrally.com or email Brando on: info@ribrally.com
For further information and a full list of entries please visit our website: www.thesuperyachtcup.com or contact Kate@thesuperyachtcup.com
For images please contact clairematchesimages@gmail.com

  www.clairematches.com