This 21st edition of the Superyacht Cup has come to a spectacular end and after three days of riveting racing it was the 32m Bolero, a supremely fast boat, who artfully swept past her competitors and managed to keep her cool under 'deciding-day pressure'. The crew's consistency was the beautiful blue-hulled Bolero's trump card which cinched her well-deserved race and class wins on both Thursday and Friday.
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| The 32m Bolero, a supremely fast boat, is the overall winner of the Superyacht Cup 2017. ©www.clairematches.com |
However, with a number of highly race-orientated superyachts out on the water, competition was, by nature, going to be tough. Yachts like the bone fide flyer Saudade, who although not as young as most of her rivals, proves time and again she's still the boat to beat, and fast racer Ribelle, with her carbon hull and high-tech racing wardrobe, were a hard act to follow. And although the Frers-designed Bolero put up a solid performance it was no mean feat to fight off the chasing 27,5m Atalante 1 and the 39m Atalante, both built by Hoek and built by Claasen. The two, extremely elegant, sisters had been sailing at full throttle in order to try and hunt her down.
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| The crew of the Frers- designed Bolero enjoying their spotlight moment. ©www.clairematches.com |
Apart from being able to revel in watching some of the world's most beautiful sailing yachts glide around the bay, the conditions were also glorious; every day dawned with a picture-perfect Palma sky, and a reasonably good building breeze which meant the sailing sparkled on every single day of the event. Saudade's tactician, Volvo Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking concurs: "the conditions are always superb, here you have guaranteed breeze. It's really nice to come racing over here. It's what the owners want and it's what we want, as you're guaranteed to go racing"
As every year, our dock side social programme was as important as the excitement on the water. Yacht owners and race crew enjoyed the Pendennis Paddleboard Challenge as well as the lively happy-hours sponsored by North Sails and Southern Spars which continued long after the day's winners had been announced. Highlights this year were of course the annual SYC Dock Party and the Owners' Mid-Summer BBQ at the stunning St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca. Bouwe Bekking summarized the overall atmosphere by saying: "It's a really relaxed regatta. After racing there's a very nice ambiance on the dock, the atmosphere is really laid-back and everyone has a really good time."
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| The Pendennis paddle board relay race proved, again, to be a crowd-puller this year. ©www.clairematches.com |
On a final note, we would like to thank our sponsors who have supported us in making this year's edition yet another memorable event. We hope to be able to welcome not only said sponsors but also our loyal fans and the beautiful boats that competed this year, back for our 2018 edition.
Official clothing sponsor, Code Zero, have created a powerful collection for this year's regatta boasting bright colours, as well as unique designs inspired by superyacht racing. If you didn't get the chance to browse their collection on-site, you can still purchase their limited edition garments online here.
