Things are About to Get a Lot More Exciting…
Palma de Mallorca, Spain – #SYC15 Press Release
Last night’s disco-themed dock party proved epic with the entire crew of the mighty Marie wearing orange wigs, pink sunglasses, glitter, gold and green satin suits; these clear winners went all out and so, not surprisingly, took the best-dressed-in-disco prize: VIP tickets to Pacha’s after party and a bottle of bubbly to boot. Also team Tulip, colorfully kitted out in, well, ‘Tulips’, scored tickets, as well as own it on the dance floor for most of the night; think slick break-dance moves and a spirited ‘polonaise’. DJ Eazy Michael kept those feet on the dance floor which was followed by Bilonda’s soulful tunes. All in all last night’s fun was a perfect ending to a great day out on the water..
This morning saw the SYC race village bustling with the owners, sailors, friends and guests of the 21 spectacular superyachts charged to get the second day of sailing underway. And while some of the world’s most talented sailors were ardently discussing today’s tactics, the scene was set for today’s second day of racing.
Today’s menu served up a blazing sun, cloudless blue sky and the sea breeze getting it’s foot in the door a little earlier than yesterday. While on our first race day the breeze actually built more than expected, becoming moderate to fresh for much of the afternoon, today was predicted to be even beefier with 12-14 knots around midday and 14-18 in the afternoon.
The fleet headed out at 11 to make their way to the start line and racing got underway at 13.00. It was yesterday’s Class C winner Clan VIII who got off the start line first. The 45m Perini got off to a cracking start but unfortunately at 14.00, as the yachts were on their first run to Bahia 2, the race got abandoned and the fleet had to return to the start line. Racing commenced again at 14.50 with the race committee opting for a shorter 18.7nm course. This time it was the ferociously green hulled, Vitters built Inouï and Nautor’s Highland Breeze who boasted best starts.
The first upwind Sech mark saw first timer, the 25m Maegan, round ahead of the fleet, pursued closely by new-boat-on-the-block Guardian Angel and the 26m Tulip. Maegan flew at full bore towards Bahia 2 but was chased hard by Kiboko Dos who managed to hunt her down and jibe around the mark first.
In the mean time in Class C both Highland Breeze and Clan VIII were not having a good day at the office. Highland Breeze stayed close to the shore which made her lose her 7th position and Clan VIII tacked later than her competitors who then started to reel her in one by one.
The 28m Southern Wind Kiboko Dos however got seriously into gear and held her front running position rounding the fourth Illetas mark first, after which she gunned it towards the finish line crossing 3.27 minutes ahead of speed machine Open Season and 4.16 minutes before the stylish Swan 90 Odin.”For tomorrow we would like to continue doing a good job, in fact we did a good job yesterday. I think that we have to keep pushing and try our best. The team works together really well and we are very happy” commented a beaming Raimon Pascó, captain on board Kiboko Dos.
Possibly the many sailors with local knowledge on board were the secret behind Kiboko Dos’ success today as she pulled out her impressive class win in Class B.
In Class A the Vitters built classic ketch Marie showed again she was on top form by winning her second bullet while newbie boat Maegan’s potent performance secured the team with a victory in Class C. On the new ORCsy rule Maegan’s navigator and CEO of Oyster David Tydeman said: ” The new superyacht rule is working. Oyster’s built 35 boats over 80 feet and with the previous handicap system it wasn’t worth coming to these events but it is now and we’re having a great time and I’m going to be encouraging Oysters to come regularly”. Regatta regular P2 took second after Marie. “The owner was super happy, he said we couldn’t have gotten any more out of the boat and the crew couldn’t have done a better job, so we felt we left nothing on the table and the results after day 2 sort of show that” smiled Captain Jonathan Kline.
As crew make a post-debrief lay line for the Regatta Bar sponsored by North Sails, the owners and their guests head for the unique St. Regis Mardavall. A stunning resort framed by the Tramuntana mountains, the luxurious marina of Puerto Portals and the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea. With one group on the southwest coast of the island and the other in Superyacht Cup central we’re certain in both places all talk will feature the final day of sailing tomorrow, as everything will come down to the crunch in Saturday’s ultimate showdown.
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Images www.clairematches.com via The Superyacht Cup Palma media release