Smeralda Coast Yacht Club
2009 sports calendar
The Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” in Milan hosted the presentation of the 2009 sports calendar of the Smeralda Coast Yacht Club.
The commodore Riccardo Bonadeo played host by introducing the presentation: “2009 is a difficult year due to the financial crisis, but it’s also more important than the previous one: in fact, we organized top-level events among which two world cups. We feel especially honoured by the fact that the support of our official partners – Rolex has been with us since the beginning of our sports activities, and Audi, which intensified its participation starting this season – together with competitive classes, such as that of Farr 40 and those of Melges 20 and 32, gave us the chance to put on the table a very dynamic and demanding 2009 calendar.”
The calendar reflects the evolution of the Club into two linked yet different ways: the organization of high-level sports events, both for well established sail disciplines and for the emerging ones, and the development and promotion of events dedicated to superyachts, conceived to gather at the Smeralda Coast Yacht Club shipowners, shipyards, designers and the entire navigation world.
Indeed, the calendar scheduled two World Cups for monotype classes, the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship (22-27 June) and the Audi Melges 32 World Championship (21-27 September); two new yacht-races for superyachts such as the Dubois Cup (6-8 June) and the Perini Navi Cup (2-5 September).
Bonadeo wished to thank Arnaud Boetsch, sponsoring director of Rolex S.A. and Gian Riccardo Marini, managing director of Rolex Italy, Giuseppe Tartaglione, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Ed Dubois of Dubois Naval Architects, Tony Harris, CEO of Boat International Media and Giancarlo Ragnetti, CEO of Perini Navi, for their support to the initiatives of the yacht Club and their willingness to give a presentation during the conference regarding their own 2009 events.
As far as it concerns “secret dreams”, the Commodore talked about two big projects: “The first is that of creating an international sailing school to be twinned with that of the Italian Yacht Club. The second is that to revive the past through a worldwide event.”
The sports season of the Smeralda Coast Yacht Club opens up with two events dedicated to the Smeralda 888 class, the Sail & Golf Trophy (15-17 May) and the European Cup Smeralda 888 (29-31 May) that is part of the Mediterranean Circuit for that class.
Scheduled events continue in June with the Dubois Cup (6-8 June) and the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta (9-13 June). Dubois’ watercrafts are famous for their combination of elegance and functionality; the race is open to hulls featuring a minimal 24-metres length. Numerous Dubois boats will stay in Porto Cervo for the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, open too to 24-metres length hulls. The Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta will display a selection of the biggest world sailing boats that, throughout the four days of the competition, will make use of the islands of the Archipelago de la Maddalena as natural buoys. Following the success of the previous edition, the event seems to be destined to expand in the coming years, becoming a fixed appointment for Mediterranean superyachts.
The second half of June will see superyachts making room for the international fleed of the Farr 40, with the Audi Invitational (18-21 June) “to which show business and sports personalities will take part”, as stated by Giuseppe Tartaglione, CEO of the Volkswagen Group. The event paves the way to the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship (22-27 June). The ten-tests-in-four-days event, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, will host some of the best world yachtsmen. Competition among the shipowners of this established monotype class is always very fierce and victory depends on ability and team work that they’ll be able to show.
After the usual break in July and August, time in which the Smeralda Coast Yacht Club goes in for members’ activities, sailing giants will be aligned, once again, along the quays of Porto Cervo Marina. A record fleet composed of more than twenty yachts Perini Navi, which boast an over 45-metres average length, will compete for two days along the granitic coast of north-eastern Sardinia during what is called the Perini Navi Cup (2-5 September). Right after the Perini event, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup’s (6-12 September) twentieth edition will take place. This annual meeting regularly attracts some of the most technologically advanced boat-race innovations, categorized as: Racing Cruising, Mini-Maxi, Spirit of Tradition and Wally. Moreover, this year the event is part of the Swan maxi Circuit and of the IMA Championship.
The mighty Maxi yachts will leave the quays to make room for the competitive spirit of the circuit Audi Melges 20 Sailing Series (18-20 September). The Porto Cervo event is the fifth and last stop of the series dedicated to the new-born Audi Melges 20, that is the latest sportive hull of the Melges maison, fast, nice and easy to handle. Right after that it’ll be the turn of Melges 32 that closes the sports season in Porto Cervo with audi Melges 32 World Championship (21-27 September). The Melges 32 class, launched in 2005, constantly grew and has recently obtained the ISAF official certificate. With over 100 boats circulating, Porto Cervo, the location chosen for the first edition of the class’s world championship reflects the success of the Melges 32 in Europe and even more in Italy.
The sports season of the Smeralda Coast Yacht Club will end with the Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Cup. Participants will start from Tenerife, Canary Islands (23 November) and will end in St. Maarten, Caribbean, after an overall journey of 2600 nautical miles.
Leisure, Motor Yachts, Sailboats, Yachts,
Tags: Dubois Cup, Loro Piana, Milan, Milan Museum of Science and Technology, Perini Navi, Rolex, Smeralda Coast, Smeralda Coast Yacht Club
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