The sixth Perini Navi Cup drew to a close yesterday with the fleet of racing yachts experiencing phenomenal race conditions and career challenges for all sail teams.
Few yachts in the global superyacht fleet could have handled 35 knot winds with such stability and strength. The company of competing yachts, like the overall winner Rosehearty – with iconic sailors Paul Cayard and Chris Draper on board – made the most of the prevailing winds.
Pushing the yacht to its absolute limits, heeling to such a degree where the rail submerged, breaking a spinnaker and still coming third with an overall win is a testament to the design of the 2006 yacht and the crewmanship on board.
Professional Sailor Paul Cayard offered comment on the yacht he joined as Tactician during the Cup: “Rosehearty is 182’ long but you’re still sailing, you’re still heeling over and feeling the spray. So you’re still feeling the elements of mother nature while you’re travelling in luxury, so it’s a great blend. The Perini family are lovely people and their personality is embedded in the boats.”
Each yacht in the fleet fought hard over the three days, with light winds starting the race and building to a magnificent crescendo on the final day with strong winds and inspirational racing from all teams.
Clan VIII ran a consistent race, placing second each day and triumphantly claiming the position over all, whereas Seahawk fought through the ranks and beat the fleet to third, winning a well-deserved position in the overall rankings.
Once the yachts had made it back to the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda safely, with an understandably exhausted crew, an award ceremony recognised the fantastic work on the water and gave way to a big celebration with friends, owners, guests, media, captains and crew – with a special guest appearance from the legendary Andrea Boccelli.
The Perini Navi Group would like to thank everybody who took part in the 2015 Perini Navi Cup – from family, friends, owners, guests, captains and crew – and made the regatta enjoyable on every level. Full round-ups of each race will be available soon, with more video and interviews being released to give you a full insight in the race.
