Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta - Final Day

For the final day of racing the race committee chose to set a custom course, sending the fleet to a windward laid mark and a spreader before setting them on a downwind run towards the Dog Islands. Leaving the Dogs to starboard, the course continued toward a laid mark near Ginger Island, with the return to the finish leaving the Dogs to starboard once again.

Right from the start there was a split in the fleet, with the first two superyachts to cross the line, the 29m Altair and the 60m Seahawk opting to head right up the beat, while Tempus Fugit and Moonbird went left. By the first mark, it was Tempus Fugit that had stolen the early lead, rounding 50 seconds ahead of Seahawk, with Moonbird sneaking up the inside just three seconds later. With the fleet choosing to split left or right, there was some close action at the first mark that demonstrated just how close superyachts can race.

As the superyachts hoisted their kites at the spreader mark, once again the fleet split between gybes. Moonbird began to haul in Tempus Fugit and before long had taken the lead on the water, which she then stretched all the way round the course.

By the final leg, Marie had stormed through to second on the water, followed by Sarafin, Twizzle, Tempus Fugit and Nilaya, and meaning that many of the final standings in the three Classes were still wide open. By the time the fleet had finished the last leg to the finish, tension was high, but when the corrected times were calculated it was the J Class Rainbow with Pier Luigi Loro Piana at the helm that had come through to take the win in Class A ahead of Nilaya and the 50m Fitzroy Ohana.

In Class B, another solid race by the Swan Freya gave her another bullet, ahead of the 57m Twizzle putting in another strong performance followed by the 55m ketch Marie. The Class C win went to Moonbird, who had pulled out enough of a lead on the water to hold off a strong challenge by Sarafin, with Tempus Fugit coming home third.

After such a dramatic finish to the event, Bernard Lambilliotte of Moonbird was all smiles with the win. "My first reaction," he said after racing, "is to thank everyone for organising such a beautiful regatta and for getting together such an exceptional gathering of superyachts. I was here two years ago, the first event was a pretty exciting one to start with. What you see today is nearly a repeat of what we have in Sardinia in the summer, even better given the setting. We had very friendly and super professional racing so I really enjoyed it, it was really fantastic."

The final regatta standings gave the Class A win to Nilaya after a fantastic performance, with Rainbow taking second on count back over Ohana in third. It was a similar story in Class B, the dominant performance of Freya gave her overall victory, but a tight battle between Twizzle and Marie ended with Twizzle taking second on count back and Marie landing third. In Class C, Moonbird's solid race today secured her Class win over Sarafin, with Tempus Fugit taking a creditable third.

A fantastic event was had by all and everyone here at Megayacht Global are looking forward to next years action. For more information and videos visit Boat International Media.

Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta - Day 2

Day 2 on Friday began as the fleet of 20 superyachts spanning from 24.4m (80ft) to 66m (216ft) in length and totaling 779.4m (2,557ft) of sailing technology and design headed out to the start line just west of Necker Island. The race committee announced a course that would take the fleet anticlockwise round Virgin Gorda in a reverse of race one. This also meant an exciting downwind start for the superyachts, with plenty of challenges and high pressure for the tacticians and crews.

There were alterations to the ratings of six yachts overnight as the panel of experts that included pro Peter Craig, International Super Yacht Rule creator Jim Teeters, and a selection of independent and well respected yachting pros such as Cam Appleton and Jens Christensen assessed the data from the first day of racing.

Even with the rating changes the start order remained the same beginning with the slowest rated superyacht Altair, then superyachts starting at two minute intervals after. Many chose to hoist their kites on the line, with several yachts hitting the pin end at pace and timing it to the second.

As the yachts approached the Dog Islands and doused spinnakers for the fetch south, the faster yachts starting later in the order had already made good ground on the slower superyachts. The 37m Fitzroy Moonbird had clocked up a healthy two minute lead over the next superyacht, the 60m Perini Navi Seahawk as they reached Round Rock, their turning mark for the beat north up the east coast of Virgin Gorda.

The faster superyachts in Classes A and B had a longer leg and were sent west of Ginger Island before heading back round Virgin Gorda. There was a battle of the giants at the front with the 57m ketch Twizzle holding off the 55m ketch Marie for the lead on the water. A flurry of superyachts followed including Selene, yesterday's Class A winner Nilaya, Aiyana, the new Fitzroy built Ohana, Hetairos and Inoui all battling for passing lanes and clean air.

In the end Moonbird took line honors again, and they had built up enough of a lead on the water after a great day's racing to take first place in Class C on corrected time, ahead of Sarafin and Seahawk. In Class A, the Baltic built Nilaya scored a second victory ahead of 37m Ohana who put in an impressive performance today and in third the massive ketch Hetairos. Class B went to Twizzle, with race one winner Freya in second and Marie in third. It was shaping up for a great final day of racing.

Keep your eyes here on Megayacht Global for the Final Day and for further information follow the link to Boat International Media.

Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta - Day 1

The owners, their guests and crews prepared for day 1 of the Caribbean Loro Piana on Thursday morning and with 13 to 17 kts of breeze from the east it was shaping up for some ideal sailing conditions. The race committee led by principal race officer Peter Craig, selected two similar courses for the three cruising divisions, sending the fleet clockwise around Virgin Gorda. Class C rounded the western point at Round Rock, while Classes A and B headed a bit further to round Ginger Island before a straight upwind leg inside the Dog Islands to the finish just to the west of Necker Island.

The superyachts were started under a staggered start with the slowest rated yacht first, it was the 29m Altair that got racing underway. The first beat up to the northeastern corner of Virgin Gorda was straightforward, but there were opportunities for the skilled tacticians to make gains in the wind shifts. For some, particularly the larger superyachts racing including the 60m Perini Navi Seahawk, 57m Royal Huisman built Twizzle and the 55m ketch Marie, a straight tack more or less to the lay line east of Necker Island was the preferred option, while some of the smaller superyachts put in more tacks to make best use of the conditions.

As the fleet headed around the south side of Virgin Gorda,  the kites started to fly and the faster superyachts that started later began to cut through the fleet making for a spectacular sight of colorful kites, superyachts and turquoise waters. Leading the pack was the fully black 37m Fitzroy built yacht Moonbird, with Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson at the helm, followed by the beautiful modern classic Tempus Fugit running close to the shore and the mighty Seahawk out to weather.

As the Class C superyachts hit their turning mark, off Round Rock at the western corner of Virgin Gorda, Moonbird had notched up more than three minutes on second place superyacht Sarafin, the Oyster 100. Tempus Fugit followed just a minute and a half later.

Meanwhile, the Class A and B yachts continued on to round Ginger Island, and as the kites came down it was Marie that rounded first, hotly pursued by a flying Nilaya, the 34m Reichel/Pugh built by Baltic. The two yachts had built up quite a gap over the pursuing pack, which was led by Leopard by Robertissima and Hetairos, with Freya, the Vitters built Inoui, Swans Selene and Alpina, Alia Shipyard’s Aiyana, Wally Yachts Saudade and the Southern Wind Blues holding off the J classic Rainbow with Mr. Loro Piana at the helm.

Moonbird took the line honours for Class C and Hetairos cruised through on the water to take Class A and B line honours, although the corrected times would show the real winners.

When the results were in, Nilaya had taken the bullet in Class A ahead of Leopard by Robertissima and Inoui. Class B victory went to Freya, ahead of Alpina and Selene making a clean sweep for the Swans. In Class C Tempus Fugit took the win, just one minute 41 seconds on corrected ahead of Sarafin, with Moonbird taking third. A great day was had by all as some of the owners commented:

Peter Corr, owner of Aiyana, has only missed one Loro Piana Caribbean Regatta since it started. "It's wonderful, it's great to be back. Nothing's better than sailing in the BVIs, constant winds, great fun, beautiful sun, warm water and great competitors. This is a really great line up of boats and it was great fun today."

"We're over the moon," says a delighted Erbil Arkin, owner of Tempus Fugit. "I'm loving being here. I just crossed the ocean my first crossing, which was a bucket list thing to come and race here so for me it's absolutely great, it's marvelous. The plan for tomorrow is just to keep it going with the enthusiasm we have." 

Keep your eyes here on Megayacht Global for Day 2 and for further information follow the link to Boat International Media.

Superyachts Descend On Virgin Gorda

Superyachts from around the world have started to descend on the YCCS Marina in Virgin Gorda, the British Virgin Islands. Boat International Media and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda are preparing to welcome owners, guests and race crew to the Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta and Rendezvous that starts tomorrow Wednesday 19th and continues to the 22nd. The event which will host an impressive collection of superyachts will take place off the tranquil island of Virgin Gorda, where the stunning coastline, inshore coral reefs and all the warm Caribbean trade winds one could ask for will combine to present outstanding sailing conditions.

A mix of performance and cruising superyachts divided by class will compete over three days to take the prestigious title. New superyachts to the event include the Italian race team Robertissima on Leopard III, who are rapidly cementing their name on the international race circuit, as well as an exciting selection of new build superyachts; award winning Seahawk by Perini Navi, carbon composite Inoui built by Vitters, Humphrey's built J Class inspired yacht Tempus Fugit and the powerfully rigged Ganesha launched by Vitters in late 2013. Returning superyachts include Aiyana, Freya and Sarafin, who will be aiming to capitalise upon their knowledge of the tricky waters out on the race course. Stay right here with Megayacht Global as we will keep you posted on the days action and results as they come in.