2018 Perini Navi Cup is a triumph for Maltese Falcon

 

Maltese Falcon and Silencio triumph at the 2018 Perini Navi Cup.

The seventh edition of Perini Navi Cup, organised jointly with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, had gathered 21 yachts from the Perini Navi fleet in Porto Cervo, Italy.

The famous Maltese Falcon super sailing yacht won both the Corinthian Spirit Class and the overall Perini Navi Cup, whilst the 50m Silencio yacht took the award in the Cruiser Racer Class.

The final day of the 2018 Perini Navi Cup saw the fleet face a coastal route of approximately 14 miles, accompanied initially by a breeze of 12 – 14 knots from the West. The Perini Navi luxury ships headed South to circumnavigate the islands of Mortorio and Soffi before returning north to a buoy off the coast of Porto Cervo and the finish line of a course that was shortened due to strengthening winds, reaching speeds of 27 knots.

Seahawk yacht, the last boat to start in the Cruiser Racer division under the staggered start formula (which sees individual departures every 3 minutes), immediately accelerated today, leaving her rivals behind after rounding Soffi, and crossing the finish line with twenty minutes to spare, thereby clinching the victory of the day. Despite this excellent performance Seahawk placed second overall, while consistency was rewarded for the 50-metre Silencio – second in today’s race – who with two wins out of three races run, was the overall winner in the Cruiser Racer class. Third place of the day and third place in the overall classification went to the 43-metre Victoria A.

In the Corinthians Spirit class The Maltese Falcon, the 88-metre flagship of the fleet, took pole position in the overall standings with three wins out of three, seven points ahead of Tamsen yacht, in fifth place today but second overall. The battle on the water was for the second place of the day: Blush managed to outdistance Spirit of C’s to finish second, but didn’t manage to claim a podium place as Spirit of C’s went on to take third place overall.

Maltese Falcon is a full rigged ship using DynaRig technology, which was built by Perini Navi in Tuzla, İstanbul, and commissioned by her first owner, Tom Perkins. She is one of the world’s most complex and largest sailing yachts at 88 m (289 ft), similar in size to the Athena and Eos. The vessel dropped her BVI flag in 2008 and was purchased by Pleon Ltd, which put her to charter use. Famous charterers include actors Tom Hanks and Hugh Jackman and Google-co founder Larry Page.

“This has been a unique edition, the characteristic Costa Smeralda weather conditions allowed us to complete the full racing schedule with three consecutive days of competition, allowing the Perini Navi yachts to perform at their best. I would like to thank our friends Lamberto Tacoli and Edoardo Tabacchi for this collaboration which has allowed us, in all seven editions, including this one, to organise a highly successful event – the perfect blend of spectacle on the water and ashore. Thanks to the owners and all the sailors who gathered in Porto Cervo over the past few days and thank you to the International Jury, the Race Committee and the staff for their essential and invaluable work,” said YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo.

After the race Owners, cresws and guests gathered in Piazza Azzurra for the prize giving ceremony, during which special awards were given to Aquarius (Rybovich Award for Best Refit), Seven (Samsung “What You Can’t” Award), and Principessa VaiVia, Winner of the Spectacular Cocktail Contest.

The next sporting event for the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will be the final of the Audi Italian Sailing League from 27 to 30 September.