Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2011: Day 4

10 June 2011

PORTO CERVO, SARDINIA

11th June, 2011

UNFURLED AND HIGHLAND FLING WIN A WINDY WEEK

Harry Macklowe’s Unfurled and Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling have been crowned the winners of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2011 in Porto Cervo.

With strong winds forcing today’s final race to be cancelled, Unfurled’s 1st and 2nd places from previous days earned victory in the Cruising Division by 1 point from Kora 5 of Portofino, with Hasso Plattner’s Baltic 147 Visione in 3rd overall.

Harry Macklowe commented: ‘Boat International and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda run a wonderful regatta, the weather is beautiful and the boats are gorgeous. Thank you for a wonderful time.’ Macklowe received a bespoke Chihuly glass artwork, specially commissioned for the regatta for his 1st place finish in the Cruising Division.

The strong winds that prevailed for the week suited the ultra-light planing hull of Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling XI. The Reichel-Pugh 82 scored two 1st places to win convincingly ahead of Andrea Recordati’s Wally 101 Indio, with Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s My Song in 3rd overall.

Video highlights and photos of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2011 are available to view on the event website.

Principal Race Officer Peter Craig was sad not to be able to stage a final race for the 27 yachts, but it would have been a tough and dangerous day on the Costa Smeralda. ‘We were seeing all the forecast models predict 30 knots plus in the afternoon,’ he said.

This afternoon the prizegiving at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda brought the regatta to a close, with the wind still blowing hard but the sun beaming down on hundreds of sailors and guests.

In addition to winning the Performance Division, Highland Fling’s corrected time calculations under IRC, across all races in both divisions gave Lord Laidlaw the Loro Piana Prize Overall, the Silver Jubilee Cup by Boat International Media.

Highland Fling won further awards for the top classified YCCS Member and the top classified member of the International Maxi Association.

Lord Laidlaw said his greatest pleasure this week was: ‘Sailing with a great team who just didn’t make a mistake, and being part of that team. People are working hard all the time, and it all goes so smoothly. I love coming to Porto Cervo, we have a home here. We’ve been coming since 1982 and will continue coming here until I kick up the soil. I love the weather and I love the wind.’

Other prizes went to Southern Wind’s 33.6 metre flagship yacht Thalima as the best classified Southern Wind yacht, and to Salvatore Trifiro’s 50 metre Zefira as the best classified vessel from the Fitzroy Yachts shipyard. Ed Bosarge’s spectacular 56 metre ketch, Marie was presented with a beautifully framed, hand crafted light chart of the Bonifacio Strait by Latitude Kinsale for best representing the Spirit of the Regatta. The yacht sails with a grand piano below decks (sometimes played during racing), a full suit of armour, and a cannon which is fired every time Marie goes to sea.

YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo was understandably proud of the event’s success: ‘Despite difficult weather conditions this has been a great event. The racing was great as was the social side and the collaboration with Loro Piana and Boat International Media is a winning one, as shown by this spectacular fleet. I have never seen such a fleet of superyachts gathered together in the Mediterranean before. The new rules which ISAF has allowed us to apply, regarding safety measures for racing superyachts, are a step forward and I know organisers and participants alike are already looking forward to the 2012 edition.’

The Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2012 will take place early June 2012.

For further information on the regatta please visit www.yccs.it or www.loropianasuperyachtregatta.com or contact:

Alexis Naylor

Events Executive

Boat International Media

Tel: +44 (0) 207 545 9334

Mob: +44 (0) 7971 438 671

Email: alexis.naylor@boatinternationalmedia.com

Jill Campbell

YCCS Press Office

Tel: + 39 0789 902 200

Fax: +39 0789 91213

Email: pressoffice@yccs.it

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