Video by Breed Media
The Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta returned to Porto Cervo, Sardinia in June 2018, bringing with it a host of impressive sailing superyachts and the promise of some thrilling regatta action. Nine yachts ranging from 27.47 metres to 49.8 metres entered this year's edition and were organised into two classes to provide competitive and fair racing. Watch some of this year's highlights in the video above and read on for more from the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2018...
All images courtesy of Studio Borlenghi
The eleventh edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta got off to a slow start with winds too light on day one for racing to commence. Speaking on his decision to postpone the day's racing, principal race officer Peter Craig said, "It was a difficult day, frustrating both for the race committee and for the competitors, and we hoped to be able to do a short regatta but it would not have been a fair one."
Despite a disappointing day on the water, spirits were high as guests arrived for the Loro Piana Owners' Dinner. The competing owners and their guests were treated to a delicious dinner as well as live entertainment from local musicians.
Light winds and heavy rain meant racing was once again postponed on day two but crews were kept busy preparing for what would, hopefully, be a busy day of racing on day three. As Francesco Mongelli, navigator of My Song, explained, "We've had a very confused situation that was complicated to predict. the wind came in two hours later than predicted, too late to get racing started. But we can't control the wind, that's part of the beauty of sailing."
Sailing finally got underway on day three with an early start time meaning the race committee were able to schedule two races to help make up for those missed. My Song in Class A and Savannah in Class B both took double wins leaving them in a strong position going in to the final day.
It wasn't all plain sailing, however. Problems with her spinnaker left Saudade in third place in Class A, with Inoui taking second and Highland Fling retiring early from the racing. In Class B, Savannah was followed by Escapade in second and regatta-veteran Ganesha in third. Hugh Morrison, owner of Savannah, commented, "I'm really proud to have debuted at this event with two bullets, racing here is wonderful but also very challenging. The second win feels particularly good because it was not a given at all, careful tactics allowed us to anticipate the change in the wind well."
A day of great racing was rounded-off by the always highly anticipated sunset party at Phi Beach. Owners, guests and crew took time to relax and enjoy the stunning Costa Smeralda landscape before the final day of racing got underway.
Daredevil tactics were deployed on the final day of racing as the competing yachts made a last ditch attempt to make the most of the 22 knot mistral winds which urged them round a 31 mile course that took in the islands of Caprera and La Maddalena.
Various technical issues and equipment failures saw My Song become the only yacht to compete in Class A meaning the most intense action took place in Class B. 27 metre Savannah, as the smallest yacht in the fleet, once again put up a strong fight and secured a win over 46 metre rival Ganesha by just 33 seconds.
The Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta 2018 ended with a celebration as Pier Luigi Loro Piana, owner of My Song, was awarded the Silver Jubilee Cup thus seeing the 39.6 metre Baltic become the overall winner of this year's event.