| PORTO CERVO, ITALY-(8-9-2004) In breeze ranging from 5 to 12 knots from the northeast and under clear skies, the fleet of 31 boats headed out for the third day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Today’s course took all three divisions past the Island of Monaci and along the beautiful coast of Sardinia with the cruising division sailing 26 miles and the racing and Wally divisions sailing just over 30 miles. The recently launched Genuine Risk, a 90 foot boat with a canting keel designed by Ed Dubois, held the lead throughout the entire day, winning the competitive racing class. Following upon yesterday’s win, Alexia again won the Wally division. Mister A took first in the cruising division repeating their victory from the day before. Overall division leaders include Roy Disney’s Pyewacket in the racing division, Alexia in the Wally division and Inspiration, a traditionally designed Jongert built in 1985, in the cruising division. Tomorrow is a lay day with racing set to continue on Friday, September 10th, 2004 at noon.
Pyewacket has shown the strongest performance in the racing division closely followed by the newly launched Wild Oats, owned by Robert Oatley from Australia. The boats with canting keels have shown the best performances during the past three days in this division.
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“Our performance was certainly better than yesterday,” said Randall Pittman, owner of Genuine Risk. “We got a jump at the start and were the first boat around the first windward mark by about two minutes, leading Pyewacket. With smart tactics and strong crew work, we were able to stretch our lead.”
In the Wally division, there is a wide variety of technology at work including canting keels, as well as boats with water ballast and traditional keels. The regatta’s overall race results show no particular technology is providing a clear advantage.
“Today, we sailed an excellent race,” said Marco Tronchetti Provera, owner of Kauris III, who finished second today in the Wally division. “Our Code Zero sail worked well, especially in today’s light air. We are a heavy boat, twice the weight of Magic Carpet, but we were able to out perform her today.”
“For a 19-year old boat, we are doing quite well,” said Herbert Dahm, owner of cruising division leader Inspiration. “It has been a long time since we have performed at this level. This can be attributed to work from a dedicated crew including three German sailing champions.”
“It has been a pleasure watching the intensive competition between sailors that hail from all over the globe,” noted Commodore Gianfranco Alberini. “We have the privilege of watching sleek, modern racing yachts along side of classics. It is a showcase for the best of the best, both on and off the water.”
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