The day dawned fair, full of Sardinian sunshine but the oily calm seas were devoid of wind.
The fleet of 15 super sailing yachts left Porto Cervo and hung around the entrance to the port like expectant fathers of yesteryear waiting for news of their new born.
But by lunch time there was a stirring of, if not wind then at least, a breeze and a shortened course was set by the race committee.
We were aboard Helios herself a yacht her to watch and not take part in the racing. This is a yacht that is here to be seen and is on the market with James McMasters handling the sale.
P2 showed the fleet a clean pair of heels cutting through the water like a knife through butter. Perini Navi have a second of these Phillipe Briand super fast perforce Perini yachts under construction and she is still for sale.
If the performance of P2 did not stir the pocket books of those owners of the more sedate motor sailing yachts in the fleet then nothing will.
Captain Jonathan Kline was pleased with the yacht’s performance on his return to port: “This is our first Perini Navi Cup with P2 and we found the conditions we expected, light winds but excellent for P2. We knew we would be able to pass most of the fleet in the first leg but then we would have to extend significantly to maintain the lead. I don’t know yet how we did, we finished quite far ahead of most of the boats but I don’t know if it was enough to take first place.”
America’s Cup sailor Dawn Riley was pleased with the teamwork aboard Silencio, “We won today, well done to all! I am the tactician on board and the entire crew did really well today, they were perfect. This is my third Perini Navi Cup and you have to know how to sail these boats, everything is so big. The owner said he wanted to get just one podium finish so I guess we did that! I just hope we can keep it up now.”
Third place went to the 52-metre Tamsen, racing in the event with a crew of almost 60 friends and family members.
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| Some of Tamsen’s crew show off their cocktail “Regatta Colada” |
Ashore in the evening it was time for us journalists to do some real work and earn our keep! We had to judge the cocktails concocted by crews on board each yacht.
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| Heritage crew member mixing the “Sangria Kiss” |
The competition organised by Vhernier was followed by the Vhernier After Race Cocktail Party at Aqua Lounge on the Piazza Azzurra. Pommery champagne will be flowing during both events as the brand, which will pop the corks on more than 1,000 bottles of cuvee during the regatta, celebrates its third year as partner of the Perini Navi Cup.
It’s a tough job but someone has to do it!