Brilliant conditions again provided the perfect arena for the second day of Superyacht Cup Palma, allowing some of the fleet to consolidate their position, some to improve, and all to revel in the great sailing on offer.
Brilliant conditions again provided the perfect arena for the second day of Superyacht Cup Palma, allowing some of the fleet to consolidate their position, some to improve, and all to revel in the great sailing on offer.
Making the most of the breeze, the race management team from the Real Club Náutico de Palma mixed it up at the 25 th anniversary event, with very different courses for the two superyacht classes on New Zealand Race Day. After a short postponement, the quartet racing in Class A were sent on their way to the appropriately named New Zealand race buoy, where they turned right on a long leg down the coast to a mark just off the small port of Sa Rapita, some 30km southeast of Palma. The five contenders in Class B, meanwhile, took on a more compact five-leg racecourse within the Bay of Palma. When the spray settled the 46m SYC first-timer Ravenger repeated her debut race victory, taking line honours and the overall win once the sophisticated handicapping system – which levels the playing field for the varied superyacht designs taking part – was applied. But in a change to the opening day the far smaller Giles Vaton designed sloop Baiurdo VI moved up a place to finish second, pushing Ganesha into third place, helped in part by the larger yacht blowing one of her giant spinnakers. “Being one of the smaller boats in the fleet we are a lot more manoeuvrable than the 46m yachts,” said Baiurdo’s captain Kristyn Gills.
“Being one of the smaller boats in the fleet we are a lot more manoeuvrable than the 46m yachts,” said Baiurdo’s captain Kristyn Gills. “It’s a very big advantage for us especially on the spinnaker hoists and drops – we can get them up quicker and drop them later than the others.
“We were pretty happy to get up to second, the boat is sailing better and better each day and that’s the main aim.”