13th Palermo-Montecarlo Regatta: one of the most enthralling regattas in the Mediterranean Sea

Organised by Circolo della Vela Sicilia in cooperation with Yacht Club de Monaco and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the Palermo-Montecarlo proves to be one of the most anticipated regattas of the Summer. It’s the only one where the fleet, from the warm waters of Palermo up to Monaco, sails up across the Mediterranean for almost 500 miles nonstop.

A total of 44 boats are ready at the starting line of the 13th edition on Monday, August 21st; 20 of them will represent 9 foreign countries, i.e., the United States, Monaco, Germany, Poland, Great Britain, France, Russia, Hungary, and Italy (with 24 participants). Six of them are Maxi Boats and will be the protagonists once again; they will try to break the record of the Regatta of 47 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds currently held by Esimit Europa 2, which set it in 2015.

THE BOATS SAILING TO WIN. The favourite boat for the final victory can only be Pierre Casiraghi’s Malizia II, the only MONO60 equipped with leading edge foils (IMOCA 60 Class). It is the boat to beat in 2017 due to its characteristics. Every year, there is a boat which is expected to win, and this year it is the ‘royal’ yacht defending the colours of the Yacht Club de Monaco. The skipper of Malizia II is Boris Herrmann (34) who has already completed three world tours, one of them nonstop, in spite of his young age. The crew includes the kite-surf world champion Maxime Nocher, who is not going to miss the speed of his kite during the regatta.

The main opponent of the Malizia II will be the US maxi-boat Lucky, the fine 63 Raichel-Puig of Bryon Ehrhart, the ship-owner from Chicago, representing the illustrious New York Yacht Club. Lucky is a ‘boat born to win’ as testified by the Sydney Hobart (2011) and Transatlantic Race (2015) prizes it has won. Another favourite boat is the brand-new Grand Soleil 58 Leaps&Bounds, designed by Umberto Felci for the ship-owner Jean Philippe Blanplain. Paolo Semeraro, (twice Olympic Champion in Finn).

Among the Maxi boats, which will be seeking a strong finish, there is Maxi Buena Vista, ICE 62, fully made in Italy (this too designed by Umberto Felci) and commissioned by Gigi and Beppe Pannarale, two ship-owners from Bari. The skipper is Alberto La Tegola, former sailor of Olympic class boats, and current president of the Regional Committee - VII Area (Apulia) of the FIV (Italian Sailing Federation). This ‘giant’ of almost 20 metres is tasked with defending the colours of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia.

THE ROUTE. The Palermo-Montecarlo Regatta is little less than 500 miles to be covered while enjoying a mix of competitiveness, seamanship, tourism, and adventure. The start will be at 12:00 pm, August 21st, in the waters of the Gulf of Mondello (where the Circolo della Vela Sicilia is based). From here, the boats will sail towards Sardinia, passing through the ‘gate’ located off the coast of Porto Cervo. There, the expert sailors will have to decide whether to sail through the challenging Strait of Bonifacio or leave Corsica on their left to sail up the Mediterranean towards France and the arrival in Monte-Carlo. Let’s see what the sailors’ choice will be.

THE TROPHIES. Two awards have been put up for grabs: the Angelo Randazzo Trophy to the overall winner in corrected time (IRC or ORC) and the Giuseppe Tasca d’Almerita Trophy to the real-time winner. Over the years, illustrious boats have won the Trophy. Palermo-Montecarlo contributes to assign the following International trophies: Trofeo d’Altura del Mediterraneo 2017, Championnat et Trophees Inshore et Offshore Mediteraneen Equipages-IRC2017, Campione Italiano Offshore 2017, Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge 2017.

PALERMO-MONTECARLO X2. The Regatta features also a dedicated ranking for double handed racing boats (Palermo-Montecarlo x2). Four boats have enrolled in this category this year: Giacomo Gonzi’s Prospettica , Marco Emili’s Zigo Zago , Isidoro Santececca’s Cuor di Leone, and Piercarlo Antonelli’s Bora Fast. www.palermo-montecarlo.it 950 CLASS BOATS. Not only Maxi Boats, on the contrary! This year a fleet of six 950 Class boats will participate in the PalermoMontecarlo Regatta, each about 10 metres long and with a crew, which will race within the race. The boat to beat is Pietro Boerio’s Pegasus Citta’ di Verona, which has covered more than 27,000 miles over the last three years. Pegasus is the oldest and heaviest boat of this tiny fleet, but it has also won the most prizes. The opponent to be feared the most is Extreme Life Cinq Sens of Maurizio Vettorato, an oceanic sailor with a passion for hiking the tallest peaks in the world: a very promising mix!

SICILIAN SAIL BOATS. In addition to the Buena Vista, three boats from Palermo will be competing. They are: Donna Rosa of the Lega Navale Italiana of Palermo, which carries a message of solidarity to those who are less lucky and fighting the battle against cancer; Ninni Adamo’s S.H.A.D.O., which races for the Societa’ Canottieri Palermo, together with Wireless. Which one is going to make it?

LIVE TRACK_ Follow the race live on internet and mobile devices:

Web Link: yb.tl/pm2017

App IOS: YB Races

App Android: YB Races

Live streaming YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UChwuN1_n6VG0ccmwkZA1aCQ/live 

CIRCOLO DELLA VELA SICILIA It is one of the oldest sailing clubs in the Mediterranean and was established in 1933. Over its long history, it has hosted numerous prestigious national and international regattas. Since the end of June it is also the Challenger of Record of XXXVI America’s Cup and will be represented by the Team Luna Rossa Challenge (the challenge had been already launched in 2013).

YACHT CLUB DE MONACO It was established in 1953 by Prince Rainier and since 1984 it has been chaired by HSH Prince Albert II. The Yacht Club de Monaco groups together the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world and holds a special place on the global yachting scene. The new headquarters, designed by the famous architect Sir Norman Forster, were inaugurated on 20 June 2014.

CONTACTS Press Office & PR Palermo-Montecarlo

Federica Monticelli – (+39) 335 437 047 – fmonticelli@federicamonticelli.com 

Viviana Cinque (Sicily) – (+39) 339 758 0461 – viviana.cinque@gmail.com 

Facebook: facebook.com/palermomontecarlo