PERINI NAVI CUP 2011 UNDERWAY

THE MALTESE FALCON CLAIMS VICTORY ON DAY ONE

Porto Cervo, Italy. 2nd September 2011.

An exciting first day of the fourth edition of the Perini Navi Cup came to a close with The Maltese Falcon leading the overall classification. The regatta, which sees the spectacular fleet of sailing yachts from the Perini Navi shipyard race off Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, is organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and is taking place from 1st through 4th September.

“It was a great race” commented Chris Gartner, Captain of The Maltese Falcon, “and despite the light air it was a great start. We completed the course as quickly as we possibly could and the whole crew did a great job, it was a great team effort.”

Veteran America’s Cup sailor Dawn Riley, tactician aboard the 45-metre Helios – which has Suzy Leech as navigator – was also enthusiastic: “We came third today so it was a good result and we had a lot of fun; the sailing is always beautiful in Sardinia. At one point we had a pretty tight situation with Persifal III between two rocks which they won out in the end. Every single person on board helped out today so it truly was a team effort.”

The 13 sailing giants that took to the starting line off Porto Cervo followed a course of approximately 13 miles that took them through the strait between the mainland and Isole delle Bisce island before heading north to round Monaci island and heading homeward. A cloudy sky and 7 to 9 knots of easterly breeze which built to approximately 12 knots by the end of the race characterized this first day of the event.

Parsifal III was the fastest yacht in real time, finishing in just over 1 hour and 41 minutes however the 53.8-metre hull moved to second place on corrected time.

The second day of racing is scheduled to start tomorrow at 12 midday.

Owners and guests will take part in an on-board cocktail competition this evening from 7 p.m. while the busy social programme will continue tomorrow with the Rolex owners’ dinner at the YCCS Clubhouse.

Provisional Overall Classification
1 The Maltese Falcon
2 Parsifal III
3 Helios
4 Panthalassa
5 Heritage
6 Perseus
7 Principessa Vaivia
8 Felicita West
9 Salute
10 Ohana
11 Heritage M
NC Fidelis
NC Selene
 
 
For further information on the event please visit www.perininavicup.it or www.yccs.com or contact the press office.

Contacts
YCCS Press Office
Jill Campbell
Tel +39 0789 902 200
Cell +39 340 167 4755
Email pressoffice@yccs.it
www.yccs.com

Perini Navi Group Press Office
Tel +39 0584 4241
fax +39 0584 424268
Email ufficiostampa@perininavi.it
www.perininavi.it


Image Building

Pauline de Fazi + 39 3357513763
Federica Tommasini + 39 331 6781442
Gaia De Scalzi + 39 331 67881443
Tel +39 06 68392100
Email perininavi@imagebuilding.it
About Perini Navi
With a fleet of 51 yachts on the water- 50 sailing yachts and one motor yacht- the Perini Navi Group is the world leader in the design and construction of large sailing yachts. In 2007 the Group also began to build motor yachts with the brand name Picchiotti and the series name Vitruvius, thus re-launching the historic Picchiotti shipyard acquired in the early 1990’s. The Group is made up of the Perini Navi shipyard in Viareggio, founded in the 1980’s by Fabio Perini who invented and developed a revolutionary automatic sail control system. Another division of the Group is the Picchiotti shipyard in La Spezia where the Group constructs its motor yachts and concentrates most of it refitting work, and the Perini Istanbul shipyard in Yildiz, Turkey where its hulls and deck structures are produced. Perini Navi USA is a commercial division of the Group through whom owners of Perini Navi Group yachts can arrange charters and which also provides services for both new and previously owned Perini Navi Group yachts.

About YCCS
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was founded in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in 1967 by current president H.H. the Aga Khan and a group of founder-members as a non-profit sporting association for fellow sailing enthusiasts. The YCCS is renowned for organizing international sailing events such as the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Audi Sardinia Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup as well as World and European championships for top one-design fleets. In recent years the Club has focused on promoting new superyacht events such as the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, the Dubois Cup and the Perini Navi Cup. The Club has also promoted international challenges such as Azzurra - the first Italian challenger for the America’s Cup in 1983 which became a legendary Italian brand and was relaunched by the YCCS in 2009 with a victorious participation in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Nice - participation in the Volvo Ocean Race with a two-boat campaign one of which had an allfemale crew, and the motor yacht Destriero which to this day holds the transatlantic crossing record set in 1992. The YCCS continues to expand its activities and in 2011 is scheduled to open a winter base in Virgin Gorda, BVI where it already manages a new, purpose-built marina. www.yccs.com