This year’s Superyacht Cup Palma, held from 29 June to 2 July, proved why Europe’s longest-running superyacht regatta ticks so many boxes. At its heart the Superyacht Cup is run by sailors for owners and their crew, offering ‘bite-sized’ coastal races on the legendary Bay of Palma before a chance to reconvene in the bars of the beautiful Real Club Nàutico de Palma to mull over the day’s competition. It’s an enduring appeal which has seen some teams come back year after year, but this year also welcomed yachts under new ownership for a first, memorable, taste of superyacht racing.
The 2022 edition may not have been the biggest but it was a pleasingly diverse fleet, from Wallys to modern classics, to the big, beautiful – but occasionally unwieldy – superyachts. Core attendees include a local congregation of large, competitive yachts, although this summer’s 11 entries represented a drop on recent years. However, most encouraging of all was the upsurge in J Class participation. It is eight years since there was a fleet of five J Class yachts racing and so having four racing hard and evenly against each other was a spectacle in itself, while the class has been substantially reinvigorated with Ranger and Svea under new ownership.
It was also an atypical event in that the Bay of Palma didn’t really uphold its reputation for the thermally generated sea breezes you can set your watch by. Instead there was a real variety of light to moderate southwesterly sea breezes, giving way to a tricky, shifty northeasterly gradient blowing off the land which peaked at 12-13 knots at times.
This story is from the October 2022 edition of Yachting World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2022 edition of Yachting World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TAKING OWNERSHIP
WILL BRUTON ON UPSKILLING ON BOARD
SPECIAL REPORT
DAN HOUSTON ON CHANGES TO THE SHIPPING FORECAST
NAVIGATION BRIEFING
TOM CHENEY ON RACING ACROSS THE CHANNEL
NEW YACHTS
SOME EXCITING, AND VERY DIFFERENT, NEW 40-FOOTERS
21ST CENTURY TWINS
RM'S DISTINCTIVE NEW FLAGSHIP OFFERS AN ENTICING COMBINATION OF GOOD SAILING QUALITIES, SPACIOUS ACCOMMODATION AND TWIN KEELS AS STANDARD
UNLIKELY HERO
A CROSS-EUROPE ADVENTURE IN A 10FT DINGHY SEES SANDY MACKINNON NEARLY COME A CROPPER OFF WHITSTABLE’S MUD FLATS
HER OWN WAY
COLE BRAUER IS THE FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN TO SAIL SOLO NON-STOP AROUND THE WORLD. HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT HOW SHE’S SHAKING THINGS UP
THE MIGHTY ESSEQUIBO
JAMES AND JAYNE PEARCE DISCOVER THEIRS IS THE ONLY YACHT IN THE COUNTRY CRUISING REMARKABLE GUYANA
CAPE NORTH
CRUISING BEYOND THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, JANNEKE KUYSTERS AND WIETZE VAN DER LAAN ENJOY A SURPRISING SUMMER IN NORWAY
DOWN WINDING
WHICH DOWNWIND SAILS ARE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU? AND HOW DO YOU TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF SAIL HANDLING ON A TRADEWIND PASSAGE? TOBY HODGES QUIZZED MORE THAN 240 SKIPPERS IN LAST YEAR'S ARC TO FIND OUT