Crowned in Porto Cervo: the 2026 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup champions

The 36th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup concluded yesterday, 12 September, in Porto Cervo with the final coastal race. At the end of a week that brought highly varied conditions, from the light winds of the opening days to the Mistral, with gusts exceeding 28 knots, Leopard 3 and Northstar III won the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship and the Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship respectively. Artemis Bleu, Yoru, H2O and Highland Fling XVIII were the winners of the other classes.

The final race was sailed in a north-easterly breeze of approximately 10 knots, which gradually veered east and eased during the final stages. After starting off Porto Cervo, the fleet beat up towards the Monaci Islands, before bearing away towards Soffi Island through the Bisce Pass and finally returning to the finish. The course measured approximately 24 nautical miles. For the Maxi 4 and Maxi 5 classes, the passage at the Monaci Islands was replaced by an upwind mark, slightly shortening the course.

Today, Leopard 3 prevailed among the Maxi 1 yachts, Northstar III in the Maxi Grand Prix, Artemis Bleu in Maxi 3, Wallyno in Maxi 4, H2O in Maxi 5 and Allegra among the Multihulls.

Racing remained fiercely contested through to the final finish in every class, both where the winner had yet to be decided and where an outright or mathematically confirmed champion had already emerged. This was the case in the Maxi GP, where Northstar III continued to race for victory even after securing the title on the opening day. The close racing at the Monaci Islands, through the Bisce Pass and around Soffi Island—the southernmost point of the course—provided some of the week’s most spectacular moments.

The Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship was won by Joost Schuijff’s Farr 100 Leopard 3, with New Zealander Chris Nicholson calling tactics. After finishing third in the opening race, Leopard 3 built its victory through an exceptionally consistent series, winning five of the seven races sailed, including the final four in succession.

Today’s victory ahead of Capricorno and My Song enabled Leopard 3 to finish on 13 points, ahead of Karel Komarek’s WallyCento V, second on 20 points, and Galateia, owned by David Leuschen and Chris Flowers, the defending champion, third on 22 points. It was Leopard 3’s second Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship title, following its 2024 victory in the inaugural edition of the World Championship.

“It is the culmination of a great deal of hard work with an extraordinary boat and team. We love racing in Porto Cervo; it is undoubtedly one of our favourite venues. We will be back next year with a refitted Leopard, aiming to repeat this result,” said team manager Gerard Mitchell.

The Rolex IMA Maxi Grand Prix World Championship had already been secured yesterday, with one race to spare, by YCCS member Peter Dubens’ Northstar III, with two-time Olympic medallist Nick Rogers calling tactics. Making its debut in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Northstar III opened its class World Championship campaign with four consecutive victories and today rounded off the week by winning the final coastal race.

Northstar III finished on 14 points, ahead of Filip Balcaen’s Balthasar, second on 25. Peter Harrison’s Jolt and Proteus both finished on 28 points, with third place awarded to Jolt thanks to the two race wins it scored yesterday.

In Maxi 3, victory went to James Neville’s Artemis Bleu, with Dean Barker calling tactics. The British Botin 65 improved steadily throughout the week, winning the final three races. Today’s contest with Silvia De’ Longhi and Franz Wilhelm Baruffaldi Preis’s Manticore was particularly close: just 17 seconds on corrected time separated the two boats at the finish. Artemis Bleu ended the series on 9 points, ahead of Manticore on 13 and the Wally 94 Astra I on 17.

James Neville commented: “Winning here was a real challenge because we raced in very different conditions, from light to strong winds. The Costa Smeralda is proving lucky for us this year: first we won the Sardinia Cup with the TP52, and now this success with Artemis Bleu. We always receive a wonderful welcome from the YCCS in Porto Cervo, the racing is very well organised, and sailing among the islands of the archipelago makes this racecourse truly special.”

The Maxi 4 class also produced a closely fought finale. Benoît de Froidmont’s Wallyno won today’s race, but overall victory went to Yoru, Luigi Sala’s Vismara 62. Two second-place finishes on the first two days, followed by two victories in the Mistral, enabled Yoru to finish on 11 points, one ahead of Vincenzo Addessi’s Fra Diavolo, which had won the first two days. Lasse Petterson’s Why Not completed the podium on 15 points.

Gabriele “Ganga” Bruni, tactician aboard Yoru, said: “We are extremely satisfied because Yoru had already tried several times to win here and had come very close on more than one occasion. This year we finally managed it, and it means a great deal to us. It has been a fantastic week; we sailed well and fought for the victory right to the end with Fra Diavolo, to whom we offer our congratulations. This time, however, it was our turn.”

In Maxi 5, YCCS member Riccardo De Michele’s H2O, with Lorenzo Bodini calling tactics, once again confirmed its competitiveness at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The Vallicelli 78 won four of the five races sailed, including the final one, to finish on 6 points. Second, on 12 points, was Riccardo Genghini’s Swan 651 Lunz am Meer, followed by Giuseppe Puttini’s Swan 65 Shirlaf on 13.2 points.

In the Multihull class, victory was decided in a duel between YCCS members, with Adrian Keller’s Allegra and Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling XVIII battling for the title through to the final race. Allegra won today’s race ahead of Sophia and Highland Fling XVIII, drawing level with the latter on points in the overall standings. Victory nevertheless went to Highland Fling XVIII by virtue of the three race wins it scored during the week. Third was Marcos Sirota’s trimaran Sophia.

The prize-giving ceremony in Piazza Azzurra brought the event to a close. Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Commodore Andrea Recordati said: “The 36th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup gave us a complete week of racing, with highly varied conditions that tested boats and crews while once again highlighting the unique characteristics of our racecourse. The two World Championships and the level of competition across all classes confirm the sporting quality of this event. I congratulate the winners and thank all the owners and crews of the maxi yachts, who continue to turn out in such numbers for this regatta, our institutional partner Rolex, the International Maxi Association, the Race Committee and the entire Yacht Club Costa Smeralda team. The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is deeply connected to the history of our Club while continuing to evolve through advances in boat design and technology.”

Before the presentation of the special prizes and the awards for the top three finishers in each class, Giorgio Benussi, YCCS General Secretary and Sports Director, paid tribute to Carlo Borlenghi, the recently deceased photographer whose images helped bring the Club’s regattas to audiences around the world.

With the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup concluded, Porto Cervo is preparing to welcome the 23rd Rolex Swan Cup, scheduled to run from today, with measurement, through 19 September. The first race will be held on Wednesday, 16 September. The 2026 edition will coincide with the 60th anniversary of Nautor Swan’s foundation and will bring together a record fleet of almost 170 yachts from the Finnish shipyard.

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