Photos & Results: Superyacht Regatta Day #2

June 15, 2017

After light winds on the opening day, the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta fleet revelled in the brisker winds and glorious hot sunshine during the second day of racing.

The conditions resulted in more open courses which were set to offer more passing lanes and keep the crews on their toes with a bigger range of wind angles requiring smart sail choices and slick crew work.

All eyes were on Svea. The newest J Class yacht in the historic six strong fleet competing sailed a sparkling debut in light-medium winds off St Georges to take third place in the most competitive J Class fleet ever mustered.

“I did not really know what I was expecting from my first J Class race,” said Svea’s tactician Charlie Ogletree. “I expected it to be big and scary with big loads on everything. It was big but it was not so scary. But the conditions were perfect.”

In Class A the 10-13kts wind conditions and flat water were much closer to what the crew of Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s 35m Nautor Swan 115 Highland Fling were looking for as they won their first race since the boat was launched last year.

In Class B the slightly stronger winds were also good for Sojana, Sir Peter Harrison’s 2017 Antigua Week winning 35m Farr ketch. With French ocean racing legend Loick Peyron steering, Sojana was more than one minute ahead of the second placed Rebecca.

Not one crew has managed to put two back to back wins together in any of the four classes. In Class C it was the 28m spirit of tradition style yawl Bequia, designed by Stephens Waring Yacht Design which triumphed, winning today by over four minutes over their 12.3 nautical miles course.

Racing at the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta, hosted by Boat International Media, concludes with the scheduled Race 3 roday.

Click to enlarge photos: