Nilaya, owner IMA Member Philip Balcaen, wins second consecutive Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous

It is the second consecutive year and third time in the past four years that the 111-footer Nilaya has won the trophy at the seventh annual regatta presented by Italian brand Loro Piana and co-organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Boat International Media. Built by Baltic Yachts, Nilaya won all three races in Class A by an average of more than 6 minutes.

"It comes down to good management and, of course, a great owner," said tactician Bouwe Bekking. "Without a great owner you can't put a good team together and he puts a lot of emphasis on good team work. It's a combination of a couple of pros, a lot of friends, and a lot of history; we've been sailing together for nearly seven years now.

"The boat likes the medium to medium-heavy conditions we had this week," Bekking said. "The boat was well prepared. The owner bought all new sails. It just went well, the whole week."

Nilaya also won the Loro Piana Cup for winning Class A, as did the 38m P2 in Class B, the Swan 90 Freya in Class C and the 60m Perseus3 in Class D.

With a brisk wind of 13 to 20 knots propelling the 17 yachts around the 23-nautical-mile course set about the Sir Francis Drake Channel, P2 won its final race showdown with Ganesha to capture Class B.

The two were tied on points heading into today's finale, but the P2 crew signaled their intention to take no prisoners this morning when they fired their cannon-a 39-inch barrel, 2-inch bore armament that was captured from the French frigate Le Medee in 1801-upon leaving the YCCS dock. When they fired it again after finishing, everyone in ear shot knew the job had been done.

"The cannon has become our signature move," said Tony Rey, the tactician. "The poor fellow who has to fire the cannon has the hardest job because you don't want to misfire. But we had a great race with Ganesha, it seems it always comes down between us. Matt Humphries and the guys on Ganesha are incredible competitors. We like to think we're getting better and better at sailing P2. We all take pride in getting on the podium here. It's a big deal."

Don MacPherson's Freya also captured its second consecutive class victory and third in the last four years, winning all three races in Class C by an average of more than 5 minutes.

"It was a fantastic week, we did well because we're a crew," said MacPherson. "It was really good racing and we made very few mistakes. I attribute our success to the crew, they did a great job."

For MacPherson and crew it was their fifth consecutive victory in the past year. They started winning at last year's Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta, continued at the St. Barth's Bucket last year, then won the Rolex Swan Cup last September in Sardinia and finally the Rolex Swan Cup last week in Virgin Gorda.

MacPherson is no different than Nilaya's owner; there's always a new sail to purchase. "The new sail this week was the yellow A2 spinnaker. I think it was a great sail for us. We sailed quite well downwind," said MacPherson.

In Class D the 60m Perseus^3 completed its first class victory with a come-from-behind win. Perseus^3 suffered a problem with its roller furling system that prevented the crew from using the large headsail for half of the race's upwind work. The crew was able to get the issue sorted out in time to score a 45-second win over Action, the new 123-footer from Dykstra Naval Architects and built by Royal Huisman.

At the final awards Action, helmed by Olympic medalist Shirley Robertson with Volvo Ocean Race winner Ian Walker calling tactics, was presented the British Virgin Islands Trophy for best newcomer to the event.

All winners were heartily cheered by their peers at the final awards presentation, signaling a fantastic end to another successful Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous.

"The Loro Piana Superyacht regattas represent one of the highlights on both sides of the Atlantic and these last four days have been incredible," said YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo. "Here we have such a range of boats, from the smallest at 23 metres to the largest at 60 metres. We also have classic designs such as Wild Horses, to new boats, such as the Swan 115 Shamanna. I want to thank our title sponsor Loro Piana for supporting us and the owners who make all of this possible. I look forward to seeing you in June in Porto Cervo and in 2018 back here in Virgin Gorda."

In its 50th anniversary year, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda racing calendar continues in May in Porto Cervo with the Audi Italian Sailing League and the Mediterranean edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta.

Media Contacts:

YCCS
Jill Campbell/Marialisa Panu
pressoffice@yccs.it
marina.yccs.com

Boat International Media
Sadie Brown | Event Manager
sadie.brown@boatinternationalmedia.com
www.boatinternational.com

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 - the participation in the Volvo Ocean Race with a two boat campaign one of which had an all-female 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 2012 inaugurated its winter base in Virgin Gorda overlooking the island's new YCCS Marina. The Club now runs regattas year-round on both sides of the Atlantic.
2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Club's foundation and sees the launch of a new initiative, supported by Princess Zahra Aga Khan, in which YCCS adds its voice to the global conservation effort. www.yccs.com - www.oneoceanforum.org