Medal Haul for Maxi Vera at Palermo-Montecarlo 2019

Miguel Galuccio’s Reichel/Pugh 84 Vera has been confirmed as overall winner of the IRC division of the Palermo-Montecarlo offshore race, the fifth and final event of the 2018-2019 International Maxi Association’s Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge (MMOC). The MMOC began with the Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2018 and followed this year with the Regata dei Tre Golfi, the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar and Rolex Giraglia.

In what turned out to be a big boat race this year, Vera secured line honours into Monaco, finishing the 437 nautical mile race in two days, 17 hours and 13 minutes. She completed the course with only minor park-ups in the light tactical conditions encountered on the way compared to her smaller competitors.
Vera was led to victory in Galuccio’s crew, as usual, by Dutch round the world race veteran Bouwe Bekking with other notables among her 16 crew including Norwegian navigator Aksel Magdahl and Italy’s London 2012 Laser representative Michele Regolo.

At today’s prizegiving at the Yacht Club de Monaco, co-organiser of the Palermo-Montecarlo with Circolo della Vela Sicilia, the Challenger of Record for the 36th America’s Cup, and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Vera won additional prizes for being first on the water to the Porto Cervo gate, winning line honours into Monaco, for which she received the Guiseppe Tasca d’Almerita’s trophy and prizes for being first in Class A and first maxi.

Gabriele Bruni's ICE 52 Primavista Lauria won the overall corrected time prize under ORC, the Angelo Randazzo Trophy.

(Race report: James Boyd / IMA)