All the highlights of the inaugural Cyclades Superyacht Cup 2024

After three days of racing by day and drinks and dinners by night, the inaugural superyacht regatta, Cyclades Cup, drew to a close on the Greek island of Antiparos last month with a prize-giving ceremony to remember.

The regatta was organised by the Yacht Club of Greece in collaboration with World Superyacht Awards judge and owner of 50-metre Almyra II, Ilia Rigas. Cyclades Cup is an officially sanctioned event of the SuperYacht Racing Association.

Ilia Rigas, the principal of the Cyclades Cup said: “The first Cyclades Cup was a dream that we shared with Stratis from the Yacht Club of Greece that came true. Our aim was to bring together wonderful people from around the world to this tiny island to share their love of sailing. And we wanted to have a nice balance of competitive sailing in Corinthian spirit together with the social programme that only a simple but chic, unpretentious Greek island can offer."

Stratis Andreadis, race chairman from the Yacht Club of Greece, agreed, adding: “We had two days of great racing. The second day, I believe, will stay in everyone’s mind forever. We designed a course through the channel of Despotiko with a moderate northerly and ended up with some of the most beautiful images yacht racing has seen in a long while. On to next year, with more courses, more days, more unforgettable memories!”

The Grand Prize, a replica Cycladic head formed of brilliant Parian white marble from the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, was awarded to the “Head of the Fleet” Mike Mahoney, owner of Tawera, for coming top of his racing division and winning by the biggest cumulative margin in a corrected time.

Reflecting on the event, Mahoney said, “Without doubt the best regatta we have attended in terms of venue, hospitality, management, race courses and safety protocols. Plus, it’s nice as an owner not to have to accommodate and feed race crew, there was no optimising gear or crazy weight reductions etc - it was just turn up and enjoy the purity of sailing. I have no doubt Cyclades Cup will be the foremost regatta on the circuit in years to come."

Not everyone who sailed the regatta had their own yacht. Stathis Topouzoglou was one such participant: “When Ilia and Mathios told me about their plans to organise the first-ever superyacht regatta in Greece, I only had one problem, I did not own a sailing boat! After thorough research, I found one of the best boats available for charter, Seabiscuit, along with its very experienced captain and racing crew! What an experience - three magical days, an extremely well-organised event, fabulous people, wonderful venues...”

Racing was separated into three classes, all named with a nod to Greek mythology: the Meltemi Class, featuring three 33-metre sailing yachts; the Skyphian Class, comprising yachts ranging from 25 to 30 metres; and the Apollo Class, which included six yachts between 37 and 56 metres.

Cyclades Cup would not be possible without the support of platinum sponsor UBS, gold sponsors IYC and Perini Navi, silver sponsor Jaquet Droz, and bronze sponsors Pantaenius and PERGA. Generous local support was provided by Navi Oceandis, Blue and Blue, Sun of A Beach, North Sails Apparel,  Blue Star Ferries, Agrilia Organic Olive Oil, Salty Bag and Trinity Wines.

For more information about the event, visit the Cyclades Cup website.