The 33.4-metre Vitters sailing yacht Inoui has won the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta after securing a near-perfect scoreline of two wins and a second place in the Superyacht Cruising Class.
The regatta came to a close on Saturday after the last day of racing was suspended due to a lack of wind, meaning the final classification remained as it stood after racing had concluded on Friday. In second place, just two points behind, was the Baltic 108 Win Win, and in third place - four points behind the victor - was the 33-metre Pattoo.
Inoui wasn't the only vessel to walk away with silverware. With the WallyCento V and Inoui sitting on equal points in the Combined Performance & Cruising Class, the tie was broken on countback, with V triumphing over Inoui, andWin Win in third.
Chris Main, tactician on Inoui said: “We had very close racing between us, Pattoo and Win Win, in the Cruising Class all three races were decided by just a few seconds, which made everything much more fun. We felt we had the chance to win the Combined Class as well, where we were second, on equal points with V, but racing wasn’t possible.”
Ben Bartlett, owner's representative on board V said: “We’ve had a fantastic week with excellent weather conditions and surprising results for us. As the first regatta for this new programme we weren’t expecting amazing things, our main focus was on building a new team and looking ahead to the next events this year. The win was an unexpected bonus.”
Held concurrently with the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta is the Southern Wind Rendezvous, where no classifications were drawn up, in recognition of the non-competitive spirit of regatta. CCO of Southern Wind, Andrea Micheli, and commercial manager Jeremy Peek presented prizes to the SW94 Aragon for the best manoeuvres, Sørvind for the best start and Egiwave for having most fully embraced the spirit of the Southern Wind Rendezvous.
YCCS Commodore Michael Illbruck said: “On the basis of our common values, together with Giorgio Armani we have plans to create a superyacht event that is even better than what we have achieved to date. I would like to thank the owners and crews, and everyone else who made this edition of the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta possible.”