Barcelona Superyacht Regatta gets underway at the 37th America's Cup

The 2024 Barcelona Superyacht Regatta, a three-day racing event taking place alongside the 37th America’s Cup from 4 to 6 October 2024, is now underway. Organised by the Real Club Nàutic de Barcelona (RCNB) and BWA Yachting, the legendary race is affiliated with, and sanctioned by, the SuperYacht Racing Association (SYRA). 

The Barcelona Superyacht Regatta is part of the Premier Regatta Series, a series of competitions running in parallel to the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup, and is organised in conjunction with America’s Cup Events (ACE). BOAT reports live from the action...

Barcelona Superyacht Regatta: Race Day One

The Barcelona Superyacht Regatta got off to an exhilarating start earlier today. At the start of the day a southerly breeze of around 13 knots was predicted, with a 0.8-metre swell from the east. At 1.30 p.m. the Race Committee sounded the start of the race, with the Cruising Class leading the way. Fidelis was the first superyacht off the line in a staggered starting sequence, closely followed in two-minute intervals by Halekei and Esense. The quicker Performance Class boats, Nefertiti, Jasi and V, followed closely behind.

The course followed a five-mark 20.28 nm course for the Performance Class and three-mark 12.44 nm course for the Cruising Class. After leaving Port Vell, the boats made their way to the starting line off the coast near the iconic triple towers of the Badelona Power Station, just a couple of nautical miles from the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and the duel between INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team.

At the first mark, V  caught the wind on her spinnaker and accelerated away, leaving Fidelis and Nefertiti trailing behind. 

And, true to form, seasoned racer V won the Performance Class tussle, completing the course in 1 hour 39 minutes, with Nefertiti finishing in 2 hours 18 minutes and Jasi, in just over two hours. "The race for us was won on the second leg when we chose the correct sail and maybe a couple of our competitors didn't, and we legged out to a nice little lead," Ken Reed, V's tactician, told BOAT. He said V had been practising. "We're more a racing superyacht than a cruising superyacht... and that refinement you probably saw today."

In the Cruising Class, regatta newbie Halekai came top, completing the course in 1 hour 18 minutes, with Esense finishing in 1 hour 20 minutes and Fidelis in 2 hours 7 minutes. Halekai's navigator, Jonny Malbon, said the weather was on their side. "It was definitely better than we expected. We were kind of dreading the switch from the offshore breeze to the onshore breeze, but we got quite lucky with a nice South Westerly sea breeze."

Getting to the start was not without its problems, though. "We had a lot of issues with the electronics and stuff yesterday, so we were up til 11.00pm last night trying to fix everything," said Malbon. "And it's the first time the boat's raced, so we pushed it quite hard.
It was quite windy, actually, in the end, around 15, 18 knots or so. And so I think, for the owner and the full-time crew,  they put a massive effort into getting the boat here and to be working properly and, you know, we delivered for them. So it's great to come in as a race crew and be involved with a nice boat, a fun owner and do well for them."

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Skippers meeting 

The Barcelona Superyacht Regatta 2024 skippers meeting was held over sunset drinks in the Real Club Nàutic de Barcelona (RCNB). The race was set for Friday 4 October at 1pm. Murray Lord, driver for Fidelis, admitted this was the first race the boat had done for a few years. Asked what were the crew's tactics, he told BOAT : "Don't break anything. Don't get a DNF. Have fun!" Their secret weapon? "The crew... and the fact that we're the only 56-metre in the regatta; we're the biggest boat, so we have to win!"

Like Lord, Halekai's Captain James Saddington was also hoping not to break anything. "You can't be thinking that winning the races is totally down to tactics, it's a team effort," he said. "You can make some small gains by making good decisions, but you can make some huge losses by breaking something." 

It was to be the first regatta for Halekai. "The boat is four years old and been round the world and we're just starting to get into the regatta scene," Saddington said. "So we want to get through the race clean and safe, learn how to race the boat and concentrate on making smooth manoeuvres."

Unlike Halekai and Fidelis, Jasi is an experienced competitor on the regatta scene, having ticked off 12 races in the last three years, with the owner manning the helm. "We like to cherrypick events, so the owner can have new experiences rather than repeating the same events," explained Captain Toby Clarke. "Obviously this was top of the list this year. We're a Palma-based boat and of course the America's Cup is a big draw for the sailing community. We're really excited to be here. And of course, we're here to win."

Captain of V ,Jack Bouttell has already got his sea legs, having taken part in the Barcelona Maxi Yacht Regatta a week ago, but, he admitted, this didn't mean he would have an advantage. "This is a superyacht regatta, so different rules, different strategies," he remarked. "We're just trying to get round the course as quickly as we can."

All captains admitted that there will be a big distraction tomorrow: the big AC75 head-to-head with Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli against INEOS Britannia which will be going on in the background... surely one big impetus for getting over the finish line first. 

Halekai

Sporting a 39.4 m LOA, Halekai  was built in the United Kingdom by Pendennis and delivered in 2020. One of two Truly Classic 128 models, she can accommodate up to six guests in three staterooms, with five crew.  She was designed by Hoek Design Naval Architects, who also completed the naval architecture and designed the interior. Halekai can reach a top speed of 15.0 kn, which is 2.84 kn above the average compared to similarly sized sailing yachts. Equipped with North3Di sails and a brand new spinnaker staysail, she recently underwent a sail service in Palma, Mallorca in preparation for the race.

Jasi

Jasi was built in Finland by Nautor Swan and delivered in 2018. At 35.11 metre LOA she can accommodate up to six guests in three staterooms, with five crew members. She was designed by German Frers, who also completed the naval architecture, Her interior was designed by deVosdeVries Design. Jasi is in the top 30% by LOA in the world and is one of 213 sailing yachts in the 35-40m size range. She competed for the first time in last year's Ibiza JoySail (Performance class), in a duel against Moat, which won overall after coming first in all three races, Jasi notching up three seconds. 

V

WallyCento yacht V (formerly Tango) was built by Persico Marine and delivered in 2017. She was designed by Mills Design, who also completed the naval architecture and her interior was designed by Pininfarina. The 30.48 m yacht can accommodate up to six guests in three staterooms, with four crew members. She is one of 390 sailing yachts in the 30-35m size range, and, compared to similarly sized sailing yachts, her cruising speed is 1.21 kn above the average. V has proved to be a competitor-to-watch, winning the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta combined Performance and Cruising Class last year in Porto Cervo, her first outing under a new owner.

Fidelis

The tenth and final unit in Perini Navi's 56M series, all-aluminium ketch sailing yacht Fidelis boasts a top speed of 15.5 kn, thanks to her twin Caterpillar engines. With a 50-metre LOA, sh can accommodate up to 12 guests in six staterooms, with nine crew members. She was designed by Ron Holland Design with naval architecture by Perini Navi, who also drew up the interior. 

Nefertiti

27.71m yacht Nefertiti was built in Finland by Nautor Swan and delivered in 2010. She can accommodate up to eight guests in four staterooms, with four crew members. She was designed by German Frers, who also completed the naval architecture and her interiors were penned by Nautor Swan. Her top speed is 12.0 kn thanks to her Perkins Sabre diesel engine and, compared to similarly sized sailing yachts, her top speed 0.94 kn above the average. Over the years Nefertiti has proved herself to be an active competitor on the Mediterranean and Caribbean regatta scenes, taking first place in the 2013 edition of the Swan Caribbean Challenge Trophy at the RORC Caribbean 600, finishing 5th in the IRC overall on corrected time. 

Esense

43.7 m Esense is another noteworthy racer from the Wally stable and is the only 143 model. Her top speed is 14.0 kn and power comes from a Caterpillar diesel engine. She can accommodate up to eight guests, with six crew members. She was designed by Luca Bassani Design and Wally, with the naval architecture by Bill Tripp and interiors by Odile Decq. When she was delivered in 2006, she raised the bar of hi-tech pre-preg carbon fibre construction with a displacement of only 140 tons, and at the time of her launch was the lightest sailing superyacht ever built.