Superyacht regattas are immense fun but for many owners the perception of increased stress in exchange for a few days’ racing keeps them on the sidelines. The SuperYacht Racing Association is working to change that...

A recent online meeting of the SuperYacht Racing Association (SYRA) saw a selection of global superyacht event organisers focus their collective minds on one particular issue. On the agenda was the apparent hesitancy of some superyacht owners, along with their captains, to experience the delights of regatta racing.

While no single answer presented itself and there was a general acceptance that some owners prized their solitude and would remain beyond reach, the overall takeaway from the SYRA gathering was that a variety of identified obstacles should and could be addressed and overcome.

At the forefront of the campaign to pull back the curtain and share the joy of racing is Kate Branagh, event director at Superyacht Cup Palma, Europe's longest-running superyacht regatta with the 27th edition set for 21-24 June. Branagh, who took the helm of the high-profile Mediterranean celebration of sail in 2013, recognises that the need to change is also in large part due to the covid pandemic which has dislocated previous patterns of behaviour across the sailing world, as in many other areas.

However, whatever the driver, there is clearly a significant potential market for SYC and other SYRA sanctioned regattas around the world says Branagh.

‘There is a perception, and this has always been there, that only raceboats go racing and some captains are possibly reluctant to introduce the idea to owners because either they think it's not appropriate for their boat, or that there is too much work involved,’ she says.

‘On both these points we can communicate better. It's not about having a superyacht that is built for racing, it's about taking superyachts that go cruising out racing.

‘I think sometimes people might feel they don't want to be part of something that brings in a massive crew of pro-racers and changes the boat into something it's not. But that's not what it is about as they will be in a class where the boats can fairly race against each other.

‘For some of the owners of course part of the appeal is racing with some of the biggest names in the sailing world.

‘On the other hand, there are those who don't dip their toe in because they think that is what is needed, and I want to break that belief down. You only actually need a couple of extra people to advise on safety issues.’

Branagh highlights the fact that the entire purpose of SYRA – set up in 2011 and led by yacht owners, event organisers, designers, and yards – is to enable superyachts to safely compete together within the confines of a racecourse.

To that, of course, is added the ORC Superyacht Rule (ORCsy) which is carefully designed to create a level playing field – and which could be dubbed “the wine and piano rating”.

Branagh explains: ‘The whole ORCsy rating system was developed specifically for superyachts because they are so vastly different. The rule is there for yachts that are not specifically designed to go racing.

‘It also works for boats that are more performance orientated but it doesn't close the door on anyone. There will always be competitive boats in the fleet that will spend 10 days switching from cruising to racing mode.

‘But on the other end of the scale there are boats that have a wine cellar and a grand piano onboard, and they don't take a thing off the boat. If you've got two massive satcom domes on your spreaders and you have to roll the headsail up completely in order to tack, it's taken into account in your rating. They don't need to change their configuration as this is where ORCsy comes in – there's no reason to take anything off as you are declaring everything, and it is built into the system.’

The groundwork for the SYRAinspired initiative has in some respects already been successfully completed in the form of the already established Corinthian Class, which has been on offer at Superyacht Cup Palma for several events. Introduced alongside the core Superyacht classes – which groups yachts of similar predicted performance together – the non-spinnaker Corinthian division allows for far smaller crews, with the owner's family and friends front and centre.

‘There are quite a few owners who are used to cruising with family and friends, and every year we get visitors to SYC who are just blown away that this kind of event even exists, and they had no idea,’ says Branagh.

And with the exception of adding one or two experienced sailors familiar with the nuances and safety rules of superyacht racing, Branagh points out that ‘your permanent crews cross oceans and are perfectly capable of leaving the dock, hoisting sails and racing around a triangle’. Also, the Bay of Palma offers a gentle introduction to the world of competitive racing, with inflatable buoys marking out the racecourse rather than islands and rocky outcrops. As Branagh says: ‘It is an easy entry and is addressing the barriers that stop people taking part. There are literally dozens of yachts here in Palma that are eligible and either could do it or have done it before – so what do SYRA sanctioned events need to do, collectively, to get them involved?’

Above and below: some crews in the fleet are fully professional teams; others are mainly amateur. But most are somewhere in between

While the messages aimed at the cruising side of the superyacht family is being put in the spotlight, Superyacht Cup Palma continues to appeal to the broadest possible church and is introducing a 90ft Class for the 2023 event. This new class addition is focused on the numerous cruiser-racers in the 80 -100ft LOA rating range who are already racing actively.

‘There are clearly a lot of performance-orientated cruiserracers out there, like Swans, Southern Wind yachts and others, who are already racing and are not interested in pursuit-type races, so we will offer them competitive fleet starts,’ said Branagh.

While SYC continues to thrive, attracting regular competitors, newcomers, and the J-Class year after year, the event owes its success to its ability and openness to adapt to the times and to the wishes of owners. The event has set itself an ambitious target in broadening its market appeal, though attracting new entries to the long-running event is not a completely unexplored area. Consistently over recent years the fleet has more or less divided itself into equal thirds – one third being regular SYC participants, a second third less frequent returnees, and the final cohort first-timers.

To date the prospective entry for the 2023 festival of sail is developing along broadly familiar lines. Leading the line are the 2022 J-Class returnees Velsheda and Svea who will this year be joined by Lionheart, last seen at SYC in 2014 when she took three race wins – including a dead heat finish – to win her class.

Also set to return for a secondyear running is the 33m McKeondesigned Pattoo, while taking its place in the first-timer category is the Swan 100 Onyx (ex-Aquarius Alfa, Flying Dragon II).

Meanwhile, SYC 2023 will see another development with part of the fleet able to dock at the Real Club Nautico de Palma (RCNP). A long-standing SYC partner since taking on the race management in 2011, RCNP was the host venue for the event last year and owners, captains and crews will be delighted to be returning there once again. ‘Having the yachts together is great for the owner's experience, it makes a big difference and creates a fantastic atmosphere,’ says Branagh. ‘Those unable to berth at RCNP will be offered a place at the Club de Mar marina, a five-minute tender trip away’, she added.

Superyacht Cup Palma has come a long way since it was established in 1996, and the SYRA conference suggests the journey is far from over for superyachting events globally.

‘If there was one reason people didn't join these events it would probably be easier to resolve, but it was clear that there are many, many reasons – so our job now is to clear those blocks," Branagh states.

‘We are creating a real opportunity for yacht crews and captains to say: “well what about our boat?” – making it clear to the owners how easy it is to get involved, without the need for days of optimising, it is a straightforward message we aim to get out there. Superyacht racing is open to all and fun for everyone.’

Click here for more information on The SuperYacht Cup »

The Sydney to Auckland ocean race is not to be undertaken lightly. But what a great feeling when you step ashore after the finish...

The trans-Tasman rivalry is set to reignite when the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s (RPAYC) inaugural Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, which starts on Saturday, 7 October 2023 at 1pm, from Sydney Harbour and finishes in Auckland, New Zealand. Originally, the challenging 1,250-nautical mile race was to start in January 2021, taking in the America’s Cup in New Zealand. In the meantime, Covid intervened and RPAYC, based at Pittwater on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, was forced to leave it to one side until travel restrictions were removed.

Organisers at the Club sat down to look at a new date for the race: ‘It had to be carefully planned, allowing crews of boats from both sides of the ditch to make the most of their time in both countries,’ organising committee chairman, Robert McClelland, said.

A Category 1 race, competitors will feel the thrill of starting on one of the most stunning harbours in the world with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House as its backdrop. The finish line will be in Auckland, home of the America’s Cup and the breeding ground of a horde of the worlds most revered sailors.

In between is nothing but ocean - a true ocean race - a rarity in the Southern Hemisphere.

RPAYC’s new partner, Royal Akarana Yacht Club (RAYC), will be on hand to finish the race. The Auckland club will also host the prizegiving where the overall IRC winner will receive the new Sydney to Auckland Perpetual Trophy.

To have one’s yacht name engraved on an inaugural trophy is a once in a lifetime experience and a historical one, so organisers expect to see rife inhouse competition instigated from each country and fierce trans-Tasman rivalry. Otherwise good friends, when it comes to sport, no matter the sport, competition between the two nations has always been intense.

Open to monohulls from around the globe in IRC, ORCi and PHS – including Cruising and Short-Handed divisions, the race is also open to ocean racing multihulls under OMR.

‘Double-handed racing is one of the fastest growing markets in Australia and New Zealand, with new boats being built and participants looking for fresh challenges. The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race offers such a challenge without having to travel thousands of miles to Europe and the large expense that entails,’ Nick Elliott, race director at the RPAYC says.

The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race has piqued serious interest but it will be no walk in the park. Participants will have to deal with the vagaries of the weather from start to finish. A marginal sea in the part of the south-west Pacific Ocean that lies between Australia and New Zealand, the western margin of the Tasman Sea is formed by the coastlines of mainland Australia and Tasmania, the eastern margin by the Norfolk Ridge, the New Zealand coast and the Macquarie Ridge.

Between April and October, the northern branch of these winds from the west changes direction toward the north and pushes against the trade winds. It translates to the sea dispatching regular south-westerly winds during this time.

However, as any sailors worth their salt know, anything could happen, the norm is not a given and the forecast is not always on song. Each yacht will be fitted with a tracker so family, friends and sailing fans will be able to follow the race blow-by- blow.

On the partnership between RPAYC and RAYC, McClelland says, ‘The Royal Akarana Yacht Club has a similar ethos to the RPAYC and similar core values. The club hosts major events such as the Auckland Fiji and Auckland Noumea races as well as major Olympic, skiff and youth class events and conducts cruising. The club is a good fit with ours for this new race.’

Elliott adds, ‘We host major events and our Youth Development programme has produced stars of now, such as siblings James (Jimmy) and Katie Spithill and upcoming stars of the future. Our Olympic medallists include Bill Northam, Peter O’Donnell, Colin Beashel, Nina Curtis and many others.’

Early entrants include the host club’s Mark Griffith, a regular in offshore races with the DK46, LCE Old School Racing. ‘I think it’s going to be a premier race. It’s certainly the longest fully-crewed (from Australia) and an international race. This is the first time anyone gets to do it, so there should be quite a bit of interest and a strong fleet,’ he says. On the subtleties of the race, he predicted, ‘It will probably take six or seven days. The Sydney Hobart and Melbourne to Hobart are a sprint by comparison. We’ll have to pace ourselves more with the various conditions.’

Above: Mark Griffith's DK-46 Old School Racing was recently crowned IRC champion yacht at the Sydney Harbour Regatta 2023.
Below: French yachtsman Marc Depret recently bought the first Figaro 3 in Australia and has been working his TH campaign towards the inaugural Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race in 2023

New South Wales yachtswoman Sibby Ilzhofer was the first entrant with her Dare Devil. She says, ‘Like the biennial Sydney Noumea (1,064 miles), it will be challenging. It’s a new race, so it starts our hearts beating again. I think It’ll also bind Australia and New Zealand as sailing nations.’ Ilzhofer, from Newcastle, is already bonded to our Kiwi friends and their country: ‘I love New Zealand. Some of my crew from past races are from there. Not only that, Dare Devil is a Farr/Cookson, designed and built in New Zealand.’

‘We have a new mast and rigging that are also from New Zealand. It’s about to go in the boat, which has been painted black, has a new black mast and black sails like the All Blacks,’ she laughs. ‘So, the boat will be heading home in a way.’

On preparing, she says, ‘It hasn’t been easy but the Alfreds have been so helpful. I had a call to see if I needed any help. You don’t get much of that these days. To have internal support makes you feel connected.’

Elliott points out that Sydney and Auckland are two prominent sailing playgrounds and that the race has been created to take a major programme into consideration, enticing would be entrants to Australia and New Zealand. ‘We are trying to create is a circuit, which would justify the cost and logistics of committing to a campaign, he says.

Therefore, the timing of the race was all-important. The date was chosen to allow prospective competitors to compete on the popular northern circuit in Queensland beforehand, such as the popular Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island and Magnetic Island Race Weeks, held annually between August and early September.

Following the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, yachts have time to return to Australia for the legendary Sydney Hobart and Melbourne to Hobart yacht races, should they desire. Otherwise, crews have an ideal opportunity to stay on in New Zealand and take part in in the famous Pic Coastal Classic, held later in October. Open to monohull, multihull and rally boats, it regularly attracts large fleets.

Starting in Auckland, the 119- nautical mile Coastal Classic race finishes in the Bay of Islands. A more picturesque place to end a race would be hard to find. It is world-renowned for its stunning beauty and is a subtropical microregion known for its history. For those who love cruising, swimming and all water activities, it is akin to paradise. A three-hour drive north of Auckland, it comprises 144 islands between Cape Brett and the Purerua Peninsula. And the time of year could not be better. It leaves the door open for yachties to make a holiday out of the main event, inviting family and friends to do some cruising. Owners also have the option of then taking part in the Bay of Islands Sailing Week, starting Tuesday 23 January 2024.

Alternatively, competitors could leave their boats in New Zealand and return for Sailing Week, which is open to anything from Elliott 5.9s to large racing yachts, multihulls and anything in between.

Mark Griffith is among those that have already suggested the Bay of Islands is on the “must do” list. The LCE Old School Racing crew plans to take full advantage of the New Zealand end of the race.

‘We’ve got plans to stay over,’ Griffith says. ‘The Coastal Classic is only a week later and gets around 160 entries. We don’t want to miss that. We also plan to cruise to the Bay of Islands, which is one of the most spectacular places on the planet. That’s on the way home, so we might leave the boat there and come back and do the Bay of Islands Regatta. This is not something we get to do every day, so we want to go hard at it,’ he adds.

Entries for the Category 1 Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race close on 1 September 2023. For all information, including entry and Notice of Race, please visit: www.sydneytoauckland.com

Sailing Instructions will be available on the event website from 1 October 2023.

For further enquiries regarding the race, please contact RPAYC Race Director, Nick Elliott, at:

Click here for more information on the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race »

Some of the greatest race management in the world and this year something (very) special to apply it to...

Two major events in Kiel this summer will vault the city forward into being once again a centre stage for high-level international sailing: the more than 140 years young and unique Kiel Week from 17-25 June and the 2023 edition of the ORC World Championship being held over 4-12 August. The first will focus on competition among a huge variety of classes, from dinghies and Olympic aspirants to big boats, and the latter will bring together on the Kiel Fjord the best of the best in big boat inshore and offshore racing in search of World Champion titles.

Being one year before the 2024 Olympic Games, Kiel Week 2023 promises to be at the top level of the sport and as such is being recognised by World Sailing as a World Cup regatta. If this was not sufficient itself to draw hundreds of entries to the event, organisers from the Kieler Yacht-Club (KYC) made a decision to fight inflation for 4,000 expected participants by reducing this year’s registration fees for early bookers by up to 20 per cent.

Sustainability in the sport is also an important theme, especially for events of this size and scale, so Kiel Week this year is doing more to support this claim of sustainability by enacting policies and practices to minimise the CO2 footprint of the sailing competitions. This was confirmed at the world’s largest water sports exhibition, Kiel Week’s premium partner Duesseldorf boot.

Dirk Ramhorst is the head of organisation for the event and speaks about the battle against inflation. ‘Of course, the enormous price increases in many areas do not leave Kiel Week unscathed,’ he acknowledges, ‘but we do not want to pass them on one-to-one to our most important asset, the participants. On the contrary. With this year’s reduction of the entry fee, which applies to all competitions, the regatta should remain attractive and affordable for everyone.’

This year Kiel Week will once again demonstrate this is one of the world’s largest sailing events: race organisers expect more than 1,500 entries from about 50 nations sailing on nine racecourses. After around a month since the open of registration the strongest fleets so far are the 29er Euro Cup followed by ILCA 6 Open and the Olympic ILCA 7, and the fleet is very international: 33 nations are already being represented, ranging from Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Ukraine to the USA, the UK and more than a dozen European nations.

Among the earliest teams to register were five current World Champions led by Dane Anne-Marie Rindom (ILCA 6) and Germans Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth (470). An ongoing push is expected until the end of the early entry deadline in late April, a change from years past when the trend was typically to enter in the very last moment possible.

Below: the 29er class is already sure to have a big turnout, with the largest number of entries for Kiel Week thus far

After Kiel Week begins with the Aalregatta where over 100 big boats race to Eckernfoerde, this year all 10 Olympic disciplines will also compete in the first part of the event. For them it’s also about earning decisive points at the final event of the Sailing World Cup 2023, which celebrates its climax on Wednesday with the medal races. In addition to these classes, 11 other international classes are scheduled to race, including the offshore races for the Kiel Cup, Silbernes Band and Senatspreis trophies.

With the development of a digital platform (cloud computing) for recording the carbon footprint, in Duesseldorf Ramhorst presented the next step of the sustainability strategy for Kiel Week. An ESG module from ServiceNow will be adapted to the needs of Kiel Week for the areas of environment, social and corporate responsibility with the consulting firm Accenture as partner and sponsor. ‘Active participants can then record their individual carbon footprint via an app,’ says Ramhorst, ‘which can be linked to local compensation measures.’

In addition to the event’s premium partners Duesseldorf boot and REWE (supermarkets), AUDI AG had already extended its contract before Christmas as mobility partner for two years. ‘Sport and performance are firmly anchored in our DNA, and the topic of sustainability also connects us with Kiel Week,’ emphasises Nina Neumann, who is responsible for brand communication and events at Audi. This year, she said, VIP transport in Kiel will once again be by purely electric vehicles. ‘We will revive the Audi Sailing Arena,’ says Neumann, ‘which will show not only the live broadcasts of Kiel Week TV on its large LED wall, but will serve as a stage for the award ceremonies and a lot more infotainment.’

New to the partners family is Sebamed. This German medical skin cleansing and care brand will focus on its sun protection products and is dedicated to promoting young talent at Kiel Week. ‘We are planning a kids camp with various hands-on activities and our own children’s regatta,’ says Daniel Rothoeft, deputy chairman of the management board.

After Yamaha Motor Europe signed on at the end of 2022, the Swiss-based global company KWC has also become a sponsor. KWC has produced high-quality bathroom and kitchen faucets for more than 150 years. Water is the connecting element for Kiel Week, where there will be at least five tapping points at the sailing venue in Schilksee where active participants and guests can obtain fresh drinking water at any time.

Click here for more information on Kiel Week »

Another record ORC World Championship?
This is on everyone’s mind as the momentum has been building for the 2023 ORC World Championship held in August: will the event reach or surpass the 151 entries from 15 nations that participated in Kiel at the 2014 edition of this annual event? In early March there were 95 entries from 14 nations, so this is certainly possible by the final entry deadline in July.

At ORC World Championships there are three competitions within one event since the entries are divided into three classes – Class A, B and C – each to be scored to determine World Champions within each. There is no overall winner determined because each class competes on its own courses of specific lengths. And at Kiel there will be a Class D for smaller, slower boats who are welcome to race and be part of the fun but will not be eligible for World Champion trophies.

Below: the other major event that Kiel is hosting this summer is the ORC Worlds, from 4 to 12 August.

This year the format will be an interesting and innovative departure from the usual structure at previous Worlds events: after the competition opens with a 36-hour offshore race held in open waters among the islands of southern Denmark, there will be three days consisting of one to three inshore windward/leeward races followed by a short coastal race of 10-30 miles in length, depending on the weather. The final day of racing is the same with two races planned. The significance of this new format is to give greater recognition to the skill sets each team has in navigation, strategy, boat handling, seamanship and selection and change in sails. This is also a recognition that big boat racing is trending more towards this style of racing rather than the windward/leeward format.

Besides the usual recognition of the top three all-amateur crews in a Corinthian Division for each class, the 2023 Worlds will also award trophies to the top teams who have 50 per cent or more female crew onboard in what’s termed the Female Division in each class.

A team to watch in this division will be the Tutima team, a legend in the German offshore sailing scene and whose skipper Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz has gathered her former crew mates together for a reunion of her all-female team. For over a decade the black DK 46 with 16 crew clad in pink were a regular feature of ORC championships throughout the Baltic region, known as much for their uniforms as for their tenacious performance on the race course as well.

‘The World Championship on our own doorstep is a good occasion to reactivate the Tutima racing yacht,’ says Jörg Delecate, managing director of the watch manufacturer Tutima. The family-owned company has been associated with sailing and Kiel for many years as the official timekeeper of the Kiel Week regattas. ‘The response to our idea has been extremely positive. The internationally-experienced girls’ crew organised by Kirsten is highly motivated and everyone is looking forward to seeing them again on the regatta course.’

There are several recent gold, silver and bronze ORC World and European champions facing the offshore challenge at the 2023 ORC Worlds, who are bringing all they have to be on the podium again. Are you good enough to be there too?

Click here for more information on the 2023 ORC Worlds »

Less of a product... more of a system

There has been a lot of promotion of filmless and composite sail fabrics in recent years. With efficient mixtures and orientations of fibres, these materials can be used to create sails of great strength and durability. Dimension-Polyant’s new Tyra PLY now enables all sailmakers to offer their customers this significant uptick in performance.

The customisation of sailcloth is not new for Dimension-Polyant, it’s been in their core DNA since the company was founded in 1966. Since then they have continued to adapt to new ideas and technologies, with Tyra PLY the latest in this trend to fulfill the demand for high-strength, lightweight and durable materials applicable across the huge variety of boat types, from winged kites and windsurfers to offshore yachts.

Tyra PLY starts with a composite construction based on spread filaments of constituent highstrength materials, such as highmodulus carbon, aramid and Ultra-PE. The filaments are derived from yarns and spread into tape form known as Tyra-UD. These tapes are then laid into an inner matrix oriented at angles of between 0 and 90° in varying densities, customised depending on the loads anticipated in the intended sails. The fibres are bonded together without the need for film, which not only reduces the thickness to an ultra-thin membrane, but also enhances the stability of the cloth – there is no shrinkage and limited shape distortion, and yet still exceptional support for the cloth’s off-angle loads.

This approach produces exceptional weight to strength ratios, while at the same time the inner matrix structure allows tremendous flexibility in providing the right DPI in the sail. The results of laminate stretch tests performed on several cloths of varied weights says it all: for example, when a 0-45-90° Tyra PLY cloth with a weight of 3.5 smoz made from aramid filaments is subjected to the application of 325lb of force, there is only 1 per cent elongation. These testing results are among the best in the industry.

‘This translates to a Tyra PLY cloth of 7000 DPI having the same strength as a traditional equivalent laminate of say 12,000 DPI’ says Ben Rogers of Dimension-Polyant UK. ‘This means a more efficient use of the filaments in the structure of the sail..’

A final step in the production process is the outer surfaces of the filaments assembled in the inner matrix. Dimension-Polyant’s well regarded Lite Skin non-woven taffetas are applied to minimise any chafe or puncture damage from handling the sail in demanding realworld applications: on a beach or on the deck of a racing yacht in action.

Below: the inner matrix of Tyra PLY makes it one of the most stretchresistant sail fabrics in the industry

The first Tyra PLY styles to be launched are for radial panel applications, and with pure aramid filaments in the range of 7000 to 20,000 DPI closely followed by versions designed for cross -cut panel applications. The addition of a traditional woven taffeta finish is also anticipated since this is critical for cruising yacht applications where sails are repeatedly folded, furled and stacked, and durability and longevity are especially appreciated in this marketplace.

‘We see Tyra PLY as being a game-changer,’ says Rogers. ‘When you consider the sheer volume of sailcloth produced for the sailmaking market, the availability of an affordable high-tech solution for our performance-minded customers opens up numerous new opportunities they would otherwise not be able to service. .’

Rogers points out that all customers of Dimension-Polyant can benefit from Tyra PLY whether for pre-planned sails or circumstances limiting their ability to meet their customer demand and a panelled sail is a solution, for example a replacement sail is required at short notice pre-regatta. This could be for boat types ranging from International Moths to 60ft offshore boats (in the current product offerings) or even in the future to truly high-load applications found on Superyachts.

‘Not only this,’ Rogers says, ‘but we see Tyra PLY technology having a wide variety of applications in other industries beyond sailmaking – anywhere that a high-strength unidirectional composite tape or cloth is needed can be custom tailored to suit the needs of the application. The possibilities are endless.’

Click here for more information on Dimension-Polyant »