The Superyacht Cup Palma 2012

Contact the CharterWorld Team here if you are interested in chartering a sailing superyacht for the 2012 Superyacht Cup race.

The Superyacht Cup in Palma, Mallorca (Balearic Islands), in the Mediterranean Sea is no ordinary racing regatta. Starting a fleet of 20 to 30 superyachts for one race is an amazing spectacle and an exciting moment for the sailors and owners.  You can see the video of the 2008 Superyacht Cup in Palma.  The superyacht cup has been running for over a decade, making it the oldest and most significant luxury sailing yacht event. The informal atmosphere mixed with the impressive entry list of yachts, has made this trophy grow in popularity year by year.

A truly international yacht race, the yachts, their owners and crew come from every corner of the world. The 52 sailboats and 3000 participants who completed in the 2007 race made this amazing spectacle one of the largest yachting events in the world. The race was also successful in 2008 and is expected to grow each year.

Superyacht Cup Palma is a pursuit luxury yacht race. A pursuit race ultimately allows cruising vessels of different breeds to race against one another in a format in which they all start at the same time from the same starting line. This is a three day event with a unique format. For The Superyacht Cup Palma there is now additionally a new IRC class for the more performance-orientated yachts with a current IRC certificate.

On day one the boats line up and the start times are radioed to them. Start times on day one are staggered allowing the slower yachts a head start and the faster yachts start after. All of the yachts run the entire course of the race and then their course times are recorded at the finish line. The object of the race is to get to the finish line first by passing the other yachts. Points are awarded according to the place in which the boat crosses the finish line times 0.1. The first boat will get 1 x 0.1 for 0.1 point; the second boat gets 2 x 0.1 for 0.2 points, and so on.

On day two the start times are calculated by the results of day one, and again the boats all line up at the start line and wait for a radioed “Go”. The points are given in the same manner as day one, except the calculation is x 1. So the first boat to cross the finish line would receive 1 x 1 for 1 point, second gets 2 x 1 for 2 points, etc.

On day three the start times are calculated by the results of day two and the boats start in the same way as days one and two. The points are higher on day three as they are calculated by x 1.5. First place gets 1 x 1.5 for 1.5 points, second gets 2 x 1.5 for 3 points. At the end of race three, the total points from all three days are added up and the boat with the lowest point value is declared the overall winner of the Cup.

The 2009 Superyacht Cup Palma saw a move from the current location at the Dique del Oeste dock to the Muelle Viejo dock (Pier 46) adjacent to Palma. Aside from it being a more central location, the pier has the capacity for 25 yachts. The Muelle Viejo dock is located only 10 minutes from the airport and is very close to area hotels and restaurants.