The fantastic Italian charter destination, the island of Capri, and the fabulous Tyrrhenian Sea hosted this year’s Rolex Capri Sailing Week Volcano Race, which came to an end on Friday, May 24, after a week of close-fought inshore and offshore competing. Constantly changing as well as difficult conditions ensured exciting racing for the fleet of Maxi yachts.
Fleet during coastal race - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Organized by the International Maxi Association, in collaboration with the Yacht Club Gaeta EVS and the Yacht Club Capri, the opening event in Rolex’s Mediterranean yachting calendar drew boats and crews from around the world, with the 14 participating yachts representing Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The proud winner of the week’s most coveted prize – the Rolex Trophy and Rolex timepiece – was Alexander Schaerer’s Mini Maxi yacht Caol Ila R (USA), which secured line honours and the handicap victory in the final offshore race on the way to an overall event win.
Start of the first coastal race - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Far from idyllic
The third edition of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week Volcano Race offered a variety of tactical tests and capricious conditions with some of Italy’s most iconic destinations forming the backdrop. The weeklong event, beginning on 18 May, comprised three segments: the first an offshore race from Gaeta, on the Italian mainland, to Capri; the second featured inshore racing off Capri; and the third a long-distance offshore race that started and finished off Capri.
Crews and owners agree that the beauty of the region and the blend of races provided a combination of awe and challenge. “The key draw here is definitely the level and quality of the competition,” revealed Mike Broughton, navigator onboard Sir Peter Ogden’s Mini Maxi yacht Jethou. “The beautiful coast on the southeast side of Capri is a great draw, as is the tactical challenge of sailing around a volcano or an island like Capri. Mastering that is a test in itself and makes for great racing.” Jethou – overall winner of the 2012 event – performed admirably but had to settle for second place.
Alex Schaerer came to the event with prior experience of racing in the waters off Capri, although this was the first year with his new racing yacht – the former Alegre, line honours and overall winner of the event in 2011. Schaerer was surprised by the gale force conditions encountered during the final offshore race. “We went into racing exactly three years ago here in Capri and this is my second regatta with the new boat after last year’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The funny thing is that we thought there would be nice, light winds here in Capri, which would allow us to get to know the boat, which has a new mast and rig for the 2013 season. Well, if anything, in the rough conditions of the offshore race we certainly got to know her! I was lucky to have a very seasoned crew onboard, with over 40 Rolex Sydney Hobart wins in total, and they managed to bring us home safely to this beautiful island.”
Superyacht Y3K during Race 1 from Gaeta to Capri - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Part One: Y3K Leads the Fleet to Capri
The first race from Gaeta, past Ponza and Ventotene, to a finish off Capri began on 18 May under full sun and light winds of about five knots. The 100-nm race was dominated by superyacht Y3K, a 30.5m Wally owned by IMA President Claus-Peter Offen, which secured line honours and the win on handicap with a 02:11 CEST finish the following day.
Caol Ila R yacht was second across the line and the first Mini Maxi to arrive in Capri. Her result was good enough to finish second overall, with sailing yacht Jethou in third.
Luxury yacht Jethou surfing the waves during Race 4 - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Part Two: Right Winds for Jethou in Coastal Race
The second segment comprised two days of inshore racing. The first – on Monday 20 May – saw the Race Committee set a 30-nm coastal race off Capri that began in south-south easterly winds of 8-10 knots. Jethou and Caol Ila R continued their engaging tussle for supremacy with the former prevailing on this occasion. “The race was very close. We came in second, but we also could have won or come in third. The conditions here change from one minute to the next and you can win or lose just before the finish which is what happened to us,” commented Schaerer.
Proving the point about the constantly changing conditions, the scheduled second day of inshore racing was abandoned due to insufficient breeze. Crews used the unexpected rest day to make last preparations for the final, longest race of the week. That evening they were able to relax at the Rolex Party held at the famous La Canzone Del Mare. Breathtaking views of Capri’s Faraglioni offered a stunning backdrop to the week’s most glamorous social event.
Sailing yacht Caol Ila R - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Part Three: Cyclonic Conditions Propel Caol Ila R to Offshore Victory
The next day, there was more change in the weather, and extreme conditions, which included torrential rain and gale force winds, particularly around the Aeolian Islands forced the race committee to modify the original Rolex Volcano Race course. The resulting 210-nm long-distance race, which started on 22 May, took the yachts from Capri to Santa Maria di Castellabate on the Italian mainland shore, back past Capri and on to the island of Ponza before finishing off Capri’s Marina Grande.
Tensions ran high on sailing yacht Caol Ila R on the first evening, as the yacht experienced gusts of 35-40 knots at Ponza. The crew had to remain vigilant, and Schaerer admitted that a broken bowsprit near Ventetone led to a moment of doubt. “At first I wasn’t sure if we would still be able to fly a downwind sail. We had quite a big advantage over the others at that point, but it would have been tough if we couldn’t have flown the spinnaker coming back to Capri because Jethou was still right behind us. So there was a moment of, ‘did we just lose the race?’ Fortunately, only part of the bowsprit was broken and we were able to tie a rope on to the remainder and still fly a downwind sail for the return.”
After successfully negotiating their troubles at Ponza, the crew realised they were doing well against their nearest competitor, Jethou, and shifted their primary concern to bringing the boat home safely. “We had an eventful night,” reflected Brett Ellis, the navigator. “The many thunderstorms and squalls played havoc with our electronics and forced us to make many sail changes. Full credit to our crew who worked hard all night in very difficult conditions.”
Spinnaker drop onboard Caol Ila R Yacht - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Caol Ila R averaged over eleven knots for the race and crossed the finish line at 05:07 CEST on 23 May, securing line honours and completing the 210-nm course in a respectable 18 hours, 2 minutes.
Second-placed Jethou finished the race in just over 20 hours. “The Rolex Volcano Race was very tough because there was a great amount of extremely variable winds – more than I’ve ever seen in the Mediterranean for a race,” said Broughton. The cyclonic system propelled the wind through four changes of 90 degrees in 24 hours, keeping all the crews busy, and in Broughton’s words, “did not allow me to switch off thinking for more than ten minutes over the whole race.”
The tremendous thunderstorms and heavy winds asked serious questions of the ambitious Maxi fleet. Third to finish in Capri was Marton Jozsa’s Hungarian entry Wild Joe, while superyacht Y3K was one of three boats to withdraw from racing. Tactician Thomas Jungblut, explained the decision to retire was strictly weather related. “The forecast announced more than 30 knots of wind and waves over six metres after Ponza and we decided we don’t want to break anything before the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. In 2012 this race had winds of 20-23 knots and [the conditions] were already pretty dangerous for us.” Y3K had a substantial lead at the time the decision was made, and it was clearly one not made lightly.
The week’s proceedings culminated with the prizegiving ceremony on 24 May at the Marina Grande, which saw the Rolex Trophy and Rolex timepiece presented to Caol Ila R for her overall victory. “The fact that we won a Rolex in our first competitive outing with the new boat is really a dream come true, but of course we hope it’s not going to be the last one!” exclaimed a jubilant Schaerer.
Alex Schaerer, owner of Caol Ila R Yacht, overall winner - Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
After a memorable week in Capri, attention now turns to the Giraglia Rolex Cup scheduled for 14 – 22 June. Another event renowned for changing conditions.
Overall Results Rolex Capri Sailing Week Volcano Race
1st IRC Overall: Caol Ila R (USA), Alexander Schaerer
2nd IRC Overall: Jethou (GBR), Sir Peter Ogden
3rd IRC Overall: Wild Joe (HUN), Marton Jozsa
