Grand Soleil Cup Gearing Up
Cantiere del Pardo is bringing back the Grand Soleil Cup, which is scheduled to take place from June 21 to June 23 off the coast of Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, in the Western Mediterranean.
This sailing event is organized in collaboration with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda for the community of owners and enthusiasts of the Italian brand Grand Soleil Yachts. This will be the 22nd edition of the event.
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, founded in 1967, is renowned all around the world. It has reciprocal agreements with the Monaco Yacht Club, the New York Yacht Club, the United Kingdom’s Royal Yacht Squadron and Germany’s Norddeutscher Regatta Verein. Yacht Club Costa Smeralda has long been known for its regattas, and is a major supporter of competitive offshore sailing in Italy. The Sardinia Cup is held in alternate years to the Admiral’s Cup race in the Solent, and since 1980, regattas have also included the Maxi Yacht World Championship and the Swan World Cup.
According to the organizers of the Grand Soleil Cup, all participants are welcome to moor in the Marina di Porto Cervo from Thursday, June 20, to Monday, June 24, but the first 40 registered boats will have the added benefit of a complimentary berth.
Festivities will begin on Thursday with a welcome for participants at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Friday will be dedicated to registrations, followed by the crew briefing and cocktails on the terrace. Saturday and Sunday will be all about sailing, with a gala dinner on Saturday night.
Among the boats already registered, two Grand Soleil 72s and two Grand Soleil 65s stand out, the newest models in the line above 60 feet curated by Franco Corazza.
Other models that may participate, built by Grand Soleil Yachts, include Performance models from 40 to 80 feet long, and Long Cruise models from 42 to 72 feet long. The builder has been turning out yachts since 1973.
This past January, Grand Soleil announced its Blue concept, a 33-foot weekender conceived for sustainability and efficiency underway. Conceived by Cantiere del Pardo, Grand Soleil Blue gets its exterior and interior design by Nauta Design, with naval architecture by Matteo Polli. The boat is capable of accommodating as many as four guests overnight, promises zero environmental impact during sailing, and is marketed as having complete recyclability at the culmination of its life cycle.
Are registrations open now for the Grand Soleil Cup? Yes. Competitors must register by June 12 at www.yccs.com.
For more information: visit www.grandsoleil.net.
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