Wally Yacht Nespresso Cup at Portofino, Italy - Preview

With only one week to go until the start of the second edition of the Nespresso Cup to be held over the 6th to 8th May, eight Wally yachts representing a diverse range of these unmistakable sleek and stylish yachts will be gathering in the beautiful harbour of Portofino in the coming days ahead of official registration on Thursday, 5th May. Joining the leading Wally owners, crew and Nespresso Cup Ambassadors will be Managing Director of Emirates Team New Zealand, Grant Dalton, who last week officially confirmed that the Kiwi syndicate would be challenging for the 34th America’s Cup supported by Nespresso. At the announcement in Auckland, Dalton acknowledged the support of the team’s sponsors: “We welcome Nespresso as a team sponsor for the 34th America’s Cup. Nespresso is well known in sailing circles and a long-time supporter of the sport. Emirates Team New Zealand values its association with premium international brands like Nespresso, whose continuous innovation and commitment to success are a core part of the culture.”

Esense at 44m (143ft) is the largest Wally yacht to be competing with the 24m (80ft) Inti and Ryokan 2 at the other end of the scale. Indio, Y3K, Dark Shadow, Kenora and last year’s Nespresso Cup victors Magic Carpet2 complete the entry list for what will be an intense regatta exclusively for the Wally Class. Wally founder, Luca Bassani, commented: “The flexibility we have is great, because we can have races at the right moment in the right wind and you don’t have to have a start just because there are other classes. Having three or four days only for you, you can wait for the right weather window to have the best races. It is like it used to be in the golden age of the Maxis in the 1980s when the Maxis were sailing by themselves with their own race committee and courses and they were really having fantastic racing.”

The yachts will be divided into two divisions, overall and performance, with a low scoring system being applied with each yacht being allowed to discard their worst result once five or more races have been completed. Racing for the Nespresso Cup will start 1100 CET on Friday, 6th May under the race management of the Yacht Club Italiano, one of the oldest and most prestigious Yacht Clubs in the Mediterranean.

The first edition of the Nespresso Cup in 2010 brought together some of sailing’s most respected world-class sailors, and the second edition of the Nespresso Cup is no different with Wally owners and crews representing the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and the USA. Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones owner of Magic Carpet2, has recruited many of his winning crew from 2010 including American Tom Whidden, who has three America’s Cup events with the legendary Dennis Conner, Dutchman Marcel van Triest one of the world’s most sought after navigators and meteorologists and Volvo Ocean Race star Guy Salter as bowman. In addition, Nespresso Cup Ambassador Jochen Schüman will be providing the tactical nous as Magic Carpet2 endeavour to lift the stunning Nespresso Cup Trophy, designed by leading German designer Konstantin Grcic, once more.

Alongside these talented sailors will be existing Nespresso Cup Ambassadors Frenchman Loick Peyron, who has just returned victorious from the double-handed Barcelona World Race, and Italy’s Francesco de Angelis, whilst Samantha Davies is also welcomed to the Nespresso ‘family’ as a new ambassador this year. Bassani concludes that he likes the family flavour of the Nespresso Cup, the club feeling and the involvement of the sponsor: “The sponsor in this case doesn’t remain someone far away, they are part of the competition. I think everyone is very, very happy about the event.”

Preview Video:

List of Entries:

Dark Shadow / André-Jacques Auberton-Hervè / 30.45m
Esense / Holding Montenegro / 43.70m
Kenora / Long Beach Ltd / 32.72m
Indio / Andrea Recordati / 30.50m
Inti / Lauro Buoro / 24.00m
Magic Carpet2 / Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones / 29.00m
Ryokan 2 / Philippe Ligier / 24.00m
Y3K / Claus-Peter Offen / 30.50m