20th Palermo-Montecarlo Regatta - Day 2
by Palermo-Montecarlo 22 Aug 06:57 NZST
19-24 August 2025
Black Jack crossed the line between the outer breakwater of Port Hercules and the YCM strobe buoy at 2:53:13, even earlier than expected, briefly burning the club's dinghies and those of the media who had come out to capture the moment.
It's not easy, and it's not a given. Not even lowering the mainsail (19 minutes), not even perfecting the mooring (16 minutes) with the easterly surf making even the Monaco skyline dance. But they did it. Today, this crew represents the state-of-the-art in offshore sailing, and their two record-breaking line honors at the Rolex Fastnet centenary and the Palermo-Monte Carlo twentieth anniversary races are proof of this.
The first-place finisher's night continued in Yacht Club de Monaco style, with celebrations on the dock with bottles of champagne, beer, and a buffet available to the crews.
Skipper Tristan Lebrun: "We had all the conditions possible; we used all the sails we had on board. The most difficult moments? A few persistent holes that stopped us, but above all the storms with strong gusts near the Giraglia, which heeled the boat a lot and put us to the test. The guys were perfect. It's a splendid regatta, varied, full of competition and scenery, splendidly organized, both in Palermo and Monte Carlo."
Regarding the decision to leave Corsica to port, Lebrun is clear: "We couldn't have done otherwise. During the hours we passed the Strait of Messina, sailing west would have brought us less wind, and sailing straight upwind, but the favorable winds continued until the difficult moments past Corsica."
Black Jack also won in the details, right up to the last minute, such as the decision to stay far inshore from Ventimiglia onward to catch a bit of land breeze while the usual calm prevailed off Monte Carlo. Another gamble paid off.
Owner Remon Vos is delighted: "More than a regatta, this is a beautiful event. The welcome in Palermo and Monte Carlo is wonderful. Winning is always a thrill, and I have to thank the crew. Competing in such a difficult race in this way is the result of a combination of factors: boat, sails, crew, and luck. It's a shame some of our maxi competitors weren't there this year. I hope they'll come and challenge us next year!"
The sprint for the podium
On the morning of Thursday the 21st, shortly after noon, three boats crossed the finish line—in the space of 16 minutes—virtually all at once, in a sort of sprint. They crossed, in order, the Turkish TP52 Arkas Blue Moon Sailing Team (at 12:21), Matteo Uliassi's catamaran Falcon with Shannon Falcone (at 12:26), and the Austrian ocean-going VO65 Sisi (12:37). The latter had led the trio until a few hours before the finish, but suffered a lull in the wind nearshore due to its decision to stay east of the line. In an offshore race, surprises are always lurking.
Quotes from the protagonists will follow.
Upcoming arrivals
The following are announced: Intuition, a French 69-footer (estimated around 3:00 PM), and there's anticipation for the first boat in the Sicilian club fleet, which could cross the finish line in real time: the Mylius 60 Manticore, owned by CV Sferracavallo, with former Olympic and America's Cup champion Ganga Bruni and navigator Andrea Fornaro on board (estimated at 4:30 PM if the wind holds). About three hours later, it could be the turn of No Regret, the ICE 52 flying the Circolo della Vela Sicilia pennant, skippered by Edoardo Bonanno with tactics by Gaetano Figlia di Granara.
Storm-fighting night
In addition to the retirements announced yesterday (Shooting Star and Black Pekoe III), during the night the Race Committee, chaired by Race Director Giancarlo Crevatin, received notices of abandonment from the Neo 430 Afazik Impulse (rudder failure), Superkalimera (Nab 12.50), which was docked in Porto Cervo. A more difficult description of the retirement of Jasmine (Bavaria 39) at 4:00 AM was provided. She wrote: "We're in the middle of a storm, unworkable weather conditions, we're heading towards Cala Gonone to stop, in the blender all night, but the crew is fine."
The situation is different for I Am Bad (Bad 37, owned by Speciale and Bileddo, Velaclub Palermo), which reported a fire on board, announcing its decision to stop in Olbia to resolve the problem and asking the race director for permission to restart. This was accepted with the condition set out in the Sailing Instructions that the reason for the stop and the engine running hours be explained in the declaration of compliance.
Passing the gate in Porto Cervo
Meanwhile, almost all boats have passed the mandatory gate managed by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Angelica II (Sciarrelli, owned by Antonio Centrone) passed at 1:06 PM on Thursday the 21st, with only Alakaluf and Antares missing. Four other boats have chosen the route that leaves Corsica to port. The race can be tracked using the link below.
Here's the tracking link to check the positions: cf.yb.tl/pm2025