There is just one piece of news, and it is the sort that is enough to set the tone for an entire season: the return of the Sardinia Cup.
This will not be a sailing season like any other for the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. This was clear from the outset, during the press conference to present the calendar: a packed hall, rapt attention, and an atmosphere befitting a grand occasion. The guest list, after all, spoke for itself.
The day was opened by Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Chair of the club’s Board of Directors, flanked by Commodore Andrea Recordati and the new Secretary General Giorgio Benussi. In the room were leading figures from the sailing and industrial worlds: Pier Luigi Loro Piana, Giorgio Cameli, President of the Yacht Club Italiano, and Roberto Mottola di Amato, President of the Circolo della Vela e del Remo Italia. Also present were names synonymous with lived and experienced sailing: Tommaso Chieffi, Chicco Isenburg, Francesco De Angelis and Luca Bassani. Joining them were representatives from the shipbuilding world, including Andrea Micheli of Southern Wind and Giovanni Pomati, CEO of Nautor Swan.
But there was only one star of the show: the return of the Sardinia Cup, now supported by Range Rover as title sponsor. A long-awaited, almost inevitable return after fourteen years of absence. Because the Sardinia Cup has never been a regatta like any other. In the golden years of the IOR, between the 1980s and 1990s, it represented the true Champions League of sailing: Germany versus Italy, technique versus intuition, Pinta, Rubin and Container versus Brava, Almagores and Mandrake. Tight races, often decided at the last tack.
To see all this again, we’ll have to wait until 31 May, when the committee boat will start the first race of the Range Rover Sardinia Cup. The numbers are already telling: ten teams, including the one led by Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille EMEA and winner, alongside Pierre Casiraghi, of the last edition of the Admiral’s Cup. To date, twenty boats are expected on the starting line. Enough to rekindle the enthusiasm of fans.
But the Range Rover Sardinia Cup is merely the highlight of a calendar that, this year, offers no respite.
The season opens on 24 April with the Mediterranean debut of the Cape 31s, a high-performance one-design class designed by Mark Mills in collaboration with Lord Irvine Laidlaw. A young, dynamic class, destined to grow rapidly in these waters too.
At the end of May, superyachts take centre stage with the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta, which kicks off the Mediterranean season for large yachts. Alongside the racing fleet, the Southern Wind RendezVous and Trophy will bring a total of 17 superyachts to Porto Cervo, including registered entries and expressions of interest.
Also in May, the Grand Soleil Cup returns, an integral part of Cantiere del Pardo Week, a broader format that also involves Pardo Yachts and VanDutch Yachts, combining competition and lifestyle.
June marks one of the most technically significant moments of the year with the Rolex TP52 World Championship, a round of the 52 Super Series, the most competitive circuit for monohull keelboats.
The summer continues seamlessly. In September, two pillars of the YCCS calendar return: the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, from 6 to 12 September, and the Rolex Swan Cup, now in its 23rd edition, which will celebrate Nautor Swan’s 60th anniversary. Large fleets of the highest calibre are expected at both events.
In mid-August, Porto Cervo will also play a leading role in the Palermo–Porto Cervo–Monte Carlo offshore regatta, organised in collaboration with the Circolo della Vela Sicilia and the Yacht Club de Monaco.
The Club’s most iconic events are not to be missed. Vela & Golf, from 15 to 17 May, continues to bring together two worlds united by spirit and tradition. Between late June and early July, the regattas of the Smeralda 888 fleet – designed by German Frers specifically for the YCCS – return, featuring the Invitational and the European Cup, now well-established fixtures.
In the heart of summer, the Club Championship takes centre stage, contested aboard the Club’s J/70 fleet. It is this very class that will bring the season to a close in October with the J/70 Cup and the Italian Championship, an important milestone also in view of the 2028 J/70 World Championship, which has been awarded to the YCCS.
Alongside competitive sailing, the Young Azzurra project, dedicated to developing young talent, continues to grow. Maddalena Spanu, Federico Pilloni and Cesare Barabino represent the current generation of the programme, which will continue into 2026.
Looking further ahead to 2027, the Call for Young Sailors has been announced: an initiative designed to identify new athletes and guide them towards offshore sailing. The project, under the technical guidance of Pietro Zucchetti, aims to build a concrete bridge between youth classes and the world of offshore racing, offering young people real opportunities to crew.
The objective is clear: to foster a generational change and strengthen the bond between the different facets of sailing.
“Together with all those who support and live the reality of the YCCS every day, we are building and sharing a path capable of honouring my father’s vision with a spirit of innovation, keeping pace with and sometimes anticipating the times, to propel ourselves with consistency and determination towards the future,” said Princess Zahra Aga Khan.
A phrase that sums up the spirit of the season: solid roots, looking ahead. And the return of a regatta which, more than any other, captures what it truly means to compete at sea.
Matteo Zaccagnino
