At 22:33.20 CET Igor Simcic’s Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) crossed the finish line in Genoa to claim line honours at the Giraglia Rolex Cup.
Esimit Europa 2 completed the course in 33 hours 45 minutes and 20 seconds thus retaining the title they claimed in 2010, when the event finished in San Remo. Simcic was presented on arrival with a Rolex Yacht-Master Rolesium.
Owner Simcic paid tribute to the Esimit crew: “This Giraglia was different from last year, we had all the time this light wind and for the boat it is very important to not stop. We looked all the time how to keep it running and had to keep our attention focused on everything. The whole team made their contribution to this success.“
As Esimit crossed the line in Liguria, the nearest yacht, Alegre (GBR), were some 44-nautical miles behind. It promises to be a long night at sea for the remainder of the fleet.
The countdown clock is now running for the overall corrected-time victory.
Yesterday afternoon the situation had changed quite dramatically at the 2011 Giraglia Rolex Cup. Igor Simcic’s Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) had pulled away in rapid fashion from the rest of the fleet, transforming what at one stage looked like a tight line honours tussle into a one-horse race. In the time that Esimit chalked up 50-nautical miles their nearest rivals Alegre (GBR), Jethou (GBR) and Stig (ITA) had managed just ten. Esimit were the only yacht at 17:00 CEST to have made the turn away from the Giraglia rock, having done so at 13:13 CEST. On passing this key strategic turning point they benefitted initially from a more favourable south-easterly breeze to accelerate away from the fleet, at one point hitting an average speed of just over 13 knots.
The 100ft-Esimit is currently 45-nautical miles from Genoa, her arrival time remains weather dependent. The south-easterly that helped the bid for freedom is tracking round to the west and expected to soften before building from the north in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
For the crews jostling around the Giraglia rock, the situation is a little more complicated. Andrea Casale, Sailing Master of the Swan 90 DSK Pioneer Investments (ITA), gave a summary of the situation at 16:30 CEST: “We’ve done three nautical miles in three hours. It’s very tedious and extremely crowded around the rock. The yacht is currently travelling at around four knots and at the moment it’s difficult to imagine we will arrive before tomorrow morning, even if it should be more straight forward after the Giraglia.” The priority for the rest of the fleet, left in Esimit’s wake, is to sail around the rock as soon as possible.