The 2016 Giraglia Rolex Cup race will be remembered as one of the most challenging in the regatta’s history. A record fleet of 268 entrants representing 18 nations battled against 30-plus knot winds over the final leg from Giraglia to Genoa.
Gilles Pages and the crew of Tip emerged as the overall winners, earning a Rolex Submariner timepiece, while defending champion Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, sailing his 100-foot Magic Carpet Cubed, took line honours and received a Rolex Yacht-Master.
The 2016 Giraglia Rolex Cup was organized by the Yacht Club Italiano, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the Yacht Club Sanremo and the Cercle Nautique et Touristique du Lacydon. Rolex has been a partner of the event since 1998.
Record fleet
The 2016 race will be noted too for a record total fleet of 268 entrants and its eclectic composition. Yachts represented 18 nations, ranged in size from nine metres to 30.5 metres, comprised solo crews and crews of 20 or more, and included yachts from the early 1900s and those launched this year. And, as always, it will be revered for its generous dose of camaraderie, for its unfailing ability to live up to the philosophy of its founding fathers.
