The Multihull Cup, racing out of Port Adriano, Mallorca, provided excellent racing and stiff competition along with beautiful scenery. The shear size of these magnificent beasts sailing in the Bay of Palma was very impressive.
Tight till the end
The Multihull Cup 2024 went down to the wire, with just 20 seconds deciding the outcome of what proved to be a highly competitive and friendly encounter.
Going into the final day’s 24nm coastal race decider, a win would secure an overall victory for either Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s distinctive VPLP-custom Highland Fling 18 or Adrian Keller’s Irens sleek 78-ft Allegra.
With the wind off Mallorca’s southwest coast keeping tacticians, helmsmen and navigators on their toes, Highland Fling 18 was able to stretch ahead and finish over 13 minutes ahead of Allegra on the water — followed by a nail-biting wait for the corrected time verdict.
The outcome left the front running duo tied with two wins apiece, with Lord Laidlaw’s catamaran claiming overall victory on count-back.
“It was great, we have finally got the boat dialled up and doing what she should do,” said delighted skipper Xavier Mecoy, universally known as ‘X’. “It has been a hard road to get here – with a lot of modifications to the boat, our learning curve is going through the roof, and we still have a long way to go.”
He added: “Other than that, to have a multihull event is great, the camaraderie here between the teams makes it more of a family event off the water”.
South Africans Hylton Hale (helm) and Michael Giles (trimmer) formed part of the crew.
Images: @sailingenergy
Respected adversaries
With the race outcome in the balance until the very end, Allegra‘s tactician Paul Larsen was able to enjoy the quality of the course. “The race went really well — at first we thought it was going to be a long course as there wasn’t too much wind at the start. The first leg was a little bit painful but when we got down to the bottom the breeze really kicked in and it was a little bit fruity — it was a really close race.”
Such were the conditions that the crew of the 60-ft Banuls Design McConaghy-built Dragon — who were unable to repeat their Multihull Cup triumph of 2019 — were also able to celebrate at the Port Adriano prize-giving.
Tactician Ben Kelly said: “We had an awesome day on Dragon today — spectacular views, nice breeze, and we were in there for a little while as we did great downwind, but harder back upwind. All on board are wrapped and very happy, and we’ve had a wonderful time at the regatta.”
The final race took the Multihull Cup fleet on a coastal course. First to a windward mark east towards Illa del Toro, and then back west and a port side rounding of the rugged Dragonera Island national park, taking in Cape Tramuntana and the historic Llebeig Lighthouse, before returning via a mark off La Mola to the start-finish line.
It’s on!
Multihull Cup Event Director Andrea Grimm confirmed that the Multihull Cup 2025 will be held from 26-28 September. The event will be hosted by Port Adriano.
Ned Collier Wakefield, tactician on Highland Fling, commented: “It’s been a fantastic event and we’d be super-excited to come back next year, hopefully with a few more boats. So a message to multihull owners out there is to come along. The guys are doing a great job here.”
The notice of race for 2025 will be posted on the website soon.
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