**A Sardinian Classic Returns: Racing Through Rocks and Shoals**
After fourteen years away, the Range Rover Sardinia Cup came roaring back to Porto Cervo last week with exactly what offshore racing should be: tight tactical racing through a demanding coastal course with gusts pushing towards 16 knots off the island of Spargi.
Twenty boats representing ten yacht clubs lined up at 11 a.m. for an opening day that tested both boat handling and local knowledge. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda dreamed up a club-team format where each participating club brings two boats to the line, with final standings determined by combined points from both entries. It’s a format that rewards depth over single-boat dominance, and it worked. By day’s end, RORC and YCCS were locked in first place, separated by nothing.
The Race Committee sent the fleet upwind through the La Maddalena channel towards the island of Spargi, threading between rocks and shoals that demanded respect. SC1 yachts covered roughly 30 miles while SC2 boats managed 22.5, but both faced the same choice: hug the coast with the SC2 crews or take the left-side pressure that the bigger boats favoured. James Neville’s RORC-flagged TP 52 Ino Veritas won SC1, but Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s Django WR kept him honest throughout. The same owner’s Botin Fast 40+ Django JP won SC2 for YCCS in SC2, finishing 51 seconds ahead of the RORC Gold team’s Ran.
What made yesterday work was the racing itself. Light mistral winds of 10 to 12 knots built steadily as the fleet beat northward, eventually gusting past 14 knots and reaching 16 near Spargi. Tacticians chased pressure through the channel while navigators picked their way past rocks that could end a race in seconds. No autopilot courses here, no broad reaches where you point the bow and make coffee. Every crew member earned their place.
Tomorrow brings the serious test: a 130-mile offshore race starting at 3 p.m. with strong mistral winds forecast. The fleet will push south along Sardinia’s eastern coast, round several waypoints, reach a final mark 36 miles offshore, then turn back towards Porto Cervo. SC2 yachts get a slightly shorter route, but nobody gets an easy day.
The Sardinia Cup spent fourteen years off the calendar. Its return in this new format suggests the organisers learned something about what makes offshore racing matter. Not circuits and marks ten miles apart, but real courses that demand seamanship, local knowledge, and crews willing to grind. Neville’s win yesterday won’t mean much if he’s not on the leaderboard when they cross off Porto Cervo tomorrow afternoon. That’s the point.
