Porto Cervo’s racing calendar doesn’t slow down. Just a week after the Invitational Smeralda 888 wrapped up with Millenium Falcon’s convincing win, ten boats are back on the water for the 23rd Coppa Europa Smeralda 888, a three-day sprint that kicks off today and runs through Sunday.
The Smeralda 888 is a German Frers one-design that’s become something of a fixture in Mediterranean racing. Based now in Monaco, these boats attract serious sailors who value both competition and camaraderie. The fleet this week proves it. Checco Bruni, one of Italy’s most respected sailors, is aboard Ziva with owner Silvia De’ Longhi. Giulio Desiderato helms Stay Rude for Giovanni Lombardi Stronati. Giorgio Poggi and Duccio Colombi crew Luigi Guarnaccia’s Capocaccia, which won the class last year. Andrea Casale brings his years of experience to Zarina by Das.
Marco Favale returns with Millenium Falcon after last weekend’s win, looking to make it two in a row. The defending club boats, Nicolò Saidelli’s Bloody Mathilde and Germano Scarpa’s Giada, will be working hard to keep the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s name on the prize list. Several crews who raced in the Invitational are back as well, including Martin Nweeia’s Paka’ A, Charles de Bourbon’s Vamos mi Amor, and Marie Helene Polo’s Zarina by Das. Black Star, a fresh entry from Paolo Rotelli, rounds out the ten-boat fleet.
Up to three races run each day, with eight total possible if conditions hold. Porto Cervo’s forecast shows a north-easterly of 11 to 12 knots for the opening sequence, which gets underway at 2.30 p.m. today after the midday briefing.
What keeps the Smeralda 888 class alive isn’t just the standard of the sailors aboard. The boats themselves encourage a particular kind of racing: tight, skill-based, and genuinely fun. The friendly atmosphere among competitors is real. You see it in how crews come back year after year, how owners mix socially with their rivals, how the sailing matters without overshadowing everything else. That’s rare. It’s also why Porto Cervo’s marina stays packed throughout July, and why sailors who race here once often find reasons to return.
The final prize ceremony wraps things up on Sunday.
