| Format | Double |
|---|---|
| Distance | 240 milles (444 kilomètres) |
| Race track | St.Tropez – Giraglia – Gênes |
| Race director | NC |
| Organizer | Yacht Club Italiano |
| IMOCA reference time | 21h 30m |
The Rolex Giraglia Cup is truly a classic event. According to the legend, the race was created on an evening of December 1952 when Beppe Croce, President of Yacht Club Italiano, René Levainville, President of Yacht Club de France, and Franco Gavagnin were enjoying a long dinner in a Parisian bistro. They envisioned the race from Saint-Tropez to Genoa as a challenge between yachts that could also be seen as a challenge between Italy and France, that would enhance the relations between both countries after the Second World War.
For the first edition of the Giraglia Cup in 1953 there were twenty-two boats on the start line. The number of participants grew steadily and in 1997 the event changed its name with the arrival of an important sponsor to become the Rolex Giraglia Cup. In 1998 the Yacht Club de France began organizing three days of races in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez before passing this part of the event onto the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez in 2002.
Today, the Rolex Giraglia Cup has exceeded its founder’s expectations to become a must-do event that attracts hundreds of crews, both amateur and professional, and all kinds of yachts from all around the world. Serious competition on the water is followed by serious fun in the evening, thanks to the event’s title sponsor. It’s a sporting event that is truly a blend of passion, competition, fair play, glamour and “joie de vivre”.
German sailor Boris Herrmann and his co-skipper Pierre Casiraghi took part in the 67th edition of the Rolex Giraglia, a 240nm long mediterranean race starting from St Tropez and finishing in Monaco via the Giraglia rock.
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