The Giraglia Cup, organised by the Yacht Club Italiano in collaboration with Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez is one of the most prestigious regattas in the Mediterranean season. This year, the 71st edition will see Loro Piana as the title sponsor for the first time.
With 2 events rolled into one, starting with 4 days of inshore racing in St Tropez and then the Giraglia offshore race, these events combine fierce competition on the water and a great camaraderie ashore in the beautiful port of St Tropez. The event was established in 1953, in the aftermath of the Second World War, to help repair relations between Italy and France. It has been held every year since and has developed into one of the biggest sailing festivals of the Mediterranean season, with some 2,500 professional and amateur crew members from all over Europe and beyond taking part.
The Loro Piana Giraglia offshore race will start on the 12th of June from St Tropez, a route of 243 miles taking the fleet to a mark off Cannes before heading for the Giraglia islet and returning to the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa, where the prizegiving will be held.
The Giraglia islet, which lends the race its name, has achieved mythic status in the sailing world, similar to the Fastnet Rock, the Organ Pipes and Stromboli. The Giraglia rock is the northern extension of the Cap Corse. It lies barely one nautical mile off the coast of Corsica, measuring 600 metres in length, a mere 50 metres wide and rising just 60 metres above sea level.