Near ideal conditions on the Bay of Palma, delivering tight and exhilarating racing on a 23nm course to the nine-strong fleet of superyachts.
In Class A the 33m Missy would give ground on the water to her slightly larger rivals Shamanna and Nilaya, with the former narrowly taking line honours by less than 30 seconds on the opening day.
However, the sophisticated ORCsy handicap system flipped the leaderboard, giving Nilaya the opening race win by just 10 seconds – after more than two hours of racing – from Missy, Shamanna and Umiko.
In Class B the 46m Ganesha – an SYC regular – had built a commanding on-the-water lead by the finish but had to give way to Ravenger, and only pipped third placed Baiurdo VI by 17 seconds once the handicap was applied.
With the fleet heading back in – with many mooring at the iconic Real Club Náutico de Palma in the heart of Mallorca’s capital – SYC Event Director Kate Branagh said:
“It all went really well and it was a great way to start our 25th anniversary event. It had been looking a bit light but the breeze came in and produced some really good racing.”
Racing at Superyacht Cup Palma continues on Friday with New Zealand Race Day, named after SYC’s long-standing Destination Partner.
