Superyacht Cup Palma | 30 Years Of Success

The 30th anniversary regatta of the Superyacht Cup Palma included the Multihull Class and the YY Class for the very first time. A record 5 racing classes provided magic sailing in the Bay of Palma.

Regatta success

The Superyacht Cup Palma Richard Mille has also been a success for Event Owner and Director Kate Branagh: “It was always going to be a special year with our 30th Anniversary celebration, but I believe it has exceeded all expectation.

“The sailing conditions have been fantastic, and being able to bring all the yachts together at our Venue Partner Club de Mar-Mallorca has been spectacular, as was the Owner’s 30th Anniversary Celebration Dinner at the St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca.

“Having Richard Mille onboard as well has brought a shot of real excitement to the regatta as we head into our fourth decade.

“As ever, we will look to renew, evolve and improve to make 2027 another great event in the superyacht sailing world.”

The Superyacht Cup Palma Richard Mille is also very grateful to its Silver Partners: Marinepool, North Sails, Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, RSB Rigging, RigPro, and to our Friends of The Superyacht Cup Palma: A2B Marine, Baltic Yachts, Carbo-Link, Dolphin, Hoek Design, Holld Yachts, Southern Spars, Vitters Shipyard and YYachts.

Q&A with Kate Branagh – Event Owner and Director

Events like the Superyacht Cup Palma don’t span decades unless they are well run, well executed and offer the owners a good level of competition.

With a career spanning more than three decades across sailing, superyacht operations, communications and event management, Kate is widely recognised as one of the most experienced figures in the superyacht racing sector. She is also an Executive Board Member and Co-Chair of the Superyacht Racing Association (SYRA), helping to guide the continued development of competitive superyacht racing worldwide.

We asked Kate how the Superyacht Cup Palma came about.

How was the regatta started? 

Two ex-captains who set up a sailmaking business in Mallorca called Vela 2000, Patrick Whetter and Spike Thompson wanted to have a party for their clients leaving for the Caribbean, and rather than just having a few beers they decided to have a race first – and then a lot of beers! I joined the event in 2000 and ran it from 2010, then bought it in 2013.

How many boats were in the first event, and where was it run from?

The first event was only 3 boats and it was held in Club de Mar Mallorca – where we held the regatta last year and this year, so it’s gone full circle.

Who in the sailing world were your biggest supporters in starting the event?

The early sponsors were Rolling Stock and Panteanius Yacht Insurance, who are still with us today.

What are the challenges in putting the event together?

Every year was the last – and has been ever since, we always said never again…. but a few months after the event when boats start asking can they come it was all on again, why not?

What were your learnings from day 1?

Keep it fun, keep the racing professionally run, and safe.

What stood in your way, what did you have to overcome to make it happen initially? And even now?

Always a struggle the balance of keeping it private and enjoyable for the owners wanting to be away from their stressful corporate lives yet needing media and keeping the commercial sponsors happy. It’s a fine balance.

Where do you see the regatta in the future? By including two new classes – the Multi’s and the YY Class the event has evolved quite considerably. 

Great to have the Multihulls – it added a fun new element that we need to constantly evolve. The Multihulls are so well sailed and professionally managed. It is fantastic to have them join the event.

 Monohull magic

The distinctive 33m Baltic Yacht, Win Win was a previous winner in both 2016 and 2019, and now joins Rose – which last year took her third consecutive title – in the exclusive triple-winner club.

Win Win secured The Superyacht Cup Palma Richard Mille Trophy with a final performance in the St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Race Day that saw them win their third race by just 54 seconds, winning Class A with a perfect regatta scoreline.

“The main secret of our success is that the same team comes back again, and again, and again, year after year, a very loyal and committed group,” said skipper Will Glenn.

“We are based here in Mallorca so this is our home port, and it feels very special to be part of a winning team on home waters, and having all the boats together at Club de Mar Mallorca has been great, producing a real regatta vibe, a really good feeling.”

For Win Win’s owner Kim Schindelhauer, this is actually his fourth success at Europe’s longest running superyacht regatta, having won with Scorpione dei Mari back in 2010.

“It’s really his second home here, so it makes him super-proud to have a home win, it’s like it’s his home stadium in sporting terms,” added Glenn.

Win Win finished ahead of Class B winner Archelon, then Atalante 1, Cervo and Spiip, all four of whom finished with the same points score, the final order being decided on count-back.

New classes add excitement 

In the new YYachts Class the 23.8m Beati took three bullets on the way to victory, ahead of Distancia and Calabash.

The newest yacht in the six strong fleet – the 23.80m Judel/Vrolijk Beati – claimed this win on its first ever regatta outing.

Her skipper, Vicente de Cecilio Alcantarilla, said: “It was super good, and this was the first time the boat has actually raced, it went well and the owner is happy. And the sailing venue also won praise, he added: “I love it, and we love having the big boats here, it is a great atmosphere.”

Highland Fling took the top podium position in the first ever Multihull Class with Allegra the runner-up with just one  point ahead of Layla.

“It’s super exciting to be able to race at The Superyacht Cup Palma Richard Mille for the first time, and what a great place to sail,” said tactician Ned Collier Wakefield. There was some great wind out there, and it’s a chance to show these great machines off – we were ripping around at 24-plus knots.

“We would love to be able to build on the multihull fleet here. The four boats here means there is some great racing, but if we can encourage a few more owners to come along that would be great.”

The classics

In the J Class Svea took three race wins to finish two points clear of her rival Rainbow after three days of competitive racing.

For Rainbow’s owner Peter Harrison, however, as also the CEO of Title Partner Richard Mille EMEA, the regatta has been a great success.

He said: “I had a great first week sailing here, it’s been completely different to the normal racing I have done, and we’ve loved it, as have a lot of the other owners.”

And he added: “We were able to bring clients, press and friends of the brand here to give them an experience that they wouldn’t normally have had, racing onboard Rainbow with us. At the same time, we are in an area with the infrastructure that really works for them and for us, so it’s been a great event.

“Having all the boats together with all the crews and the owners, some of which I already know, has made it a very convivial and nice atmosphere, and we are able to chat after racing. I am very happy.”

Full results here

The Superyacht Cup Palma Richard Mille 2027 will be held from June 23-26.