In one of the most adventurous races in the history of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, Esimit Europa 2 smashed the existing record by 3 hours and 6 minutes. The unbeatable 100-foot maxi, managed by 17-member European crew, arrived to San Remo (Italy) at 03:16 AM CEST, finishing a spectacular journey from Saint-Tropez in just 14 hours, 56 minutes and 16 seconds.
Fleet of 170 Giraglia Rolex Cup 2012 offshore regatta participants, coming from 18 countries, left Saint-Tropez on Wednesday at 12:20 CEST with strong winds of over 20 knots. Esimit Europa 2 immediately took the lead as the fleet set out on the 242-mile Giraglia Rolex Cup race in direction of the Island La Fourmique, before heading to the Giraglia rock near Corsica. The unstoppable European crew, skippered by Jochen Schümann, picked the leeward side of the rock to avoid strong winds. After the round up, Esimit Europa 2 was sailing at average between 16 and 18 knots, having over 30 miles distance to the nearest competitor at the finish line.
“This year’s Giraglia Rolex Cup regatta was absolutely one of the greatest sailing experiences in my entire life. It was not easy, since the race was rough and fast, not allowing us to relax even for a second. I am extremely proud of the crew, they did an amazing job, and happy that all our investments in the yacht paid off very well. I am hoping for new course records at the upcoming regattas,” said Igor SimÄiÄ, founder of the Esimit Europa project.
“We were pushing the yacht to its limits, reaching top speed of more than 30 knots, but at the same time, we were very cautious not to break something on the yacht. Thanks to the perfect weather conditions and exceptional crew onboard, we set a fantastic course record and I am very happy for that,” added Jochen Schümann, skipper of the Esimit Europa 2 yacht.
The Esimit Europa 2 yacht sails under the flag of the European Union, is registered on Cyprus, a member of Yacht Club de Monaco, competes for the Slovenian Sailing Federation and on board joins sailors from 7 various European countries. It is under the patronage of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. Its main sponsor is the global energy company Gazprom, while BMW is the official partner.
