19th Palermo-Montecarlo: record broken after nine-year wait

 

They had to wait nine years for the Palermo-Montecarlo record to be beaten. The accolade goes to the Maxi Black Jack 100 helmed by Tristan Le Brun from Yacht Club de Monaco who covered the 500 nautical miles separating Palermo in Sicily from Monaco in 1 day 20 hours 34 minutes 22 seconds, that’s three hours faster than the previous record set in 2015 by Esimit Europa 2, the former name of Black Jack 100.

 

Organised by Circolo della Vela Sicilia, in collaboration with Yacht Club de Monaco and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the Palermo-Montecarlo always attracts big-name international sailors and teams with some 50 in competition this year including the Comet 45s Gorilla Gang XL of Andrea Statari and Paul Basson’s Swan46 Foreign Affair both flying the Monaco flag.

Thrilling neck and neck to the finish

After an epic start in 18 knot winds on Tuesday 20th August, contestants headed up past Sardinia and Corsica at full speed. The five Maxis and as many Class40s had responded to the call to race in this 19th edition adding spice to the action at sea. Suffice to say the battle between Remon Vos’s Black Jack 100 and the American Byron Ehrhart’s Lucky kept the tracking watchers on tenterhooks, as the two teams kept up the suspense throughout the race, often neck and neck. “Lucky made the race difficult for us,” said Tristan Le Brun, “so we opted for a strategy to never lose distance from them, to not give them an opportunity to escape. For us the result is an honour, a challenge and part of the success as we have set ourselves the goal of beating as many records as possible held by Esimit [former name of Black Jack 100]”. This victory is particularly sweet for the helmsman: “I’m a member of the YCM’s Sports Section, I sail regularly on J/70s and am also a member of the Captains Club. I was a captain on superyachts for 15 years, but also captain for one of YCM’s members, so for me to win this race on this boat as skipper and beat the record is fantastic and makes me very happy”.

From the Sicilian coast, the two boats opted for speed and control with a slight advantage for Lucky at the start. A position that only fuelled the ambitions of the Reichel-Pugh helmed by Tristan Le Brun. It was half way up Corsica that the situation tipped in favour of Black Jack 100 who took the lead, widening the gap mile after mile. Lucky finished 2nd in real time, 44 minutes after the winner but wins the Maxi class in corrected time.

 

Winner in real time and holder of new record

Nine years after being the fastest in Palermo-Montecarlo history, Black Jack 100 formerly Esimit Europa 2 is back in excellent form under a different name. The team will lift the Giuseppe Tasca D’Almerita Trophy on Sunday as winner in real time. The rest of the fleet are still racing towards the Principality. As the first two teams celebrated their arrival, the rest of the fleet were still racing at the gateway to the Strait of Bonifacio.

The Palermo-Montecarlo is a stage in the Italian Offshore Championship organised by the Italian Sailing Federation, the IMA (Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge) and the Class40 Mediterranean Trophy. It is also part of the IRC 2024 Crewed Inshore & Offshore Championship and Trophies in the Mediterranean. A landmark fixture on the offshore calendar, the event is organised by Circolo della Vela Sicilia which is also involved in the 27th America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024 with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.