With less than a month to go, the countdown is on for the 21st edition of the Palermo-Montecarlo, the great Mediterranean regatta at the end of August organized by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in collaboration with the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. This classic offshore sailing event, now more than twenty years old, marks a key moment in the season and is crucial for the standings of the Italian Offshore Championship by FIV (Federazione Italiana Vela), as well as for the final round of the Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge by IMA (International Maxi Association).
One of the stories to follow in the Palermo-Monte Carlo 2026 is the challenge between two highly prestigious maxi yachts bearing the same original name: Morning Glory, both designed by the Reichel-Pugh studio. The smaller is a 78-foot (24-meter) pure racing yacht, elegant lines and high performance. Today, the boat is managed by Marco Malgara of the ICE Yachts shipyard, has been renamed Fiamme Gialle Nice, and will race between Palermo and Monaco with a crew reinforced by athletes from the Gruppo Sportivo della Guardia di Finanza, led by Captain Francesco Nerone, helmsman Paolo Cian, tactician Pierluigi Fornelli, and several Italian Olympic team members.
The larger is an 86-foot (26-meter) supermaxi, entirely made of carbon fiber and equipped with a canting keel, with a successful past and a record-breaking victory at the Barcolana. Today, it is managed by Furio Benussi’s Fast and Furio Sailing Team and is called Marta 07, named after its young helmsman and owner’s daughter, Marta Benussi. She will race under the colors of the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, with both father and daughter aboard. The crew includes many young members of the team’s project, including Monegasque Guido Miani and several sailors from the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, including Edoardo Bonanno and Antonio Saporito, fresh from their overall victory in the twentieth anniversary edition with No Regret.
About other maxi yachts, rumors from the dockside suggest the presence of more prestigious boats, as the regatta is the final round of the Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge IMA. The Palermo-Montecarlo record belongs to Black Jack 100, which in 2025 completed the 500-nautical-mile course in 38 hours, 53 minutes, and 13 seconds.
There will be the Turkish TP52 Arkas Blue Moon, owned by Bernard Arkas and skippered by Serhat Altay, the overall winner of the Loro Piana Giraglia a few weeks ago, a boat and team among the most competitive and well-prepared. They will be chasing the overall victory, but also going head-to-head with the American PAC52 Final Final, owned by Jon Desmond and skippered by Russell Whitworth, among the best at this year’s Tre Golfi Sailing Week, and the other TP52 Chocolate 3, skippered by Hungarian Peter Czégal, a 470 Olympian at the 2004 Athens Games.
SISI, Konstantin Kobale’s Austrian VO65, is back to Palermo, while the Swan 60 Seaquill, skippered by ocean sailor Andrea Fornaro, is making its debut in the regatta. Also worth keeping an eye on are Nicola Pirani’s Swan 56, Elle; the beautiful JP54 The Kid, owned by Gilles Léraillé, with ocean-going sailor Jean-Pierre Dick and the Circolo della Vela Sicilia pennant; and the two Neo Yachts: Alemaro (German Roman Puchtev’s Neo 430) and Upscale (German Stefan Hümmeke’s Neo 400, which recently secured an excellent finish in the challenging Aegean 600 race around the Greek islands). A boat worth watching and studying is definitely Zephyr, an innovative 44-foot Finot-Conq yacht with a rounded scow-style bow, recently launched for Maltese owner Simon Toms.
Agostino Randazzo, President of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia: “One month before the regatta, we have a strong participation, expressions of interest, owners and crews who are happy to return, and partners who support us in the organization. I’m pleased to emphasize that the fleet (nineteen boats out of thirty-two registered to date) is predominantly international: four each come from Germany, France, and Great Britain, two from the USA and Malta, and one each from Austria, San Marino, and Turkey. This is a sign of how the Palermo-Montecarlo has become a symbol of the call to a beautiful sailing in the Mediterranean.”
Following the success of 2025, the virtual version of the race is confirmed this year, thanks to the partnership with the Virtual Regatta platform. The Palermo-Montecarlo can be raced in the same weather conditions, with the same tactical and strategic decisions as the sailors, all from a computer or smartphone screen on Virtual Regatta, the same platform that offers digital versions of The Ocean Race, the Vendée Globe, and other major offshore and ocean sailing regattas. Last year, 8,454 participants participated. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers, the top three in the Interclub Challenge between the two organizing clubs, and the top under-18 finisher.
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