A second place to Sir Peter Ogden’s 77ft Jethou in Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez’s Maxi 1 class was enough to hand Karel Komárek’s 100ft V the IMA’s coveted Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge (MMIC) title for 2026.
Starting the day level on points with V, Jethou prevailed in the coastal race for Maxi 1 (including both the Maxi 100 and Maxi Grand Prix yachts) which, with discards was enough to land her a comfortable lead in Maxi 1 overall, three points ahead of V and Filip Balcaen’s Maxi 72 Balthasar, winning the event’s Edmond de Rothschild Trophy.
Maxi 2 was a final battle between defending champion Luciano Gandini’s Mylius 80FD Twin Soul B and Terry Hui’s Wally 77 Lyra. However this came to an abrupt end when Twin Soul B was called OCS at the start. Hui’s Wally 77 Lyra taking the overall victory ahead of Twin Soul B with third Astra 1.
The tightest result was in Maxi 3 where Luigi Sala’s Vismara 62 Yoru won on countback from Lasse Petterson’s Mylius 60 Why Not and a charging former IMA President Benoît de Froidmont on his three time IMA MMIC-winning Wally 60 Wallyño.
Winning Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez with the largest margin in a maxi class was Andrew Fitzmaurice’s crew on the slippery Dehler 60 Blue Oyster in Maxi 4. A final win left Blue Oyster on 4 points to 2025 winner Enzo Pellizzaro’s Solaris 60 Crazy Diamond on 10 pts with the Truly Classic 90 Atalante II third on 13 pts.
The Js had the tightest of all conclusions with Svea winning but only on countback from Peter Harrison’s Rainbow to retain the J Class’s premier trophy, the Corinthian King’s Cup.
In perfect conditions, 10-12 knots of breeze and a pleasant, warm Autumn sunshine, Italian Giovanni Lombardi Stronati steered his recently acquired Hanuman to win the prestigious annual regatta’s final race.
Svea’s second place was enough to give them the title, Svea and Rainbow, finished on the same nine points aggregate.
Svea maintained their remarkable winning record, winning the J Class to remain unbeaten at every regatta that they have raced since the powerful Tore Holm design moved to Swedish ownership in 2022.