Johnny Vincent and Simon Tate’s beautiful Marten 49 “Pace” was declared winner of the 2009 Giraglia Rolex Cup. Their combined scores in both the inshore element and offshore placed them first in the 193 boat fleet. A 1st place in IRC-A (79 Boats) and 11th in the offshore was sufficient for Pace to be declared the overall winner. The predominantly English crew sailed a very consistent series in a wide range of conditions. “Pace’s” sister ship “Moana” racing under ORC was awarded 3rd place in a fleet of 31 boats, demonstrating the Marten 49’s all round ability.
Johnny Vincent co-owner and skipper commented “We are absolutely delighted. It was a great event with an extremely competitive fleet and to come out on top is very satisfying. I must give great credit to both the crew and the boat. Against a fleet of purpose built racing yachts, the Marten 49 has proved itself to be a true cruiser racer. She will now spend the next 6 weeks cruising the Western Mediterranean before returning to do battle in this year’s Voile de St Tropez where we hope to emulate our success in the Giraglia Rolex Cup.”
Giraglia Rolex Cup comprised three days of inshore racing, followed by a 243-mile offshore race. The route of this classic distance course takes the fleet from Saint-Tropez to Genoa, via La Giraglia, the iconic rock isle off the northern end of Corsica.