Ibiza JoySail

November 2023

Written by Ibiza JoySail

Islander Life

November 2023

Written by Ibiza JoySail

Islander Life

STP and Marina Ibiza hosted a thrilling and spectacular regatta featuring the breathtaking J Class and many superyachts, which brought the finishing touches to the superyacht season.

In the recently completed third edition of the regatta that rounds off the Mediterranean superyacht season, Ibiza JoySail had a great participation with a total of thirteen yachts.

This race, organised by STP and Marina Ibiza, caught the attention of participants for its competition at sea around Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, and great shoreside atmosphere – a truly successful pairing that has made its mark in just two editions.

This year, Ibiza JoySail has been invitation-only due to the great interest generated, and the organization decided to cap the number of boats registered so that the competition continues to have a point of exclusivity and thus be able to give the best to the participating owners and crews. This edition also featured the J Class in a special guest class, alongside a range of superyachts, totalling 13 entrants.

The arrival of two J Class in the form of Svea and Topaz have firmly put Ibiza JoySail on the map for this class. This was the first time that the J Class have sailed in Ibiza in what is a preamble to the 2024 World Championships in Barcelona, being held just before the 37th America’s Cup. These beauties fought a true match race between two boats that trace their history back to the America’s Cup of the 1930s.

Svea, with her co-owner Niklas Zennström at the helm, not only won her class for the Ibiza JoySail, but also won the highly valued Kohler Cup, a prize set aside for boats from this class, and which was handed out during the prize ceremony.

The Kohler Cup is a trophy that was created in memory of the entrepreneur and philanthropist Terry Kohler, who bought North Sails from Lowell North upon his retirement in 1984. Terry was passionate about North Sails and helped the firm maintain its position as a technology leader within sail making. He saw the enormous potential of embracing technology for sails and under his guidance, North Sails introduced 3D sail making. He owned the company from 1984 until 2014, the year of his death.

Svea’s project manager, Tim Powell, commented “It was good to sail in the lighter breezes in sub-seven-knot wind, a key factor in learning how to handle these boats, which is a learning curve for us. We learned more about the rig set up, manoeuvring, how you turn the boat in these conditions, just learning the whole package really. It’s very different to how these boats handle in twelve knots of wind. There are lots of little things you don’t know until you’ve done them. We haven’t done very much light air sailing this year, so it was all good.”

Paul Kelly, Svea’s captain, was enthusiastic about Ibiza JoySail, saying “This is Ibiza: everyone wants to come here as it has places to visit, great restaurants, and so on, and it’s always a wonderful destination, which is a good incentive for coming.” He added that “the wind wasn’t in our favour, and we can’t do anything about that, but it was fantastic as far as the social side was concerned. Having a hub for all the yachts and crew, being able to have breakfast together, and enjoying a post-race beer was wonderful.”

Tim Kröger, Topaz’s project manager, said of Ibiza JoySail that “The organisation on the water was perfect and well executed. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much wind, but the team did its best to find the optimal place to get the most out of the wind. They made the right decisions at the right times and ultimately, we were able to enjoy a great race.”

Ibiza JoySail features top-flight performance yachts, as well as cruisers, on which sailing enthusiasts can enjoy and share experiences. That’s why owners also play a paramount role in this philosophy. And among these boats are the Corinthians, whose spirit is to sail in cruiser conditions without offloading materials, with the original sails and just a limited number of professionals or additional crew onboard.

The mix of professional crews with more amateur ones is another of Ibiza JoySail’s traits, making it a truly unique race.

Out of all the participants, Dark Horse (Swan 80) is one of the greatest ambassadors of this racing philosophy, having taken part since the first edition. Back in 2021, it was her début on the racing scene, with a crew of just five and without prepared sails. Dark Horse’s owner enjoyed himself so much that he bought new sails and is competing in this year’s third edition with eleven professionals. However, this time in the Performance Cruising class.

The third edition of Ibiza JoySail culminated with the victories of Moat (Performance), Dark Horse (Performance Cruising), Aurelius (World Cruising) and Svea (J Class) after competing in three races off Ibiza and Formentera. The whole event was a roaring success with a record number of participants enjoying the competition at sea and the activities on land.

Ibiza JoySail this year welcomed world-renowned seafarers such as Bouwe Bekking and Paul Westlake (Svea), Peter Holmberg and Francesco de Angelis (Topaz), Will Oxley and Mark Sadler (Jasi), Guillermo Parada (Moat), Andy Beadsworth and Bill Tripp (Prevail), and Jesper Bank (All Smoke), to name just a few. The Spanish representation included sailors such as Pablo Arrarte (Jasi), Nacho Postigo and Javier de la Plaza (Topaz), Pachi Rivero (All Smoke), and Sinbad Quiroga (Svea) among others.

Moat (Swan 115) is still the queen of Ibiza JoySail after having gained victory in all three editions of this superyacht regatta. Juan Ball’s yacht can now claim to be one of the true superstars of the event, along with the Performance Cruising winner Dark Horse (Swan 80), who are the only two boats to have raced in all the editions of Ibiza JoySail.

Juan Ball, one of the regatta’s leading ambassadors, commented upon arriving at Marina Ibiza as three-time champion of Ibiza JoySail that “We love this event that started out as a project just three years ago. We were invited to take part and ever since we’ve jumped at the chance of playing a part.” What’s more, the incentive this year for Moat was to compete with Jasi, her sistership: “We’ve been matching wits with Jasi, which has been really productive for both parties.”

In the Performance class, the duel between Moat and Jasi was simply spectacular, with Moat winning overall after coming first in all three races and Jasi notching up three seconds. Meanwhile, All Smoke (SW-RP 90) came third, beating on the last day Kiboko Tres (SW 105), who ended up fourth overall but was crowned champion in the Corinthian Class.

In the performance Cruising class, Dark Horse finished in front after showcasing an incredible evolution in just three years, winning Ibiza JoySail for the first time ever. The American yacht Prevail finished second and Shambho (Y7 70) – in her first Ibiza JoySail – came third and also won the Corinthian prize in her class.

Amongst the World Cruising class, Aurelius was a double champion both in her class and in the Corinthian class. Second place was taken by Scorpion of London (Baltic 151), the largest and most elegant yacht, while tied on points in third place was Alarife 100 (Custom 99).

The anticyclone that hovered over the Mediterranean throughout the week meant that the Palma-Ibiza record couldn’t be set on the first day. Once in Ibiza, and even though the wind barely topped six knots on all four days, the Race Committee, led by Gaspar Morey, Pablo Ferrer and Arianne Mainemare, successfully held a nearshore race every day despite very tricky conditions. There were a total of three routes during the event, challenging the fleet to the max but resulting in huge admiration for Marina Ibiza and a burning desire to repeat next year.

Ibiza JoySail has announced its dates for the 2024 edition, which will be held from September 19th to 22nd.

Results

Performance