Second Edition of The Richard Mille Cup Won by Cutter Mariquita

Following the successful inaugural event last year, the Richard Mille Cup 2024 tested an invited fleet of competing yachts, all designed over a century ago, with 255 miles of offshore racing and eight days of shorter inshore courses in England and France this June. The unique regatta celebrates the yachts as the high-performance racers they were designed to be.

The 2024 Richard Mille Cup started at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth, before visiting the Royal Dart Yacht Club in Dartmouth, the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and finally, the Société des Régates du Havre in Le Havre, each club renowned for its historic links to yacht racing.

Tim Malachard, Marketing Director of Richard Mille, said: ‘’We want to go one step further by offering vintage yachts the chance to gather and compete on the same courses they raced in a century ago. This is not a parade, but a genuine regatta over two weeks.’’

Highlights of the regatta were many, and included a moonlit reach in strong winds past the notorious Portland Bill; an agonizing finish off the Royal Yacht Squadron in light winds and an adverse tide that saw several yachts dragged backward as they approached the line; and the 100-mile race across the English Channel where the tall gaff-riggers finished within minutes of each other in the grey light of dawn. The inshore racing was spectacular and included a titanic battle off Cowes between the schooner Viveka and the two Fife gaff cutters Moonbeam IV and Mariquita. The three rivals vied over four hours of constant lead changes.

In the regatta’s class for bigger yachts, Mariquita was dominant, after a series of early victories and consistent racing in week two. The yacht’s young crew were cheered onto the stage through an archway formed by their rivals on Viveka. Mariquita’s owner, Benoît Couturier, and skipper Jacques Caraes were presented with the winner’s trophy, a one-meter-high sterling silver cup created for the event by Garrard, the exclusive British jeweler that made the America’s Cup. Second in the Richard Mille Cup overall was Viveka, the staysail schooner built in 1929 for JP Morgan and recently given an award-winning restoration in California. In the class for smaller yachts, the win went to Patna, a highly original Charles E. Nicholson design built in 1920, restored and sailed by Greg Powlesland and family. After just two years, the Richard Mille Cup has established itself as the premiere event for serious classic yacht racing, which renews the traditions that made the sport. www.richardmille.com