Photo: Cyclades Cup, Kurt Arrigo

After three extremely full days that included superyacht racing by day and drinks and dinners at spectacular venues by night, the first superyacht regatta in Greece, the Cyclades Cup Antiparos came to its conclusion with a prize giving ceremony to remember at the Antiparos primary school yard.

The Grand Prize, a replica Cycladic head, formed of brilliant Parian white marble, from the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, was given to the “Head of the Fleet” the Yacht “Tawera” of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron owned by Mike Mahoney for winning both his racing division and winning by the biggest cumulative margin in corrected time.

Racing was separated into three racing divisions, Apollo, Skyphians, and Meltemi class, each named after a feature of Greek Mythology that represented best the yachts in each division. The Apollo class of yachts was comprised of grand, beautiful yachts over 30 meters, worthy of Apollo, the ancient Greek god of beauty. The Skyphian class, named after Poseidon’s horse, was made up of yachts over 80 feet that are versatile and swift. The Meltemi class encompassed the performance sloops of unrivaled speed that feel most at home with a brisk “Meltemi”, the etesian wind of the Aegean, on their swart sails.

The full winners' list:

Prize Yacht Skipper
1st Place Apollo Division Seabiscuit Stelios Kyriakidis
2nd Place Apollo Division Almyra II Nikolas Rigas
3rd Place Apollo Division Sea Joy George Prokopiou
1st Place Meltemi Division WinWin Kim Schindelhauer
2nd Place Meltemi Division Wally B. Titina Patera
1st Place Skyphian Division Tawera Mike Mahoney

Best Owner/Driver Wally B Olivier Demont
Crew of Distinction La Belle Marco Terzopoulos

Sportsmanship Aliki Martinou
Best Starter Barong D Andre Rossigneau
Youngest Driver Almyra II Nikolas Rigas

A collaboration between the newly formed Cyclades Cup and the venerable Yacht Club of Greece, this unique form of yacht racing, is being tested out for the first time in the heart of the Aegean Sea with the aim to bring the world of yachting to one of the last untouched races courses in the Mediterranean.

Ilia Rigas, principal of Cyclades Cup said “The 1st Cyclades Cup was a dream that we shared with Stratis from the Yacht Club of Greece that came true. Our simple dream was to bring the grandest yachts of the world to Antiparos, creating a fresh venue for superyacht racing. Our aim was to bring together wonderful people from around the world to this tiny island to share the love of sailing, the sea, the natural beauty of the island, and the warmth of Greek hospitality.

We wanted to have a nice balance of competitive sailing in Corinthian spirit together with the social programme that only a simple but chic unpretentious Greek island can offer. We have now demonstrated that Antiparos has the potential to be one of the best destinations for superyacht racing worldwide.”

Stratis Andreadis, Race Chairman from the Yacht Club of Greece said: “We had two days of great racing testing out the race courses for next years’ cup. The first day was quite difficult as we had to construct a course for a very unusual and shifty wind direction. In the end we finished a light air race in three hours and everyone went home happy.

The second day, I believe, will stay in everyone’s mind forever. We designed a course through the channel of of Despotiko with a moderate northerly and ended up with some of the most beautiful images yacht racing has seen in a long while. On to next year, with more courses, more days, more unforgettable memories”

Mike Mahoney, from Tawera, said: “Without doubt the best regatta we have attended. Venue, hospitality,management , race courses, safety protocols etc. Ilia and Mathios wanted the focus on corinthian spirit and they achieved that with style and grace . Nice As an owner , not to have to accommodate and feed race crew, no optimising gear/ crazy weight reductions etc- we only had 4 people on board who had sailed aboard priorvto event!-it was just turn up and enjoy the purity of sailing. I have no doubt Cyclades Cup will be the foremost regatta on the circuit in years to come”.

Stathis Topouzoglou, who chartered Seabisquit said: “When Ilia and Mathios told me about their plans to organize the first-ever superyacht regatta in Greece, which was to take place in Antiparos, I had no second thoughts! After 17 years of knowing them, I had no doubts about the success of the event.

I only had one problem to solve in order to participate, as I am not a superyacht sailing boat owner , i did not own a sailing boat !!!! After thorough research, I found one of the best boats available for charter, 'the SeabisCuit,' along with its very experienced captain and racing crew! What an experience - three magical days, an extremely well-organized event, fabulous people, wonderful venues, and so many nice gifts we received from the sponsors. We loved them all.

Antiparos is an ideal place, well-chosen, and I have no doubts that the Cyclades Cup has already been established as one of the most popular superyacht regattas of the year. We won first place in our category (beginner's luck), not that it matters, as the last three days will always be remembered for life!”