| THE CLUB |
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| Board
of directors | Gallery |
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| The Yacht
Club Costa Smeralda was founded on the 12th of May 1967
by H.H. Aga Khan, Andrè Ardoin, Giuseppe Kerry
Mentasti and Luigi Vietti as a non-profit making sporting
association for fellow sailing enthusiasts and with a
view to promoting related activities. |
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 Initially
set up in the Maison Du Port on the quay of the East Port,
the Yacht Club moved to new, larger (5,800 square metres)
premises in 1977. It operates from a building built on
the opposite side of Porto Cervo overlooking the new marina
and members have access to several meeting-rooms, a bar,
a restaurant and a spacious terrace with its own swimming
pool. In 1979, guest-rooms for the Members were added,
with four comfortably furnished suites and three rooms
overlooking the swimming pool. Since 1993 the Club also
offers a Sports Centre, a modern berth and mooring-place
for Members and guests. It started out in 1982 as the
12 Metre Centre, the Club's nautical nerve-centre, and
today is mainly used as a base for Smeralda 888s. It is
from here that all the support ships leave for the Club's
regattas. Since the 29th of October 1996, the Association
has been recognised by the Region of Sardinia as an independent,
non-profit making legal entity. |
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 THE
BURGEE
The Club's present flag was adopted in 1975. It consists
of a red four-pointed diamond with concave sides edged
in white on a blue background. Over the years, the number
of international sporting events and regattas in which
members have participated has ensured that the Club's
flag and its name have become instantly recognisable the
world over. The burgee's design is incorporated on all
the Club's articles and distinguishes all the products
available from the Members' exclusive boutique. |
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SPORTING ACTIVITIES
 The
Club has been affiliated with the Italian Sailing Federation
since 1968 and with the Italian Powerboat Federation since
1978. From its inception, the Club has regularly run regattas
in collaboration with the most important Italian yacht
clubs and it was in 1972 that the first edition of the
Settimana delle Bocche was held, an event that was quickly
to establish itself as one of the most important competitions
in the Mediterranean calendar. The following year, the
Club organised the One Ton Cup and became recognised as
the primary promoter of competitive offshore sailing in
Italy and in the Mediterranean. The first Sardinia Cup
was held in 1978. This series of regattas was aimed at
training and selecting teams for the Admiral's Cup. In
fact, the Sardinia Cup is held in alternative years to
the famous race in the Solent. 1980 saw the start of the
Maxi Yacht World Championship for vessels belonging to
the ICAYA. This is another biannual event, held in years
with odd numbers and sees a wide selection of these spectacular
sailing ships gather at Porto Cervo. The races have certainly
boosted the popularity of these ships and that of this
class of racing. As a result, since 1986, the Yacht Club
Costa Smeralda has been entrusted with the secretary and
is the Mediterranean headquarters for the Association.
That same year was also the beginning of another important
sailing event: the Swan World Cup, a biannual gathering
of ships built by the Nautor Shipyard. Another event to
take place in 1980 was the first ever Costa Smeralda Offshore
Grand Prix, one of the top offshore races on the calendar.
And 1980 was also the year when the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda
started promoting the use of veteran ships, although two
years would pass before these marvellous sailing ships
gathered in the Old Port of Porto Cervo. 1981 saw the
launch of the Smeralda Prima, a second IOR class which
has taken part in numerous national and international
races, coming second in class in the World Championships
to the delight of members and local enthusiasts alike.
That was the same year Italy decided to go for the America's
Cup. In 1983, the 12 Metre Azzurra came a triumphant third
in the qualification heats for the finals off Newport.
The Azzurra's success was symbolic result for Italy's
aspirations and its progress was followed closely by fans
at home. Thanks to that success, the first 12 Metre Class
World Championship was held in Porto Cervo in 1984. That
same year, the Royal Perth Yacht Club chose the YCCS to
act as Challenger of Record for the 1987 edition of the
America's Cup. As such, the YCCS had to co-ordinate all
the preparations of the challengers for the Cup, as well
as organise all the pre-selection heats to be held in
Australia. Those heats again saw the participation of
a vessel flying YCCS colours: Azzurra '87. In 1991, the
members of the YCCS commissioned German Frers to design
a one-make sailing boat which could take part in fleet
yacht races and match races. The first examples of the
Smeralda 888 were launched in 1992 and quickly proved
fast, competitive and good to handle even with only three
crew members. 1992 was also the year of a historical Italian
achievement in the field of powerboat construction: the
Destriero crossed the Atlantic in 58 hours 54' 50",
covering the 3,106 miles between the Ambrose Light off
New York and the Bishop Rock lighthouse on the Isles of
Scilly at an average speed of 98.323 km/h. This brilliant
result returned the Blue Riband to Italy for the first
time since the transatlantic liner Rex took the record
in 1933. At the same time, the Destriero also won the
Columbus Atlantic Trophy, the prize instituted by the
New York Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda
for the two-way crossing of the Atlantic.
Today the YCCS enjoys a fully reciprocal twinning agreement
with the Yacht Club di Monaco, and, since July 2002, with
the New York Yacht Club. The Clubhouse has been completely
renovated over the past two years in a project supervised
by New York architect, Peter Marino, making it one of
the most beautifully functional structures of its kind
in the world. |
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