In 2017, a volume recounting the Club's history was published to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the YCCS. The introductory text was written by H.H. the Aga Khan IV, founder and President of the Club, who retraced the earliest memories linked to the birth of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Love and respect for unspoiled nature shines through in his essay. In honour of this spirit of celebration, we've chosen to republish his words below.
The images of the year that brought the birth of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda are still etched very clearly in my mind’s eye. It was 1967 and the inlet at Porto Cervo, as it was already referred to on the official nautical charts, was beginning to attract admirers of a sea that I believe is the most intense in the Mediterranean. Back then, André Ardoin, Kerry Mentasti, Luigi Vietti and I were just a small group of pioneers with a shared dream. We had the idea that this crossroads might be the ideal destination for people who loved the sea and sailing. Almost immediately boats began spontaneously mooring at the wooden jetties we had put up and then at the first granite docks.
Everyone who came to Porto Cervo was amazed by the sheer beauty of a place that felt incredibly exotic compared to nearby Europe, and the perfect sailing conditions it afforded. Having the opportunity to explore such a pristine and unique area was an exceptionally emotionally-rewarding experience. The coastline was wild and, in many areas, the now-lush vegetation was sparse and arid because of sun, wind and the animals that grazed right down to the water’s edge and often lingered on the beaches. These were the same white beaches and inlets we gradually discovered wedged between rocky outcrops, their incredibly clear depths breaking up the landscape to stunning effect. The prevailing north-westerly wind not only created perfect sailing conditions but also delivered absolutely clear blue skies and almost iridescent sea colors. Natural wonders that still, quite rightly, astonish us to this day.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s real story, however, begins with its earliest regattas which, from the outset, attracted the most competitive crews of the day. Within a very short space of time, we were able to publish a calendar that garnered a rightful place on the international sail racing circuit. The exhilarating Azzurra challenge in the 1983 America’s Cup and Destriero’s still-unbeaten Atlantic record set in 1992 at an average speed of 53 knots, both contributed to establishing our Club at the very highest and most authoritative levels in the nautical world too. Today, we play host to the world’s largest, most prestigious sailing and motor-yachts at our Porto Cervo base.
That said, it is important to me that we use our prestige and influence to protect our primary element, the sea. We must avail of every means at our disposal to support current research and initiatives to defend it from the dangers threatening its survival. I thus sincerely hope that having rounded the mark of its first 50 years, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will become a beacon in that regard and set a harmonious, sustainable and ethical example in terms of its approach to water sports and the marine environment, be it our own local waters or the world’s oceans.
by the H.H. the Aga Khan