Monte Carlo's winter J/70 fleet returns with royal pedigree

2 min read

Monaco's winter racing season has sprung back to life, with around twenty J/70 crews lining up this weekend for the opening act of the Monaco J/70 Winter Sportsboat Series, organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco.

The series has run every winter since 2013, drawing Europe's sharpest J/70 sailors to Monte Carlo for a run of monthly regattas designed to keep crews racing hard through the off-season and sharpening their form ahead of bigger events later in the year.

The club's one-design roots go back further still. J/24s first built a major European fleet at YC Monaco in the early 1980s, with HRH Prince Albert II racing among them for years. His enthusiasm hasn't dimmed. He was patron of the 2022 J/70 World Championship at the club, and has backed his favourite regatta, the Primo Cup, Trophee UBS, every year for 43 years. The next edition falls in March 2027.

The Primo Cup itself dates to 1984, launched with J/24s as a shared passion between Prince Albert and his father, Prince Rainier III. The J/70 fleet is now the largest, longest-running one-design class in the regatta's history.

Defending the title is G-Spot, helmed by YCM member Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio, winner of the 2025-2026 championship after 25 races ahead of fellow club members Pierrik Devic's Fraser Yachts and Nico Poons' Charisma V H992 Sailing Team, an all-YCM podium. Fraser Yachts returns, as does Stefano Roberti's Piccinina, champion in 2024-2025.

Also worth watching is Moonlight II, helmed by 2016 Olympic 470 class champion Saskia Clark.

The international line-up has plenty of depth. A strong Swiss contingent includes Lorenz Kausche's Tarte-3Nuits.com, Thaïs de Tribolet's Jacqueline, and two Ville de Genève entries. Sweden's regular visitors El Otro are back too, alongside France's Eurovoiles under Denis Infante, last season's Corinthian category winner.

The format stays the same: short courses, back-to-back starts, and up to nine races across the weekend. Beyond the results sheet, it's a proving ground. Crews use the series to prepare for international regattas, bed in new sailors, or trial boat settings, with the 15-plus boat local Monaco fleet underpinning much of that work.

Three more acts follow: Act 2 on December 10-13, Act 3 on February 11-14, and Act 4, the 43rd Primo Cup Trophy UBS, from March 10-14, 2027.