Porto Cervo is about to host J/70 racing again, and this time the stakes stretch well beyond this weekend's regatta.
From Friday to Sunday, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda stages the final leg of the J/70 Cup 2026 alongside the J/70 Italian Championship, run jointly with the J/70 Italian Class. It's the class's first return to the Sardinian venue in nearly a decade.
Porto Cervo hosted the 2017 J/70 World Championship, a regatta still talked about for its record fleet of more than 160 crews. The same course will now host the 2028 World Championship, capped at 198 boats, a number that would break not just the class record but the record for one-design sailing anywhere in the world.
Seventeen crews from seven nations will line up this weekend.
Mauro Roversi's J-Curve leads the overall series standings heading in. Andrey Pushkin's Tenzor Team, fresh off dominating the Lerici leg, will be chasing hard. Defending champion Yann Ingliesi's Cyclone, winner at Imperia last year, is back to defend his title. Also worth watching are Manfredo Toninelli's T-One, the Australian entry Swish skippered by Steven Proud, and Massimo Rama's Jeniale Caim, currently second in the Corinthian standings.
Federico Siragna, President of the J/70 Italian Class, is clearly pleased with the turnout. "Having around twenty boats on the starting line for this J/70 Italian Championship exceeds pre-season expectations; the standings are wide open, and it's this uncertainty that makes every single entry unique and pivotal," he said. "The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, with its impeccable organisational machine, will ensure the event is truly spectacular."
Racing will run on the Vakaros RaceSense start system, with the J/70 Italian Class backed by Lincoln International, Garmin, VelaMania, North Sails Collection, UtilGraph, Gottifredi Maffioli, and Gin Vento.
For a New Zealand audience watching the class grow, the presence of an Australian entry in Swish is a reminder of how far the J/70 has spread through this part of the world. The scale planned for 2028 confirms it: this is no longer just a popular one-design, but one being positioned as the biggest in the sport.
