52 Asia-Pacific Boating March/April 2015 Asia-Pacific Boating March/April 2015 53FEATURE
Portofi no is an old fi shing town, founded by the Romans, where the cramped
natural harbour was home to fi shermen and their boats for many centuries.
More recently, picturesque Portofi no became a playground for the rich and
famous, even kings and queens, and since the 1950s the main industry is catching
tourism dollars, not fi sh.
Th e relationship between Rolex and sailing also has grown and prospered
since the late 1950s, much like Portofi no. At this year’s invitation-only Portofi no
Rolex Trophy, vintage 12-metre and 15-metre Class yachts battled on the
waters of the Gulf of Tigullio (aka Marconi Gulf )
in the Liguria region just south of Genoa in
north-western Italy. Although the event ran
September 18-20, the weather only allowed for
two days of racing.
It’s important to note that the term ‘metre’ does
not refer to length. Rather, it is an international
rating system. In the 12m Class, fi ve yachts
competed and the overall winner was John
Lister’s 21.4m 1937 Camper & Nicholson Wings,
which won both races. Second was Johannes
Khevenhuller’s 1936 W. Fife & Sons Vanity V
and third went to Patrick Howaldt’s 1938
Sparkman & Stephens Vim.
Th ere are only four 15m Class boats remaining,
and all of them were competing in Portofi no
including Hispania, designed by William Fife III
and built in 1909 for King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
Nearly 30m in length, she is a regular feature at
most of the classic yacht regattas. Unfortunately,
bigger doesn’t always mean better and Hispania
placed third in both races to fi nish fourth overall.50-55 Rolex Portofino.indd 52-53 07/03/15 2:05 pm