The greatest sailing stars in a five-star regatta at ACI Marina Rovinj

Tom Slingsby, Ed Baird and Iain Percy, America’s Cup and Olympic gold winners, will be sailing in the Adris 44Cup

From 29 May to 2 June Rovinj will host one of the world’s most prestigious sailing competitions – the Adris 44Cup. The race, part of the exclusive RC44 tour, is being brought to the recently opened Grand Hotel Park and ACI Marina Rovinj by Sail La Vie and JK Maestral as race organisers, the Adris Group as sponsor and ACI d.d. as partner.

The 44Cup world tour consists of five races taking place in different locations around the world, such as Palma de Mallorca, Porto Cervo and the Bermudas, with Rovinj joining the ranks of these elite destinations this year. The event is yet another way to continue the successful story of Rovinj and the outstanding races that have taken place there, the greatest names in sailing who have participated in them, and more than three decades of excellence. In its long racing history, the racecourse in front of Rovinj has seen the greatest sailing masters, such as Russell Coutts, Peter Gilmour, Paul Cayard, and Dean Barker, in action. This year the elite of the world sailing coming to the city of St Euphemia is led by three great sailors.

One of them is the Australian Tom Slingsby, the winner of the 2013 America’s Cup, the most prestigious sailing competition, and the 2012 Olympic gold medallist, who will be sailing as the tactician on the sailing boat Nika. Then there is Ed Baird, the 2007 America’s Cup winner; the American will be competing as the tactician on the Peninsula Petroleum, whereas Briton Iain Percy, the double Olympic champion, will participate as the trimmer for Team Artemis Racing.

‘I got to know Croatia when I was sailing in Split and on the island of Hvar, where I had some great experiences. I’m looking forward to the Rovinj race because I’ve been told Rovinj is a city with a great sailing tradition,’ said Tom Slingsby following the race in Montenegro, where he finished second on the Nika. 

Two special features of the 44Cup are boats designed by Russell Coutts, one of the most renowned sailors in history, and owners participating in races as helmsmen. Nine sailing boats coming to Rovinj are mostly owned by successful businessmen, such as Torbjörn Törnqvist from Sweden, John Bassadone from the UK or the New Zealander Chris Bake.

The Rovinj Adris 44Cup, a genuine five-star race, will be a celebration of sailing and high-quality tourism

“This major event will once again prove that Rovinj and Croatia are attractive sport and tourist destinations. We have shown that in order to develop high-quality tourism it is necessary to invest into high-quality accommodation and organise prominent events, something in which Adris is the leader within Croatian tourism. This year’s RC44 is not only a top competition but also an occasion to mark the reconstruction of the Monte Mulini Zone, which is one of the tourism zones in the Adriatic with the highest degree of luxury. The newly-opened Grand Park Hotel Rovinj and the new ACI marina will be a perfect backdrop to this world-famous event,” said Tomislav Popović, the president of the Maistra Management Board.

The Adris Group supports top sport competitions within its business strategy of encouraging excellence in all areas of business. Just as a reminder, Rovinj, with the Adris Group as sponsor and ACI as partner, hosted the 2006 ACI Match Race Cup, the 2011 Adris RC44 Cup, where the world’s sailing elite participated, and the 2012 Adris RC44 World Championship. This year’s inclusion into the sailing calendar proves once again that Rovinj is not only a luxury tourist spot but also a prominent sport and nautical destination, to which the greatest world regattas, attended by America’s Cup or Volvo Ocean Race stars as participants, keep returning. That is why at the end of May and the beginning of July we expect a dozen boats, around a hundred sailors and thousands of fans of this sport, which will be accommodated at the first ACI marina with the five-anchor rating, opened in April.

The most modern and, considered by many, the most beautiful marina in the Adriatic, ACI Marina Rovinj, the largest investment in the history of ACI, boasts the highest standards in design and technological solutions matching those of world’s elite destinations. The marina, which has achieved the five-anchor rating, can be described by these four words: beauty, luxury, innovation and security.

ACI Marina Rovinj, whose minimalist architecture is a perfect fit for its environs, uses state-of-the-art technological and infrastructural solutions and offers high-level services across its 1400 square metres. Its numerous amenities include a variety of functional services and technical and technological solutions, designed to meet the needs of even the most demanding boaters. Two large marina basins are equipped with 196 berths, which can accommodate yachts up to 35 metres in length on an annual berthing contract and boats up to 100 metres in length on short-term visits, making Rovinj both a safe haven for big yachts and an ideal destination for the participants in this prestigious regatta.