With adrenalin coursing through his veins and freedom his watchword, the Yacht Club de Monaco's vice-president helms the Malizia in its many races, and is introducing his new monohull, Malizia II.
Laughing eyes, relaxed body language, easy to talk to – Pierre Casiraghi is a modern-day prince, equally at home on the sea and the red carpet. A seasoned businessman (majority shareholder in Engeco and Monacair) with an adventurer's soul, this fan of Hugo Pratt, nourished on Corto Maltese comic books, sails the Mediterranean at the helm of the Malizia, a new-generation catamaran that's a veritable Formula 1 of the seas. No more appropriate craft for a speed head who has inherited a love of extreme sports from his father, Stefano Casiraghi, the world speedboat champion who died in 1990.
GC32 Racing Tour
An experienced skipper with a passion for foils – the hull-mounted appendages that enable a boat to fly above the water –, Casiraghi launched last May into a new season of the GC32 Racing Tour that opened in Riva del Garda; the tour, comprising five stages in Italy, Spain and France, sees the quality of seamanship increase by the year. In southern Sardinia (GC32 Villasimius Cup from 28 June to 1 July), the Monegasque racer took third place on the podium, proof of his skill in windy conditions. After Palma de Mallorca for the 36th Copa Del Rey (2 to 5 August), the Malizia will set her sails for Calvi and the GC32 Orezza Corsica Cup (13 to 16 September), then Marseille for the tour's fifth and last stage, the Marseille One Design from 12 to 15 October. Having competed for the first time in 2016 with crewmates Boris Herrmann, Sébastien Col, Richard Mason and Adam Piggott, Casiraghi has high hopes for this year's sporting – and human – challenge: “Our first experience last year motivated us to prepare seriously and enthusiastically for this second season. To continue progressing it's important to keep the same crew and sail regularly together.”
Objective Vendée Globe?
Always up for new challenges, last June Pierre Casiraghi presented the Malizia II, the latest pride and joy of the Monaco fleet. The 60ft Imoca, which Sébastien Josse sailed in the last Vendée Globe, teams the prince with German sailor Boris Herrmann from Casiraghi's GC32 Racing Tour crew. On 6 August the Malizia II was in UK waters for the Rolex Fastnet Race, then competed in the Palermo-Monte-Carlo from 21 to 26 August. The idea is to fully master the hydrofoil monohull in order to prepare for the next Vendée Globe in 2020. “Boris is in training for four years and we'll be with him throughout his preparation,” says Casiraghi, who freely admits to not wishing to take part in this mythic race one might expect to be every serious sailor's dream, explaining: “What I love about sailing is the team spirit. Solo sailing I'll leave to Boris.”
Marjorie Modi
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