This year’s Rolex Maxi Yacht Cup held in Porto Cervo will surely go down as one of the most spectacular in the event’s history. Not only were the conditions spectacular, but the entire professional racing scene appeared to descend on the event like never before.

For many, the battle of the mini maxis provided a long awaited clash of some of the latest machines and the best crews. But for me, one of the highlights was riding aboard Wally’s latest and most extreme boat to date, the Wally 130.

Not only is she extreme in her appearance, but in 20knots of true breeze, with 11 tonnes of water ballast pumped into her distinctive bulwarks, we sliced upwind at a steady 16knots, passing some of the world’s biggest superyachts as if they were standing still.

Unfortunately the ride ended at the top mark when gear failure forced us to retire, but that’s another story. In the meantime, here’s a short piece of video from on board as we thundered up ‘Bomb Alley’.

A full report of the event will be in the November issue of Yachting World