The Giraglia Rolex Cup is a classic event. According to legend, the race came about one night in December 1952, when Beppe Croce, Director of Yacht Club Italiano, René Levainville, Director of Yacht Club de France, and Franco Gavagnin were enjoying a long dinner in a Parisian bistro. They thought up the race from Saint-Tropez to Genoa as a challenge between yachts that could also be seen as a challenge between Italy and France that would help to restore relations after World War II.
The first edition of the Giraglia Cup in 1953 involved twenty-two boats. The number of participants increased steadily and, in 1997, the name of the event changed with the arrival of a major sponsor, becoming the Giraglia Rolex Cup. In 1998, Yacht Club de France began organising three days of races in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, before handing over this part of the event to the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez in 2002.
Nowadays, the Giraglia Rolex Cup has far surpassed the expectations of its founder and become an unmissable event attracting hundreds of crews, both amateur and professional, and all sorts of yachts from around the globe. A serious competition on the water is followed by serious fun in the evening, thanks to the event’s title sponsor. A sports event that brings together passion, competition, fair play, glamour and joie de vivre.