No other Swiss luxury watchmaker constantly pushes back the boundaries of the possible quite like Richard Mille. The high-performance worlds of motorsport and sailing share a similar passion for mechanical mastery – and it’s an affinity that leads naturally to collaboration. Richard Mille is partner to a trio of sporting events, covering sailing, road racing and rallying, that celebrate the brand’s fondness for precision machines that blend supreme beauty with peerless technical sophistication.
The Richard Mille Cup trophy, crafted by British jeweller Garrard. Photo: Handout
While today’s streamlined, super-speedy racing yachts are certainly impressive, the elegant yachts of a century ago glide across the waves with an unmatchable élan. That golden age of sailing was celebrated with the return of an event that brings together a selection of the most beautiful vintage yachts, which battle it out over an equally spectacular course – the Richard Mille Cup.
The third edition of the Richard Mille Cup shifted to more challenging waters. Photo: Handout
This was the third edition of the cup, contested every two years in the challenging waters surrounding the UK. But while the first two editions saw competitors sail between the south coast of England and France, this one moved the action much farther north, to the choppy waters of the Firth of Clyde, off the west coast of Scotland.
This year’s Richard Mille Cup was held off the west coast of Scotland. Photo: Handout
There, a fleet of 12 classic yachts fought it out over 10 days in June, kicking the race off at the fairy-tale Culzean Castle to the south of the firth. The location might have been sublime, but it was also fiendishly challenging, with turbulent seas demanding a combination of sailing skill and steely resilience. Among the much-loved vintage vessels joining the battle for the beautiful silver trophy made by British jeweller Garrard were Kismet (1898), Moonbeam (1903), Mariquita (1911), Moonbeam IV (1920) and Saskia (1931).
The Richard Mille Cup featured 12 classic racing yachts. Photo: Handout
Just as the Richard Mille Cup celebrates the most gracious of vintage racing yachts, so does the Le Mans Classic tip its hat to their terrestrial counterparts. The race pits vintage racing cars against each other over the legendary 13km Circuit de la Sarthe in northwestern France, the same course used for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Le Mans Classic is likewise contested over 24 gruelling hours, with cars dating from the 1920s to the 1980s divided into six eras.
On-track action at the inaugural Le Mans Classic Legend, held in July at the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans in France. Photo: DPPI