The Moat, a spectacular 115-foot (35.23-meter) Swan, continues to expand its legacy in grand prix yacht racing by securing another victory at the Ibiza JoySail, which took place this week at Marina Ibiza. The yacht, owned by the Argentinian Juan Ball, has won the regatta in all six of its editions to date, establishing a level of dominance rarely seen in this class. In fact, it has also achieved a hat-trick in the last three editions of the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta in Porto Cervo.
The Moat, which is normally based in Badalona, is sailing with an impressive crew of 29 on board, as operating a superyacht of this caliber is a huge task. The skipper is the Argentinian Diego Stefani, and among the crew for this Ibiza JoySail event were Argentinian star Cole Parada as tactician, Chato Domecq from Cádiz as navigator, and Marc Terrasa from Ibiza, who contributed his knowledge of the local race course. Additionally, for this edition, the owner, Juan Ball, was unable to sail in the regatta, but he has kept the yacht in optimal condition so that his crew could fly the flag high.
Juan Ball was also one of the key driving forces of the regatta from the very beginning, as his director, Nacho Postigo, explains. “Juan was one of our main allies even before Ibiza JoySail existed. The original idea was from Kety Sierra, the marketing director of the IPM Group, who called me, and with Juan’s great support we gradually persuaded yacht owners until we reached the point we are at today, where we have a waiting list for spots.”
The final day of competition set the bar very high with a 16-nautical-mile race that served as a grand finale to the various stages of the event held each day, from the island-circumnavigation regatta around Formentera on the first day, to Es Vedrà on the second, to today’s course, which finished off the coast of Talamanca beach.
Moat secured the overall title in the Performance category, although on the final day he finished second, beaten by Gelliceaux. However, after having achieved two first-place finishes in the stages, his overall victory was, once again, indisputable. “The crew is exceptional, the boat is perfect, there’s a lot of effort behind it all, and the result speaks for itself. The great advantage of Ibiza is that there’s a wide variety of courses, which makes the regatta very enjoyable. Plus, we’ve had good sailing conditions, with nice, strong winds,” said Cole Parada.
In Cruising 1, the WinWin emerged victorious, edging out the Gelliceaux by a single point after claiming two first-place finishes and one second, compared to its rival’s two seconds and one first. Third place went to the Kalantis after it overtook the Liberty Squared in this final race.
William Glenn of WinWin was ecstatic after his first victory. “It was a lovely event, in a wonderful location and superbly organized. There were many spectacular boats, and we are very pleased with how our boat performed. Above all, we had a wonderful time.”
In Cruising 2, the Cervo left the competition in no doubt, winning all three races with relative ease. La Bella, which finished second in the final race, thus overtook the Kiboko, which was unable to complete the race and ended its campaign in third place overall. La Bella also claimed victory in the Corinthian class.
At Cruising 3, the Point Counter Point led from start to finish, so the battle focused on second and third place. The Rose finished just behind the champion, two points back, while the Nefertiti was third. The Ocho took the Corinthian class title.
The category that kept the excitement going until the end was the Overseas Voyage, where the Nostromo finally secured victory by winning the final race and cementing its triumph over the Aurelius, which had dominated the class from the start but was ultimately overtaken on the last day. Third place went to the Atalante.
Now that this sixth edition has come to an end, the dates for Ibiza JoySail 2027 have already been confirmed: September 16 to 19.
