The Superyacht Regatta made its belated introduction into the America’s Cup programme to spectacular effect. Nineteen yachts in four classes raced over a 16-mile triangle-shaped course off St George’s, where the ability to prevail in light-air conditions was crucial.

Visione, owned by Bermuda resident Hasso Plattner and skippered by Garth Brewer, took Class A honours in 1hr 21min 17sec, finishing comfortably clear of Highland Fling 15 and Leopard 3.

“We sailed pretty well, the crew work was good all the way through,” Brewer said. “We made an important peel from the A1 to a reacher and that kept us fast on the first downwind. It was nice and clean, but the boat is well set up. We made the right sail choices at the right time.”

The story of the day, perhaps, was in the J Class, where Hanuman recovered from a false start to capture line honours in 1:56:23. Hanuman was forced to return and recross the start line, but choosing the preferred side for the first upwind leg proved a wise tactic.

By the first turn, Hanuman was already challenging Velsheda. Having reeled her in, Hanuman raced away when the crew set a reaching spinnaker to win from Ranger in second place.

In the biggest division of the fleet, Class C, which has seven entries, it was the iconic 88-metre Maltese Falcon that won by the biggest margin of the day — a whopping 19:41. The winning time was 1:38:38, with Bequia, minute in comparison at 28 metres long, trailing home in 1:58:19.

In Class B, Hyperion was victorious with the highly acclaimed Harold Cudmore on board. Artemis Racing Team’s Loïck Peyron had to settle for fourth place with Sojana. “We could really have done with a little more wind today, but it was nice to be on the water and racing,” Peyron said.

Svea was a non-starter in the J Class, while in Class C, Silver Spray failed to finish.

Racing in the Superyacht Regatta, hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, will continue today and tomorrow.