OUR GOAL

39 years ago the International Maxi Association was started as a small gathering of maxi yacht owners wishing to bring more co-ordination to their sailing. Since then it has grown both in the size of its membership and its remit, to become an organization with much wider influence and endorsed by World Sailing to organize World Championships and to manage maxi racing globally.The IMA’s overall aim is to encourage greater participation in maxi racing around the world. To this end, the Association has become increasingly involved in all the regattas with significant maxi participation.Another of the IMA’s major responsibilities is to encourage the highest standards of race management, safety and measurement for both inshore and offshore maxi yacht events.For maxi regattas the IMA assists with the standardization of entry and the writing of notice of races and sailing instructions. The Association can also assist with race management and support and endorse events that are held to its high standards.For 2021 as well as all our usual events and our Mediterranean Maxi Inshore and Offshore Championships, we are adding a new regatta run by the Yacht Club Italiano as a season opener in Portofino at the end of April. We are also supporting the famous Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii and the Aegean 600. Our flagship event, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, we trust will be able to proceed this September in Porto Cervo in near normal conditions. Here and at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez we will be joined by the J Class, a class formally affiliated with the IMA, as we await news of their next World Championship.The IMA’s membership remains healthy – a trend we hope will continue. We need maxi owners to support us so that we can support them!We remain extremely grateful for the generous long term and loyal support from our main sponsor Rolex and are pleased to welcome Credit Suisse as a further sponsor. We also thank the marine clothing company Code 0 for kitting out the IMA team in smart new gear.As usual I thank my hard-working and dedicated staff. Throughout the pandemic we have met weekly on Zoom but are greatly looking forward to seeing each other in person, as well as all maxi owner and sailors in the forthcoming season. We wish you an excellent season ahead.

February 2021
Andrew McIrvine IMA Secretary General