Monaco Globe Week with the IMOCA 60– 60-foot monohulls being among the fastest modern racing monohulls have raced on a course totalling 1,300 nautical miles embracing some of the most emblematic marks in the Western Mediterranean. While yacht club attire can vary by club and time of day of the event, there are certain items that just won’t do. You should always avoid the following: Also founded in 1970 by Prince Rainier III, the Sports Section of Y.C.M. adapts training to youngsters from as young as age six from initiation to competition and at every age. Tom Ford, Jimmy Choo and Valentino make some of the most incredible shoes that are sure to turn heads. Accessories

Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series offers a monthly programme alternating high level regattas and training weekends for onedesigns. @www.facebook.com/pg/yachtclubmonaco Classic leather Oxford shoes from brands like Tom Ford and Chrisian Louboutin remain popular. For a more relaxed outfit, I love the loafers from Bally. Accessories Monaco Swan One Design, (9th-13th April 2019) organized in conjunction with the Yacht Club de Monaco, was the first event in the 2019 Nations Trophy Mediterranean League. The Yacht club reaches well beyond being a club for owners of yachts and superyachts. It is actually an immense infrastructure akin to a multi-tiered island that organises not only events connected to the yachts and regattas but also all kind of sports and social events, dances and entertainment. High society balls, conferences, exclusive business gatherings and prestigious auctions are just part of the kaleidoscope of activity. Look out for the Monaco Optimist Team Race from 9-12 January 2020. The regatta is reserved for 20 teams of young sailors, all under 14. YCM invites the most competitive clubs with emphasis on tactics and above all team-work.As well as the Primo Cup another innovation worth a double mention here is Monaco Classic Week. Persuaded that the reading of the past holds keys for the future Prince Albert fostered the creation and coordination during five years of a unique circuit for vintage and classic yachts, the Prada Challenge for Classic Yachts, without forgetting the acquisition of Tuiga in 1995, since becoming the flagship of the YCM. More recently the wave continued with the launching in 2005 of the “La Belle Classe” label. In April 1984, with Prince Albert’s Presidency, he developed new international events such as the Primo Cup, the biggest gathering of monotype yachts in the Mediterranean Sea. Prince Albert also put emphasis on classic Yachting with the organization from 1994 of the Monaco Classic Week for vintage and classic yachts, the Prada Challenge for Classic Yachts. @www.facebook.com/pg/yachtclubmonaco The first of these regattas were held in the bay of Monaco in 1862, so successful that in 1888 the “Société des Régates” was established by Prince Charles III and his son Prince Albert I, affectionately known as the “Oceanographer Prince”. @www.facebook.com/pg/yachtclubmonaco

The Monaco Yacht Club from its beginnings embraced and has nurtured a prestige Regatta program that has accelerated and taken on new dimensions under Prince Albert’s Presidency.Following the success of its Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous, whose next event will take place at the Yacht Club on 24 and 25 September, M3 (Monaco Marina Management) will also be launching the first Monaco Smart Yacht Rendezvous, a networking event that will run until Friday 24 March and conclude with the Smart Innovative Yacht Awards. Guests come here to sip champagne, admire the views from the yacht, and mix and mingle with like-minded people. And people in Monaco do enjoy showing off, so if you’re worried your outfit might be too ostentatious, don’t be.

Looking to the future is the Monaco Sports Academy which provides support to gifted young Monaco sailors and sportsmen taking on the world. The Academy is a close collaboration between the Yacht Club de Monaco, presided by Prince Albert and its General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri, and Philippe Ghanem who is an active member of the Club. They share a common goal: to help young athletes living in Monaco reach the highest level in sport.Almost a century of famous regattas preceded the founding in 1953 by Prince Rainier and presided over by Prince Albert II since 1984, the Yacht Club de Monaco. The Club brings together more than 2000 members from 66 nationalities. Many of the world’s most prestigious private yachts fly the Yacht Club de Monaco’s burgee, testimony to its unique position in the International yachting world. @www.facebook.com/pg/yachtclubmonaco Prince Albert’s Presidency