– The winners of the four Groupe Maxis awarded tonight. – Capricorno, winner of the IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge 2022 – See you in 2023
Two weeks! 15 days already that the Voiles de Saint-Tropez have been illuminating the Gulf, the Var and the Yachting planet. Sailing, in all its components, sporting, aesthetic, historical, has sparkled in Saint-Tropez, offering sailors and the curious that indispensable part of the dream and escape. The beautiful summer of the Sails ends tonight, leaving all the participants a little groggy from so much splendour, so much friendship and passion shared. They will come back, for sure, to find the quays, the lights, the scents of an always renewed celebration around the beautiful boats which take the soul of the passer-by on the water. We’ll be back in 2023, from 30 September to 14 October.
Spirit of MalouenX, Cannonball, Lyra and Saïda crowned! The last day of the Voiles de Saint Tropez was decisive for the attribution of the Trophies for each of the four groups of Maxis, which came to a close at the end of the great fortnight of the Voiles de Saint Tropez. Thunderstorms and rain radically transformed the atmosphere and the light of the gulf when the 46 Maxis in contention set off for a short coastal course, in a light north-north-easterly flow, unstable in strength as well as in direction. Despite a proper start and all the efforts made by the Race Committees, admirable throughout the fortnight, to set a course, it was the storm that triumphed, sucking up every last breath of air in the gulf and imposing a pure and simple abandonment of the regatta. The 4 Maxis Groups will however, in addition to the Challenge day, have validated 3 beautiful races, which will allow to crown this evening some magnificent winners. Stéphane Névé’s Spirit of Malouen X, with a crew from TP52, came close to a clean sweep in Maxi 1, winning two races. Cannonball not only dominated the Maxi 2 group, but also beat the other two formidable Maxi 72s, Jethou and North Star, and ousted Magic Carpet3, the formidable Wallycento from all success. Lyra won by a whisker in the Maxi 3 class against one of the most remarkable yachts of the Maxi season, the 80-foot Reichel/Pugh Capricorno. The ketch Saïda of Swiss sailor Jurg Schneider also triumphed without contest in the Maxi 4 class, ahead of the two protagonists of the America’s Cup of yesteryear, the 12m JI Kiwi Magic KZ7 and French Kiss.
An articulated foiler at the Voiles de Saint-Tropez: Flying Nikka The futuristic foiler Flying Nikka was entered in the Voiles, according to the IMA’s wishes. Its size, its profile, and above all, its immense articulated foils caused a sensation. Designed by a team coordinated by Irish designer Mark Mills, the 19-metre-long Flying Nikka, equipped with state-of-the-art foils that allow her to sail at more than 40 knots, was built in Valencia at the King Marine shipyard using the latest composite technology. “Roberto Lacorte wanted to have a pure racing boat, built for speed,” explains Allezio Razeto, Flying Nikka’s team manager, “We saw the development of foils on the Imoca Class boats and on the America’s Cup and we said to ourselves: why not have articulated foils on a Mediterranean racing boat? We called the architect Mark Mills and told him what we wanted. Roberto Lacorte, the owner, is steering the boat. The crew is largely from the America’s Cup. Steering a foiler is not the most difficult part. The real difficulty lies in setting the sails and foils. There is a lot to set up to fly, the righting of the boat or the balance, knowing that the pressure in the sails is never constant. The foils are the most complicated to set up, especially when you’re flying at over thirty knots.
Georges Kohrel, Principal Race Officer “The two-week gamble paid off. We have more and more big boats, which are bigger and bigger. Everyone has understood that it is impossible to have huge Wallys and small classics living together. The logic of the two weeks is unquestionable. Our courses in the second week are perfectly adapted to the fast Maxis. The Club 55 Cup was very popular. We had a very complicated first week, with this Mistral wind which came at the end of the day to add a little tension to the races. The races were launched in 15-16 knots of wind, but the fleet returned in the evening in gusts of more than 25 knots. Everyone played the game. And everything went well. In the second week, we experienced very light conditions. We had to adapt the courses, anticipating possible reductions. But in the end, we validated the races every day and all the sailors are happy. We are also making progress in the management of results, while eliminating paper. Everything is computerised and everyone has easy access to it thanks to dedicated applications.
Benoit de Froidmont, President of the International Maxi Association. “The Maxis have found their place in Saint-Tropez. I have had excellent feedback from the owners. They sailed well all week and the results are in line with the season, with a few exceptions. We will be awarding our Inshore Mediterranean Championship Trophies tonight, as well as the best of our members. Multihulls and foilers are attracting a number of owners and it is our mission to welcome them.”
The winners of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2023 MAXIS : Maxi 1 – North Sails Trophy ; Spirit of MalouenX (Stéphane Névé.) 2nd : Pattoo. 3rd : Jasi -(Toby Clarke) Maxi 2 – Galeries Bartoux Trophy : Cannonball (Dario Ferrari). 2nd North Stars (Peter Dubens). 3rd: Magic Carpet3 (Lindsay Owen Jones)
Maxi 3 – Trophée Besserat de Bellefon : Lyra (Terry Hui). 2nd: Capricorno (Alessandro Del Bono). 3rd : Les Amis (Valter Pizzoli)
Maxi 4 – Trophée Torpez :Saïda (Juerg Schneider). 2ème Kiwi Magic KZ7 (Johan Petersen). 3ème : French Kiss (Christophe Babule)
Vainqueur IMA Inshore Méditerrannée : Capricorno (Alessandro Del Bono)
Meilleur sociétaire de l’IMA : Lyra (Terry Hui)
Coupe de la Ville de Saint-Tropez – 1er Maxi Yacht : Cannonball (Dario Ferrari)
Club 55 Maxi Cup : Magic Carpet3 – Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones
Défis : Kiwi Magic KZ7 (Johan Petersen)
Result of the photo competition : Alain Laub, de Cavalaire, représenté par Cléa Auger
A trophy signed by OCTO. The trophy of the City of Saint-Tropez is awarded to the first Maxi Yacht of all categories, in this case Cannonball. It is an original sculpture signed by the Hyères designer Arnaud Régalet, company Octo, a wooden creation, evoking the sail, of 60 cm and weighing 2,5 kg.
The partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez ROLEX BMW NORTH SAILS WALLY SUZUKI MARINE MARSHALL MERCANTOUR BYBLOS BESSERAT DE BELLEFON TORPEZ (VIGNOBLES DE SAINT-TROPEZ) BERNARD OPTIC PEPINIERES PIERRE BASSET ESPRIT VILLAGE A SAINT-TROPEZ
VILLE DE SAINT-TROPEZ
PORT DE SAINT-TROPEZ
LES MARINES DE COGOLIN
FEDERATION FRANCAISE DE VOILE
YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE
INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION
Organisation :
Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez
Président : Pierre Roinson
Principal Race Officer : Georges Korhel
Responsable Régates : Frédérique Fantino
Responsable technique : Philippe Martinez
Communication et Attachée de Direction : Chloé de Brouwer
Rédaction : Denis Van den Brink
Site internet : www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr
Media site : www.snst-media.com/
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Twitter : @VoilesSTOrg
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Photo
SNST/Gilles Martin-Raget
Vidéo
SNST/Guilain Grenier, 6G
Relations Presse :
Maguelonne Turcat