Heirs to the Nioulargue, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez express an exceptional alchemy, a combination of the pleasure of sailing and an innate sense of celebration. Patrice de Colmont, director of Club 55 and founder of the event, and André Beaufils, Past-President of the SNST, testify.

It is said that the origin of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez lies in a meeting that took place over thirty years ago. How did it all start?

Patrice de Colmont. By a happy coincidence! At the end of September 1981, an American couple with a competition Swan stayed in Saint-Tropez after having competed in the Swan Cup in Porto Cervo. They took part in a few regattas at the SNST, got to know some people and, one day, while the owner was talking about his successes in regattas, the 12 Meter Ikra entered the port. Someone said, “What about Ikra, do you think you could beat her? Immediate answer: “Why not, if Ikra accepts the challenge. I immediately ran to Jean Laurain, skipper of Ikra, who agreed to go out for a regatta the next day. That’s how it all started, with a crazy challenge between a Swan 44 and a 12 Meter JI!

It was already the alliance of the ancient and the modern. What was the outcome of the fight?

Patrice de Colmont. On the morning of the departure, with a friend, we want to buy a marine map to define the route. But we find it too expensive and we fall back on a road map where we pencil in the blue zone marked “golfe de Saint-Tropez”! The start is given in front of the Portalet tower, we turn the buoy of the Nioulargue shoal and the finish is judged in front of my house, at the Club 55, where a big table is waiting for everyone. Ikra comes first, well ahead of Pride, the Swan 44, but all that is secondary. The crews have lunch together and, as a trophy, I present the winner with a silver compotier from the French Navy’s crockery. The atmosphere is in full swing when the correspondent of Var Matin arrives and asks who these people are who seem to be having so much fun. I explain to him that it is a regatta. “Ah! What regatta?” I answer : “But… the Club 55 Cup !” and the crews add to this by declaring : “It was very hard, a high level challenge, we will have our revenge next year”, etc. The next day, the headline in Var Matin: “A new America’s Cup is born!

And that was enough to launch the event?

Patrice de Colmont. No, of course not. We had almost forgotten all about it when, the following September, in 1982, our American friend insisted on taking his revenge and other boats wanted to join the challenge. So a second edition was organised with a few disparate boats including, among others, the one-tonner Fantomas, Queen of Sheeba, a Belgian boat, Helisara and also Bourru III, an old auric cutter and the only classic boat of this second edition. The prize-giving ceremony was once again the occasion for a joyful mix of genres between the mayor awarding the town medal and the Belgians winning their weight in potatoes. I think there was even a pumpkin as a prize! That’s when a friend of ours, Gouédard, arrived, someone who was quite determined and who told us: “If there are no maxis, your thing is not a regatta! We looked at each other, for a moment dumbfounded, and we said to each other without really knowing what it was all about: “If that’s all there is, we’ll invite maxis.”

But it was a very organised class at the time, a very closed club. How did you go about it?

Patrice de Colmont. According to the first information obtained, it was unthinkable to make them come, so the biggest bluffing operation in world yachting began. A telex was sent to the Aga Khan, president of the Costa Smeralda Yacht Club where the second round of the Maxi World Championship was taking place, saying: “The Yacht Club of Saint-Tropez (which did not exist!) would like to present its regatta programme to the Maxi owners, could you organise a meeting? Twenty-four hours later, we had an appointment. Serge Krasnianski, whose firm Kiss was making a name for itself, lent us his jet for a small group to fly to Sardinia. There we told our little story and were courteously turned away by the skippers. Before leaving, after having offered the owners all sorts of trinkets, polo shirts, cases of wine, cigars with the Nioulargue coat of arms, we organised a surprise breakfast for two hundred people on the very pontoon where the maxi yachts were moored in order to treat all the crews. Then we left, leaving the guys intrigued and very impressed.

It still looked like a failure…

Patrice de Colmont. Wait a minute! A few weeks later, we learn that the maxi Mistress Quickly is pointing her bow in the bay to have her electronics repaired in Port-Grimaud. Immediately we head over there and give them a hell of a welcome. To give you an idea of the atmosphere, when one of the crew complains about the noise of the clock in the bell tower which strikes every hour, Gouédard does not make one or two moves, rushes up the bell tower with his bare hands and blocks the hands by twisting them in place. Like that,” he said, “you’ll sleep in peace! The guys thought they had landed in a madhouse! Then they were invited to Saint-Tropez and the game consisted in keeping them there by organising a continuous party, dinners, crazy nights, bowls tournaments, anything. That’s when we created a new tradition: the Australian breakfast, beer and croissants at eight in the morning! Then Midnight Sun came along and we heard that Christian de Galéa, who had just released a new EP, was planning to come and run. As a result, the guys from Midnight are tempted to race as well and things get serious. Two boats, that made us a class, a cup… It was won! We ended up with four Maxis side by side in the harbour and, at the end of the race, François Carn, the class secretary, came to tell us that the Nioulargue would be included in the official Maxi class calendar from the following year.

But what was the idea behind it all?

Patrice de Colmont. To have fun! Only to have fun! We all worked like crazy during the summer season and when October 1st came around, it was a break. We wanted to use Saint-Tropez for our own pleasure and the regattas gave us a pretext to have a real party which was not glitter and artifice but where people could find genuine pleasure. We had no commercial goals and all extravagances were welcome! I compare the first Nioulargue to the annual lumberjack festival in the forests of the Great North. It’s about who can chop down their tree the fastest while the children tug on the rope and the women compete to produce the best blueberry pie! It was the same for us, but around the sea.

André Beaufils. It’s true, the sea was more important than sailing and, from 1984 onwards, categories were invented such as the “sea-explorers”, the “tropéziens-travailers”, the “tropéziens-marconi” to constitute classes where everyone was admitted. The parades, the disguises, the water games at the entrance to the port with the girls in their gêpières – the famous “girelles” -, the bowls competitions, all this was added spontaneously. Everything was good to have fun, people wanted to see something else, to have memories in their heads, to share all the ingredients to have a good time together. That said, the Nioulargue quickly gained an international audience and gave an unprecedented boost to restorations. Classic yachts developed thanks to people like Albert Obrist who started to dig into the archives to rebuild boats to their original condition. It was with successive editions that we saw the return of boats with authentic rigs. It was a complete change of mentality because it was also necessary to find and train crews to handle them.

The fatal accident in 1995 between the schooner Mariette and the 6 MJI Taos Brett marked the end of the Nioulargue and a certain state of mind. How did the Voiles de Saint-Tropez come about?

André Beaufils. After the accident there was a court case and the event was suspended until the judgement was handed down. However, the participants had become accustomed to meeting and for some years there was an end-of-season regatta for modern boats and a spontaneous gathering, without regattas, for the classics. In 1999, when the procedure was completed, the SNST was faced with a dilemma: to abandon everything or to continue. But the town, the sailors, and the local economic players were pushing for a revival. This is how, thanks to Thierry Catino, then president of the SNST, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez was born. Today, we welcome about three hundred boats, with a roughly equal number of modern and classic boats.

But the state of mind has changed, we no longer see young girls throwing buckets of water on the crews…

André Beaufils. It is the times, the rules and the boats themselves that have changed. Today, the race instructions stipulate that water games are forbidden, whereas in the past it was rather the opposite. A lot of crews sleep in hotels, these are evolutions that must be taken into account and we can no longer have the casualness of the first editions. Above all, we mustn’t forget that it was Patrice who did all the work to bring the boats here. Today, organising the Voiles de Saint-Tropez is easy, but we have moved on.

Don’t you miss the crazy atmosphere of the first editions of the Nioulargue?

Patrice de Colmont. There is no need for nostalgia because you never do the same thing twice. One day, Annabelle Buffet, the wife of the painter Bernard Buffet, was asked if she didn’t miss the Saint-Tropez of before and she had this perfect answer: “I don’t find the Saint-Tropez that I loved, but I know that my children love the Saint-Tropez of today. Well, for the regattas, it’s the same thing. The fleet of boats has never been so beautiful, we play to full houses and we know that all the great classics that come out of the shipyard will sail in Saint-Tropez one day or another. What more do you want?

André Beaufils. I remember the wonder of Eric Tabarly who said: “I never imagined that one day I would see in real life all that I had seen in books. Personally, I have to respect what Patrice has done and I take a lot of pleasure in watching over this organisation. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez preserves a unique character. It is first of all a state of mind that we perpetuate and we do not forget the origin of our history.

Interview by Eric Vibart – 2009

There is Patrice de Colmont who tells the story (see “How it all began!”) but there is also the team who welcomes you each year in the Press Room. She has summarised the whole history of the Voiles in a few paragraphs. Read on:

here are evenings when one has ideas… of genius. It all started on September 29th 1981, when a challenge without much sporting interest, except to defend a sailor’s honour, was launched between Pride, Dick Jason’s American Swan 44, and Ikra, the 12M JI skippered by Jean Lorrain. The challenge could not have been simpler: start at the foot of the village of Saint-Tropez at the Tour du Portalet, turn the mark of the Nioulargo (which means “nest of the sea” in Provençal) and arrive in front of the restaurant, the “Club 55”, located on the beach of Pampelonne. If for the anecdote, Ikra won before Pride, for the history, this challenge gave birth, thanks to the spontaneity and the enthusiasm of Patrice de Colmont, to the “Club 55 Cup”.

And from this regatta was born a unique event, a gathering of its own that would allow ordinary racing boats to race with prestigious maxi yachts, ultra-sophisticated prototypes with classic yachts with histories as long as days without wind. The incomparable and inimitable Nioulargue was thus born and, for fifteen years, mixed the greatest sailors with owners of all calibers. Imagine that majestic J-Class yachts will be able to cross bows with the latest generation of racing boats… Imagine that the nautical jousting game, once finished, will continue as an improvised game of boules and anchovy jam on the Place des Lices…

And if the same state of mind and good-natured simplicity is to be found every year, each year will also see its coup d’éclat, its miracle or its appearance. 1984 will see the giant J Class Velsheda cross the gulf whilst Eric Tabarly at the helm of the maxi Coriolan IV battled hard against Herbert von Karajan’s maxi Helisara or against Harold Cudmore, then at the helm of Gitana.

In 1988, it was John Parkwright IV, owner of France II, who challenged other boats when the official regattas were cancelled due to the strong Mistral wind blowing on the peninsula. He just asked that the start be given and that the finish be noted. The Florida Cup (which today has become the Défis Jean Lorrain) was born and witnessed some fantastic duels such as the one between Astra and Candida or in 1992 the J Class Endeavour and Ville de Paris, then a recent challenger for the America’s Cup.

Another highlight, 1990, with the arrival of five three-masted boats: Shenandoah, the magnificent Créole, Raphaelo, Aquarius and Fleurt Je. 1991 saw three exceptional boats pointing their bows: Eric Tabarly’s Pen Duick, which came to taste the waters of the Grande Bleue for the first time, the J Class Endeavour, defender of the America’s Cup in the 1930’s, and Matador, the famous reigning world champion maxi boat, which belonged at the time to one Bill Koch.

1993 will see the arrival of the splendid Tuiga. 1995 will celebrate the return of Kentra and the arrival of Mariette. For the anecdote, it should be known that during the shooting of the mythical film “And God created woman”, Brigitte Bardot had spent a lot of time on board Kentra. Once again, one of those famous and magical “coincidences” of the Nioulargue!

But after so many years of success and recognition, the sixteenth edition was to suffer a tragedy. A collision between Mariette and a 6M JI, Taos Brett IV, put the event in mourning and put it on hold for three years.

It was not until 1999 that the Voiles de Saint-Tropez took up the never-extinguished torch.

And as if by magic, autumn has regained its lights on the sails in Mylar and cotton, the challenges have once again blossomed at the corner of the counters and ball games have resumed in the Place des Lices mixing Tropéziens and sailors from around the world.

1981: Duel between the 12M JI Ikra and Pride, a Swan 44. Patrice de Colmont creates the «Club 55 Cup».

1983: The Kiaola III crew celebrates the historic victory of Australia II on the evening of the America’s Cup final.

1984: Class J Velsheda is present and the maxis impress. Coriolan IV, Helisara, Gitana and Mephisto compete for power, Eric Tabarly and Harold Cudmore are among those at the helm…

1988: Birth of the Florida Cup, a day of challenges beyond the norm that will then mark the various editions of the Nioulargue

1990: Five three-masts are there: Creole, Aquarius, Raphaelo, Shenandoah and Fleurt I. Impressive!

1991: Three exceptional boats are present: Pen Duick of Eric Tabarly, the Class J Endeavour and Matador, the reigning maxi world champion of Bill Koch. Three boats that have marked in indelible ink the pages of the yachting.

1993: The 15M JI Tuiga walks its superb restoration. Magical!

1994: Kentra returns to Saint-Tropez, Mariette appears.

1995: Mariette collides with the 6M JI Taos Brett IV. The black year…

1999: First edition of Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

2009: The 10 years!

2011: 13th edition of Voiles de Saint-Tropez and thirtieth anniversary of the original regatta: the Nioulargue.

2019: The 20 years!

For a beautiful birthday, it was a beautiful birthday! 10 years have already passed since the Voiles de Saint-Tropez picked up the torch of the spirit of the Nioulargue, and the regattas of the week have in every respect been worthy of the event. In extremely varied weather conditions, 300 sailboats, Modern and Classic, have created the most ephemeral, but the most absolute works of art, festival of colors and animated lights, fireworks display of movement and aquatic elegance in the sunny setting of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. The Voiles 10th of the name have this year again evolved in the sublime, adding regattas after regattas the weight of images and the shock of times; crossing of large auric sails in the sun, fluidity of the bows in the blue chop, great flight of spinnakes of all shapes, sizes or colors…

MODERNS

5 validated races for the Wally

The spectacular and futuristic Wally had their own “round” and their own committee in front of Pampelonne. They were able to compete in 5 races this week despite the Mistral, and it is the Wally 94 Open Season that wins with 3 races, ahead of Y3K and Magic Carpet. The giant Esense marks its entry in the “Voiles” with a 7th place.

Rambler’s efficiency

The big American Maxi “Rambler” triumphed in a group of large IRC A boats that were particularly strong this year in Saint-Tropez, with high-tech boats led by crews that often come from the biggest international regatta teams. The skipper, David Georges, had secured the services of Peter Isler (ex BMW Oracle racing) for the occasion. The talent of the American combined with the power of the Reichel-Pugh design worked wonders, relegating Velsheda to a distant second place. Niklas Zennstrom placed the large British sloop Ran on the third step of the podium. The disqualification for rule 20.4.1 (a) in race 3 cost Ernesto Bertarelli and his successful Judel “Numbers” plan dearly. The Alinghi men, despite two race victories, only finished in 6th place. The great Tp65 Monney Penny and Numbers have undoubtedly given a strong sporting coloration to the Voiles; Paul Cayard, James Spithill and other Brad Butterworth reproducing off Pampelonne the confrontations observed on the most prestigious America’s Cup race courses. It was the very first time that these boats, usually based on the East Coast of the United States, had made the trip to Europe. They were able to cross swords with the record-breaking Atlantic sailing monohull Senso One (Mari Cha IV) or Sojana in Peter Harrison.

Noteworthy in the IRC B class was the great battle between Swans and Protos of 45 or 42 feet. It is the proto signed by Mark Mills Ngoni that finally wins. But 6 yachts were within a few points of each other in this category, which had 42 boats at the start. The Turkish sailboat Mat 12, for its first participation, is ranked 9th, to the great satisfaction of its crew. Promised, they will come back.

Didier le Moal and his J 122 J lance 4 finished with a great victory yesterday in the breeze. Not enough to dethrone the First 40 ;7 Pen Khalet IX to Georges Le Troquer more regular at the top of the rankings.

The Archambault 35s triumphed in Saint-Tropez by placing first in the IRC D Rebuff with David Marco and Tchin Tchin skippered by Jean Claude Bertrand. The J 109 Albacor IV of the Tropezian Jean Louis Pézin took the third place of a very competitive group.

The First 34,7 Super Ding Ding of the Monegasque Luc van Keirsblick won on the wire against the Sun Fast Zabriskie Point of Olivier de Roffignac in IRC E.

CLASSICS

The Moonbeam III surprise

After a major refit of its interior fittings last year at Fairlie, Moonbeam III returned to Saint Tropez with a new skipper, Erwan Noblet, and a desire to shine. It is done with a very nice victory in the “darling” category of the public and the media, the big auric sailboats. The 1903 Fife plan won, with a little bit of apology, in front of the imposing and majestic cutter Mariquita and the pretty schooner Altaïr. The sloop Marconi Rowdy, already performing well in Cannes, signed a nice victory for the Bermudans in front of ” The Blue Peter ” and ” Cholita “. “Bonafide”, “Oriole” and “Pesa” produced a dazzling show all week in the “small” auricas. In this order, they dress a prestigious podium full of maritime history. Tenth in the category of “small” auriques, the brand new Fyne built in Brittany by Hubert Sagnol on a Fife design from 1889, made a remarkable debut in the waters of the Tropéziennes. There were few surprises in Esprit de Tradition where the immense Shamrock V triumphed. His eternal adversary, Savannah, could not prevent the newcomer Sagittarius from stepping onto the podium.

Bellerophon, king of the Tofinou

Nicolas Edmiston and his Bellerophon will have trembled until the end to win against the armada of 15 Tofinou in competition this year in Saint-Tropez, these small “classic-modern” one-designs designed by Philippe Joubert. “Grey One”, owned by Hervé Margolis, in spite of two heat victories, was defeated due to a redhibitory 7th place last Wednesday. Equal in points but less well endowed with victories, Bernard Vilarem placed his “Cambronne” in third place…

And also (results continued) …

Anne Sophie in Marconi B, Mercury in Marconi C, Windhover in Marconi D, Crazy life in Classique marconi B…. so many deserving protagonists on the water, who have truly made the Voiles 2008, by their sporting commitment in regattas, and by their extraordinary involvement in preserving, enhancing and promoting a sail all in elegance and tradition, a dazzling testimony of more than a century of maritime know-how….

They came to the tenth edition of Les Voiles :

In alphabetical order: Francesco de Angelis (Ita), Isabelle Autissier, Ernesto Bertarelli (Sui), Yvan Bourgnon, Brad Butterworth (NZ), Paul Cayard (USA), Servane Escoffier, Jean Galfione, Peter Isler (USA), Karol Jablonski (Pol), Anne Liardet, Philippe Monnet, Bertrand Pacé, Marc Pajot, Bruno Peyron, Philippe Presti, Lionel Péan, Bruno Troublé

The “Belle Classe” and safety at sea

Altair, Amadour, Aschanti, Eilidh, Lulworth, Mariquita, Milena, Moonbeam IV, Oriole, Shamrock V, Sylvia, Thendara and Tuiga, had all responded last Friday to the invitation of “la Belle Classe” to evaluate the work put in place by “les Voiles de Saint-Tropez” regarding safety on the water, following the proposals summarized in the Memorandum of the “Belle Classe. All are pleased with the general awareness of the need to evolve the international racing rules and to adapt them to the specificity and disparity of these yachts. Anxious to pursue this safety approach, the skippers and shipowners of “La Belle Classe” will soon meet at the Yacht Club of Monaco for a one-day seminar with lawyers specialized in international maritime law.

They said…

André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint Tropez….

“In terms of welcoming the competitors, of what we were able to put in place to satisfy them as best as possible, I think that 2008 was a good year. The show on the water was, as always, exceptional and we did our best to adapt to the weather conditions. As far as I am concerned, I want to continue… “

Georges Kohrel, Race Director…

“We have validated 3 races in the Classic category and 4 races in the Modern category, which, considering the cancellation of Friday’s races due to the strong Mistral wind, is quite correct and satisfied the competitors. This year we had totally revised our courses and the feedback I get from the participants is very positive. Each day, we had between 35 and 40 officials on the water, to support our three race committees, and give safely 10 to 12 starts per day… “.

The 11th Voiles de Saint-Tropez was a sell-out, with all the seats in the gulf duly occupied by the 300 or so competitors of all eras and all classes that took part this year. For the 10th anniversary of this great event organized by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez and heir of the famous Nioulargue, modern and classic yachts at their best were served by summer conditions. For 10 days, the port of Saint-Tropez, unusually crowned with huge centenarian or futuristic masts, saw the cream of the racing world converge, including some of the great names in ocean racing, from Bruno Peyron to Peter Holmberg, as well as Catherine Chabaud, Lionel Péan, Marc Pajot and Alain Thébault.

Stories of duels…

Barely 15 days after its launch at the Charpentier shipyard in La Ciotat, the 15 m JI designed by Fife Mariska is already showing great promise in terms of performance and results. Long side by side last Sunday during the Yacht Club de France Autumn Cup with her prestigious counterpart Tuiga, the first of the four 15 m JI built at the very beginning of the 20th century is already inspiring respect by her beautiful speed, and augurs great jousts to come in her category of large auric yachts. Stung to the core, in the year of its centenary, Tuiga, flagship of the Monaco Yacht Club, made a point of racing “clean”, winning all the races of the week. Another spectacular duel was the comparison on the magical water of the Gulf between the two great replicas of Nathanael G Herreshoff’s schooners, Elena and Eleonora. Built in Spain at the Marin LuxurYacts shipyard, Elena was launched on April 22 and benefited from the construction know-how of her equally majestic predecessor, Eleonora, formerly Windward.

Y3K ruthless

The impression of cold power and absolute mastery that it deploys on the water is confirmed on the scoreboard; Even if it is not the biggest of the Wally, the 100 feet Y3K did not leave many laurels to its competitors. It won without contest this week after 5 validated races. The very recent Wally 130 on board which Luca Bassini was racing, did wonders, in vain however, to take away some of its glory. In its wake the two Wally of 27 and 28.50 meters Tiketitan and Open season.

Five Pen Duick in the Mediterranean

The five boats of the legendary Eric Tabarly, all of which are called Pen Duick (the Breton name for the black-capped tit), usually based in the Atlantic and of which only one is missing (the Pen Duick IV trimaran, which disappeared under the name of Manureva during the 1978 Route du Rhum, with Alain Colas at the helm), put an end, at the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, to a beautiful Mediterranean season. The fleet, which is maintained in sailing condition thanks to the Eric Tabarly Association and the support of the Banque Populaire, sailed happily all week in Saint-Tropez. The 1898 auric cutter – which became the Tabarly family boat and on which Jacqueline and Marie Tabarly used to race – (Pen Duick), the 1964 English Transatlantic race winning ketch (Pen Duick II), the “thousand victories” schooner now regenerated as a ketch (Pen Duick III), the small monohull with “all aluminium” ballast, winner of the 1969 Transpacific (Pen Duick V) and the huge 22 m ketch, which came first in the 1976 English solo transatlantic race (Pen Duick VI), were the stars of this 11th edition of the Voiles.

Whales and balloons…

Les Voiles” is definitely attracting a lot of interest, even from the marine animal world. Two whales have indeed invited themselves this week on the “rond des Modernes” off the Cap de Saint-Tropez. The Race Committee informed the competitors by VHF. As for the port, it was visited on Saturday by two small airships that came to play a few meters high between the masts and the rigging.

Cap Horniers Tropéziens !

This was the theme of a conference given on Saturday evening by Laurent Pavlidis, academic and historian of the city of Saint-Tropez, with the expert interventions of Brigitte and Yvonnick Le Coat. The epic of the Cap Horniers who faced the so dangerous cape between the middle of the 19th and the middle of the 20th century was narrated in detail, with a particular and rather unexpected “focus” on the Tropezians, heroes of this bygone era. We could learn that the record of the crossing between England and Chile was held by Leon Gardane, in some 54 days. This good-natured Tropezian crossed the great South American cape 14 times. Today, we have identified nearly twenty people born in the City of the Bailiff who lived these extraordinary adventures between Europe and South America, even California, on board large three or four-masted barks carrying emigrants or heavy materials.

Rolex Trophy – 4 races

1- Rowdy (sloop bermudien) Graham Walker

2- Tuiga (15 m) Bernard D’Alessandri

3- Oiseau de feu (cotre bermudien) Jean Philippe Lhuillier

Paris Première Trophy

1- Pamyra ben (Morgan 54) André Gumuchdjian

2- Jethou (Mini Maxi) Sir Peter Ogden

3- Velsheda (J Class) R De Warl

Les Echos du Yacht de Tradition” Limited Edition Award

Marikita

They said:

André Beaufils, President of the Organizing Committee

“The gods of the sea and the weather were with us. Sun, wind, and a very summery atmosphere marked this anniversary edition. My great satisfaction and my gratitude goes to all the volunteers of course, but also to the Race Committee who showed absolute mastery in the management and organization of the races, adapting to the whims of the wind in all circumstances. I have the feeling that the village, in its new configuration was very appreciated. I also note that the media interest in our event is not waning, with a significant increase in the number of French and international journalists.”

Georges Korhel, Race Director

“Judging by the lack of complaints at the end of the races, I can tell that the competitors enjoyed themselves. I am particularly pleased with the spirit of independence expressed on the water by all our race committees, Modern, Wally and Classic. Whatever the wind variations, they were able to adapt independently to launch races with the best wind. The Moderns didn’t race on Monday due to lack of wind, but everyone raced every day for the rest of the week.”

Fulvio Corrente, animations on land

“The village played its role of triggering the party in town. The sailors came in droves as soon as they returned from the regattas, before taking over the town’s bars and restaurants. The new configuration, with the new press area, was very popular and we are going to work in the same direction for 2010, with improvements according to the wishes expressed, especially in terms of displaying information and results.”

Saint-Tropez wakes up still vibrating from a night of festivities animated until dawn by sailors eager to extend to the end a week of sport and festivities, in every way exceptional. The 2010 Voiles de Saint-Tropez drew to a close on Sunday at the traditional prize-giving ceremony at the citadel, where the sailors came to share a final moment of conviviality, before looking forward to next year and an anniversary edition that we can’t wait to see.

6 races for the Wally, 4 for the Moderns, and 4 for the Classics; a full house! The 2010 edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez will be remembered, and unanimously, as one of the most intense and successful. Perfectly inserted between Mistral and an easterly gale, the beautiful week in the Tropez area brought each day the right amount of wind, sun and sea to guarantee the holding of great regattas, perfectly fair, and suitable to compete each day on courses with varied relief. The winners celebrated today at the Citadelle of Saint-Tropez will not be challenged. The 5 IRC groups gathering the Modern yachts, the 10 categories identifying the different types of classic yachts, and of course the beautiful fleet of 11 Wallys all have their champion today, often designated after bitter nautical battles.

3 Three-masted ships on the Tropezian waterfront

A nautical festival, an exceptional gathering of more than 125 years of maritime engineering, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez also offered this year the rare spectacle of three large three-masted schooners sailing in the gulf. Atlantic (70 meters), the superb replica of Charlie Barr’s boat, fresh from its Dutch shipyard, came to greet the immense three-masted schooner Adix (66 meters), competing in elegance with Creole (65 meters), the magnificent three-masted ship designed in 1927 by Charles Nicholson.

Note the very interesting crossing on the water of Atlantic, record holder of the Atlantic crossing in 1903, with the all-carbon ketch Mari Cha III (44.70 m) which was 95 years later, in 1998. It was in Saint-Tropez, and nowhere else.

Lionheart

With the recent authorization to use aluminum for the hulls, new projects are born, based on the plans and specifications of the master Charles Ernest Nicholson and the rules of the J Class. During the Voiles de Saint Tropez, the latest replica from the Claasen Jachtbouw BV shipyard in the Netherlands, Lionheart, was built according to the research of Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens with the Dutchman Hoek at the helm. 20 large J Class were designed between 1930 and 1937. Ten were built. To Velsheda, Shamrock V and Endeavour are added today the faithful replicas Ranger (2004), Hanuman (2009) and Lionheart. Others could follow, Atlantis and Rainbow in the perspective of a great “historic” meeting in the Solent in June 2012. Lioheart has exceptional measurements, 44 meters long.

Icap Leopard3

Inspired in its hull volumes by the Open 60s or Volvo 70s that have made Farr Yacht Design so successful, Leopard 3 is a super yacht with exceptional comfort, combined with outstanding performance on the high seas. 30 meters long, 6.80 wide and with an air draft of 47 meters, Leopard benefits from a canting keel that can be tilted by 40 degrees, giving the yacht a stability equivalent to that of 200 men on rappel. Leopard has successfully sailed the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. A record-breaking sailboat, last summer it had to lose its attempt against the Atlantic crossing record due to a lack of wind.

They were at the Voiles…

Newcomers or regulars to the Voiles, the event is full of renowned sailors every year. The 2010 edition included, in alphabetical order: Alexia Barrier, Brad Butterworth, Catherine Chabaud, Bertrand de Broc, Karine Fauconnier, Philippe Monnet, Doug Peterson, Marc Pajot, Yves Parlier, Lionel Péan, Cécile Poujol, Mike Sanderson, Jean-Yves Terlain, Alain Thébault, Marc Thiercelin, Dominique Wavre, …

SPECIAL AWARDS :

Rolex Trophy: Ikra talent and luck

Still tied since last Tuesday, Ikra and Rowdy engaged in a magnificent duel from a distance that rewarded regularity and performance. Unfortunate in this final round, Rowdy accumulated some small mistakes and extra maneuvers, which almost cost him the final victory. Graham Walker’s genius and Rowdy’s strong performance allowed him to narrowly win the race and remain in contention for the “Rolex Trophy”. Very comfortable since the beginning of the week, even allowing itself to win with very comfortable gaps in compensated time, Yves-Marie Morault’s Ikra, skippered by Sébastien Destremau, is therefore competing against Rowdy for the title.

During the prize-giving ceremony, which took place at the Citadelle from 11 a.m., Mr. Philippe Schaeffer presented the trophy and a Rolex Submariner watch to Ikra, the winner of the draw between the two yachts with the same number of points.

“Traditional yacht of the year” prize organized by Les Echos Limited series

Avel wins the “Limited Edition” prize for traditional yachts at the Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2010. Awarded for the second consecutive year, this prize rewards a yacht that honors the values of fine yachting, quality of the boat, ethics, crew …. The winning boat of the year will be elected among the pre-selected boats during the six regattas and gatherings constituting the “Limited series of traditional yachting” circuit in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Its name will be unveiled during the inauguration of the Nautic in Paris.

Avel, name of a Breton wind, was ordered in 1896 by the Frenchman René Calame to Charles Nicholson. In 1897, the beautiful 23.50 meters long cutter left the Camper and Nicholson shipyards. Abandoned in 1927, she was renovated in the 90’s and has been sailing in the classic yacht fleets ever since. It joins the very closed clan of the contenders for the 2010 title.

Parade of crews

It is traditionally on Thursday evening that the participants in the Voiles de Saint-Tropez compete in originality and extravagance to lead the parade from the Voiles village to the Quai Jean Jaurès, in the wake of a jazz band and street artists. It is the crew of Tuiga, dressed as a Polynesian, who had the favor of the jury.

In Cambria the Club 55 Cup

It was one of the highlights of Thursday’s race, the Club 55 Cup, a challenge among challenges, which saw last year’s winner challenge a challenger on the historic and founding course of the Nioulargue, starting at Portalet and racing with a south-westerly wind towards the Nioulargue, with the finish judged at Pampelonne in front of the famous Club 55, a theoretical distance of 15 miles. The 23m JI Cambria (Fife 1927) won this year against the gold cutter Mariquita (Fife 1911). Winner on the water and on a regular basis, Cambria will nevertheless, and according to the very precise rules of the Club 55 Cup, have to leave its title of Defender next year to Mariquita. It is indeed stipulated that the Club 55 Cup cannot be won twice. So, it’s up to the gilt-edged cutter to challenge a challenger so that this beautiful moment of the Sails will continue in 2011.

They said:

André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez

“A superb edition, which leaves a lot of happiness to all the sailors. I would like to thank all the teams on land and on the water who did a great job. I have a lot of regrets for our friends from the sailing boats Adria and Harlequin who were victims of collision. This reinforces our idea to go even further in terms of safety. The Voiles de Saint-Tropez are above all a celebration, a great gathering of sublime sailboats, and it is this spirit that must prevail, including over the spirit of competition.”

Georges Korehl, Race Director

“We can only be satisfied with such a week during which we have validated races for all our categories in competition every day. The weather helped us a lot and I don’t remember such a beautiful edition in terms of wind and sun conditions. Just a small regret that I share with the whole organization, and which concerns a slight excess of aggressiveness of some competitors, in particular during the starting phases. However, we had tightened our safety measures on the water. We will be even more demanding next year so that no incident will tarnish what must remain a party…”

The Voiles de Saint-Tropez has celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, already, of a timeless event that sometimes borders on a daydream. This new week dedicated to triumphant and, it seems, eternal yachting, passed as if in a dream, so much so that no one tires day after day of seeing the most beautiful yachts glide across the waves, born of the desire to sail well for nearly 140 years. Beyond the rankings and other trophies, we will remember above all the beautiful communion of spirit that brought together the 4,200 or so sailors, skippers or owners who came from all over the world to celebrate sailing and to thank in their own way Ikra, Pride, Patrice de Colmont and Saint Tropez for having had this simple idea one day in September 1981 to celebrate the art of living well at sea in this magical gulf. A torch taken up today with passion, and in the same spirit, by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez.

The breath of the Nioulargue

“We would like everyone to remember, or learn, how the Nioulargue was born,” suggests André Beaufils, president of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, “when in 1981, Patrice de Colmont, with his characteristic intuition, imagined a challenge without stakes, a regatta between a group of friends who had come to say hello at the end of the summer before the next sailing season. Initially named “Club 55 Cup”, the regatta born between two boats, Ikra and Pride, was to expand the following year and take the name of Nioulargue. A name inspired by the Provençal “Nioulargo” literally “Nest of the sea” after a shoal located 5 miles from the bay of Pampelonne and which serves as a shelter for the reproduction of multiple species of Mediterranean fish. It is also very interesting to note that it is the original regatta between a classic 12mJI and a modern racing-cruising yacht that gave its main characteristic to the Nioulargue, and then to the Voiles de Saint-Tropez: to make the boats of the last generation and those that wrote the history of yachting sail on the same water.

The year of the yawls

It is said to have been one of the first acts of President John F Kennedy at the beginning of his term of office, to make Manitou the Presidential Yacht in place of a powerful 92 foot motor boat. Kennedy loved this 62-foot Sparkman&Stephens yawl launched in 1936 and donated to the Coast Guards in 1955. Equipped with all the modern means of communication, Manitou was quickly nicknamed “The floating White house” by JFK himself. Five years after the Dallas assassination, Manitou was sold to the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Maryland for $35,000. Olin Stephens had designed Manitou based on Dorado and Stormy Weather. A trio of enthusiasts bought her and brought her back to Europe to sail in the Mediterranean. The Swedish Claes Goran Nilsson, the New Zealander Phil Jordan and the American Pat Tierney have a cult passion for their boat. The three men and their cosmopolitan crew are committed to “learning” the boat. Eighth at the end of this week, they promise that next year, Manitou will be the boat to beat in Saint Tropez.

Other “newbies” that were very popular this year were Firefly, a Dutch 115-footer designed by Hoek Design and built in 2011 at the Jachtbouw shipyard, and the revival of Skylark, a 53-foot yawl launched in 1937 by the Pendleton shipyard in Maine, based on a Sparkman and Stephens design. Skylark is considered as an evolution of Stormy Weather or Sonny. We were also pleasantly surprised by the excellent behavior in light airs of another yawl; Runa IV, helmed by Bruno Troublé; built in 1918 at the Nielsen shipyard in Denmark, (10m73), this small auric cannot deny its Viking origins. This wooden racer with a long keel was saved from destruction in 2009 by Yves Carcelle who brought it back from San Francisco to have it completely restored at the Guip shipyard in Brest.

On Thursdays, we challenge ourselves!

13 Défis, the regatta of the centenarians have, in addition to the Club 55 Cup, animated the water level of Les Voiles last Thursday, in accordance with the tradition. The race direction and Georges Kohrel, taking into account the huge anticyclone which bathes the whole country, had drawn a small course of 6,5 miles in the heart of the gulf, where a small flow of east-northeast had since the beginning of the week taken the habit of taking residence at midday. The various challengers were invited from midday onwards to set off as close as possible to Portalet, towards the La Rabiou mark, then the Sèche à l’huile at the entrance to the gulf, before slipping downwind towards a finish anchored off the Jean Réveille mole.

Mariquita and Altaïr faced each other in a titanic battle on the Nioulargue Club 55 course as part of the Club 55 Cup. Particularity 2011 – and thirtieth anniversary – Ikra, with on board a part of the original crew of the 12M and Pride, was associated to the duel. After a nice start on the right side of the race course, the scenario of the first days of the Voiles was repeated on the way of the giants who, as soon as they left the gulf, ran out of wind. The two challengers came together to shake hands. A tie in the chivalrous spirit of the Voiles was declared.

Avel wins the Rolex Trophy

The auric cutter Avel (wind in Breton), characterized by its bow with guibre and its tiller is the new holder of the Rolex Trophy. Commissioned in 1896 by René Calame to Charles Nicholson, Avel was from the start designed for racing. In 1927, the beautiful cutter fell into oblivion, and spent many years in a mudflat in England. It was Maurizio Gucci who saved her in 1990, entrusting her restoration to Harry Spencer and Clark Poston in Cowes. In 1994, Avel joined the Mediterranean Classic circuit, where she still shines. Avel is the very first auric cutter to win this prestigious trophy.

Les Echos Trophy/Limited Edition

Yacht elected Prix Les Echos/Limited Edition 2011 at the Voiles de Saint-Tropez : VERONIQUE !

Paris Première Trophy :

The Trophée Paris Première is open to modern yachts with an overall length of 16 meters or more. The ranking is established from the race ranking. Highland Fling, Irvine Laidlaw, Proto Wally

Centenary Regatta, Gstaad Yacht Club Trophy ;

Thursday is a day of challenges, and this year saw the emergence of a new idea from the Gstaad Yacht Club. Peter Erzberger, Commodore of the GYC, in a commendable desire to get closer to the world of the sea and regattas, chose Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and its organizing club, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, to offer centenarian sailboats their own regatta, within the framework of the day dedicated to this type of challenge, the Thursday day. The Gstaad Yacht Club offers a trophy to the winning yacht of a handicap race, according to the rules of the International Mediterranean Committee. The slowest yacht starts first, the fastest last. The winner was the first to cross the finish line under the Portalet. The Gstaad Yacht Club, founded in 1998 in the Swiss mountains, thus signs its rapprochement with Saint Tropez. The club has 400 members of 23 nationalities.

The huge fleet of beautiful yachts registered at Les Voiles includes no less than 18 “centenarians”. Victory, with a pedigree dating back to 1883, is the oldest, while Pesa and Mariquita, born in 1911, are the youngest members of this informally prestigious club.

result:

1-       Bonafide (Sibbick 1899)

2-       Tuiga (Fife 1909)

3-       Pesa (Oertz 1911)

4-       Mariska (Fife 1908)

5-       Nan of Fife (Fife 1896)

6-       Victory (Hitchens 1883)

7-       Kelpie (Mylne 1903)

8-       Avel (Nicholson 1896)

9-       Partridge (Beavor Webb 1885)

10-    Marigold (Nicholson 1892)

11-    Veronique (Luke 1907)

12-    Windhover (Hambleants 1904)

13-    Wayward (Shepherd 1908)

14-    Owl  (Shepher 1909)

15-    Sif (Hansen 1894)

The Indian summer…

The curtain falls on an exceptional sunny and windy edition

Avel wins the Rolex Trophy – The “Nioulargue” spirit still inspires the Voiles – Cascading trophies…

The Tropézien dream is coming to an end. The Citadel of the City of Bailli de Suffren resounded today with the last joyful and festive glow of a timeless week on the occasion of the traditional presentation of the Prizes and Trophies. And everyone, sailor, shipowner, skipper or owner, agreed on the exceptional character of this great international yachting event. The 14th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez surpasses all superlatives, combining successful regattas on the water and conviviality on land. This new week dedicated to triumphant and, it seems, eternal yachting, passed as if in a dream, so much so that no one gets tired day after day of seeing the most beautiful yachts glide over the waves, born of the desire to sail well for nearly 140 years. Magic was everywhere under the warm Var sun, and everyone could place the cursor of their wonderment, from the Modernity of the great Wallys and other protos, to the elegance of the sails and hundred-year-old hulls of the traditional yachts. Beyond the rankings and other trophies, we will especially remember the beautiful communion of spirit that brought together the 4,000 or so sailors, skippers or owners who came from all over the world to celebrate sailing and to thank in their own way Ikra, Pride, Patrice de Colmont and Saint-Tropez for having had this simple idea of celebrating the art of living well at sea in this magical gulf on a day in September 1981. A full week of regattas 8 validated races for the Wally, 5 races for the Moderns and 4 for the Tradition, that is to say a daily regatta, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez were full of action, images and enchantment. The pure racers, from Sébastien Col or Damien Iehl to Jochen Schuman had their fill of strategy and tactics. The friendly rivalries born in the best spirit of yachting among the four big gold boats of the 15 mJI Class produced the expected spectacle of beautiful sails heeled side by side. Mariquita, Cambria, Elena, Thendara dazzled by their majesty, while no less than 12 groups of sailboats of different size, era and type of rigging invaded the Classics’ circle anchored in front of Saint-Tropez. Last year’s newcomers, Manitou, Runa IV, Hispania… are already becoming regulars. Once you’ve had a taste of Les Voiles, you can’t get enough. This is true for the sailors. It’s true for the public, which is always more numerous in the afternoons when the yachts return to the Portalet finish line under full sail, and which is quick to give a warm welcome to the crews returning to the quay. The 2012 edition is coming to an end; 2013 is already on everyone’s mind, especially those of President Beaufils’ teams, faithful guardians of a unique formula, of a state of mind that adapts to its time without ever betraying itself.

The “Rolex Trophy”, the ultimate challenge of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, is absolutely unique. During all the events open to them, the largest units of classic yachts, those measuring more than 16 meters, compete for this coveted ranking. This year’s winner is the auric cutter Avel (wind in Breton), characterized by its guibre bow and tiller, achieving a double that only Rowdy, one of the last representatives of the New York Yacht Club’s Class 40, had achieved (in 2008 and 2009). Commissioned in 1896 to Charles Nicholson, Avel was designed from the start for racing. In 1927, the beautiful cutter fell into oblivion, and spent many years in a mudflat in England. It was Maurizio Gucci who saved her in 1990, entrusting her restoration to Harry Spencer and Clark Poston in Cowes. Avel is the very first auric cutter to win this prestigious trophy. For the record, this trophy, created in 2007, was already proudly brandished by Agneta, a very beautiful monohull built in 1951, along with a mythical “Submariner” watch. This 25.10 meter yacht is unmissable on the water with its mahogany hull and majestic purple sail. Then it was the Herreshoff design, Rowdy, which held the title for two consecutive editions, before ceding the title to Ikra. Built under the name Kurrewa V, this 12M JI of British origin is part of the yachting legend. Built on the same plans as Sovereign, the British challenger of the 1964 America’s Cup, it was named Lévrier de Mer in 1968 and served as the hare boat for France, the 12 M JI of the French challenge of Baron Bich for the 1970 Cup. In 1977, it was bought by the Renault driver Jean Rédélé – commonly called “Monsieur Alpine” – who entrusted its restoration to Raymond Labbé’s yard in Saint-Malo, before taking it to the Mediterranean where it experienced an extraordinary destiny. It is indeed this boat which, answering the challenge launched by the American Swan Pride, gave birth to the original Nioulargue regatta, which has now become the Voiles de Saint-Tropez for 14 editions.

On Thursdays, we challenge ourselves!

16 Défis, the regatta of the centenarians, in addition to the Club 55 Cup, animated the sailing area last Thursday, in accordance with tradition. The race management and Georges Korhel had designed a small course of 6.5 miles in the heart of the gulf, where a light east-south-easterly flow had taken up residence at midday since the beginning of the week. The various challengers were thus invited from midday onwards to set off as close as possible to Portalet, towards the La Rabiou mark, then the Seiche à l’huile at the entrance to the gulf, before sliding downwind towards a finish anchored at the Jean Réveille mole. History will remember the formidable battle between the giant Maxi yachts Med Spirit, Firefly, My Song, Solleone and Sojana. Equally exciting was the nostalgic poetry of the 8-meter boats, Aile VI, Helen, France and Rhéa. Very expected the challenge of the 15 m JI which did not fail to their reputation, heeled to the maximum and flush with the rocks in an edge to edge taking off with elegance and magic. Club 55 Cup: The 19M JI Mariquita tried to defend its title won two years ago against Cambria. A duel out of the ordinary was proposed to her since it was the schooner Altaïr which was posed as Challenger. Indeed, the meeting scheduled last year could not be completed due to lack of wind, so the captains decided to repeat it this year in the purest chivalrous spirit. And it is Altaïr who won in Pampelonne.

Blue Bird Cup: Tara Getty had challenged the Olin Stephens Argyll plan last year, and during the Challenge Day, who had won. Revenge this year, since Skylark won by 3 minutes. In true yachting tradition, the two crews met for lunch aboard the yacht Talitha, where Tara and Jessica Getty were presented with the Blue Bird Cup by actor Griff Rhys Jones.

On land, the communicative good mood of the crews… The Voiles de Saint-Tropez is also an event to be experienced on land. In addition to the evolution of the boats under sail, which can be easily followed around the gulf or the Citadel, the party continued every day in the heart of the corsair city in the morning and evening with the presence of the boats in the port of Saint-Tropez entirely transfigured by the forest of wooden or carbon masts which flourished there during the whole week. Les Voiles also offered to the Tropéziens and to the public the access every day from 9 am to 7:30 pm to the “Village des Voiles”. The open structure of more than 1500 m² hosted many photo booths, stores, embroidery, etc. around the bar, the meeting place for all sailors. On the festive side, many animations took place in the village and in the streets, with in particular the performances of various musical groups and the traditional competition of bowls on the place des Lices. The clowns of the Monegasque Circus Festival provided the animation of the parade of crews, with the famous Bagad de Lan Bihoué. A very creative parade this year in which participated a good fifteen crews…

Extraordinary Yachts : Visible just in front of the entrance to the port of Saint-Tropez, the large schooner Adix did not race in the sails but mixed her auric sails with the great Classics in the race. Adix is a three-masted schooner, launched in 1984 under the name of Jessica: it was then a three-masted schooner with two topsails (one fixed, one flying), registered in England, and the largest schooner built since the years This luxury sailboat, was built by the shipyard Astilleros De Mallorca according to the indications of the architects Arthur Holgate and Dijkstra & Partners To the delight of the amateurs, Adix was able to sail side by side with Atlantic. The water of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, bathed in sunshine and swept by a nice breeze, graciously lent itself to this singular journey through time. We remember that Atlantic was rebuilt under the direction of Ed Kastelein, who had already supervised the refit of Thendara, Aile Blanche, Borkumriff, Zaca a te Moana, Eleonora, … The Pen Duick were also part of the party, in the wake of Eric Tabarly’s beautiful cutter, a Fife design from 1898, the 4 Pen Duick in activity each day moored in front of the harbour master’s office, allowed the numerous spectators to get close to the legend of 40 years of ocean racing… 17 Tofinou, from 9.50 m to 12 meters sailed under their own flame on the classic yachts course. They crossed paths with 4 “Code 0”, the pretty retro-looking day-boat created by Yves Parlier. Another legend, Manitou, was again present at the Voiles after its first appearance last year; built in 1937 to Olin Stephens designs, Manitou (18m90) is a very elegant Marconi yawl which has the particularity of having been used by John F. Kennedy during his presidency. Exceptionally, the yacht even had the title of “floating White House”. Equipped with the latest technology of the time, it allowed the President of the United States to remain in contact with the land during his navigations along the West Coast. After continuing her career as a sail training ship, the boat underwent a major refit in 2010.

The Coupe de la Ville de Saint-Tropez; This year, it was awarded to the first Modern boat to win the points, all categories included; the Farr 30 Give me Five of the Yacht Club de Monaco won.

Traditional Yacht of the Year Award – Les Echos – Limited Edition: Eight have already been selected! Eight exceptional yachts have been selected by a jury of competent personalities to compete for the Traditional Yacht of the Year Award organized by Les Echos-Série Limitée. But there is still time to join them to participate in this 2012 prize, the winner of which will be unveiled during the next Paris Nautic. Enthusiasts and captains have until midnight on October 12 to compete for this prestigious title. Information on www.pyta.fr The eight pre-selected boats: – Chrisando – Owl – Sonda – Palynodie II – Oiseau de feu – Hilaria – Javelin – Nan of Fife

Paris Première Trophy: awarded to the first modern sailboat over 16 meters: Music, Baltic 50 Tropheminin: awarded to the first female crew, the J97 from the tropics No Limit Yacht Club de France Trophy : favorite : Lelentina, skipper Patrick Gibert Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Regatta; A day for all challenges, Thursday saw the continuation of a new idea from last year… from the Gstaad Yacht Club. Peter Erzberger, Commodore of the GYC, in a commendable desire to get closer to the world of the sea and regattas, chose the Voiles de Saint-Tropez and its organizing club, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, to offer centenarian yachts their own regatta, within the framework of the day dedicated to this type of challenge, the Thursday day. The Gstaad Yacht Club offers a trophy to the winning yacht of a handicap race, according to the rules of the International Mediterranean Committee. The slowest yacht starts first, the fastest last. The winner was the first to cross the finish line under the Portalet. The Gstaad Yacht Club, founded in 1998 in the Swiss mountains, thus signs its rapprochement with Saint Tropez. The club has 400 members of 23 nationalities. The huge fleet of beautiful yachts registered for the Voiles includes no less than 20 “centenarians”. Victory, with a pedigree dating back to 1883, is the oldest, while Mariquita, born in 1911, is the youngest member of this informally prestigious club.

Anniversaries… Tofinou are 25 years old! Launched by the Latitude 46 shipyard, the Tofinous have conquered the fans of beautiful day-boats with traditional lines and assertive sports performance. 9.5, 12 or 16 meters, the style has been successful for 25 years already. The Sillinger semi-rigid boats with their martial appearance are celebrating their 50th anniversary! 50 years already that Tibor Sillinger played the card of robustness, power and longevity for his semi-rigid without concessions to quality…

They said:

André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez: “Every year I hear about an exceptional edition; I am told: “This is the best year ever! We have been blessed by the Gods, with wind, albeit moderate, and sunshine every day. If I had to express one regret, it would be that we had more incidents, minor ones as long as there is no physical damage, but between boats. The incident between Elena and a 25-meter spectator boat plunges me into consternation. The atmosphere ashore was great. The competitors played the game on land during the proposed animations. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is growing in a controlled way; as long as I have this ounce of power, I will work to preserve a certain idea of what I knew more than 25 years ago, to respect what Patrice de Colmont created. We owe him everything. I am content to coordinate some actions and to lead teams, to look for funding, but I am committed to ensuring that it does not become a commercial week. I repeat, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez is not for sale and our objective is not to make a profit for profit. I am delighted that the media is still very interested in our event. I am determined not to set my sights on growth at any cost. We have reached the critical size, in terms of the village and the reception of the boats. There is still room for improvement in the details, but no doubling of size and numbers”.

George Korhel, Race Director of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez: “We couldn’t have asked for more! Sun, air, and races validated every day, with all the boats classified on time. The Wallys ran 8 races… we had just the right amount of wind, enough to run races every day, and not too much to get everyone in on time and ranked. The boats left the harbor in little wind, benefited from the necessary pressure to sail well, and the wind fell each evening to allow the 300 boats to return to port without any hitch… Our partnership with Météo Consult helped us a lot; the 9 o’clock and 1 o’clock bulletins made our task much easier in choosing the courses, for the Moderns as well as for the Classics The teams on each round are well trained. I’m almost bored (laughs). All of our teams have been working together for several years, they appreciate and respect each other. We work in harmony. On the runners’ side, we get a lot of feedback. I can drink a beer in the village without being attacked (laughs). The Classic groups are running without any problem. For the Moderns, we made a group for cruisers not cut out for racing, and then we divided the boats according to size and ratings. We have done everything possible to ensure safety, but we can’t prevent some irresponsible people from running huge risks for the competitors. But we will remember this very nice edition. 5 more knots of wind, and it would have been indecent! (more laughter!) “

Jean-Pierre Champion, President of the French Sailing Federation: “The Voiles de Saint-Tropez is perhaps, and in my humble opinion, the most beautiful sailing event in the world. I have seen many, and what happens here in Saint-Tropez is unequalled. The idea of mixing the Classics and the Moderns is great and works beautifully. The contrast between the futuristic Wally’s and the beautiful 100 year old yachts is striking and very interesting to admire. There is an atmosphere in the Saint-Tropez setting, a mixture of desire, passion and respect that I really only find at the Olympic Games…”. They were sailing this week in Saint-Tropez…. Luc Alphand, Seb Audigane, Yves Carcelle, Catherine Chabaud, Jean Loup Chrétien, Robert Charlebois, Sébastien Col, Thomas Coville, Sébastien Destremau, Jean Pierre Dick, Leonardo Ferragamo, Tara Getty, Olivier Lozachmeur, Nicolas Lunven, Philippe Monnet, Lindsay Owen Jones, Marc Pajot, Yves Pajot, Lionel Péan, Jacques Rougerie, Jochen Schuman, Jacqueline et Marie Tabarly…

Rankings : Wally – 9 registered – The big Wally’s have validated 8 races.

Group 1

1- Open Season

2- Magic carpet

3- J One

4- Hamilton

Group 2

1- Genie

2- Sensei

3- Dark Shadow

4- Ryokan 2

5- Tiketitoo

IRC A – 30 registered –

1- Jethou – Peter Ogden

2- Stark Raving Mad – James Madden

1- My Song – Pier Luigi Loro Piana

IRC B – 26 registered –

1-Powerplay – Peter Cunningham

2- Spirit of Malouen VI – Stéphane Neve

3- Varuna – Jens – Kellinghusen

IRC C – 33 registered –

1-Genapi – Adalberto Miani

2- Eleuthera – Hervé Borgoltz

3- Cachou – Guy Cornillon

IRC D – 32 registered –

1- Music – Huber Ruedi

2- Music53 James Blakemore

3- Freya – Philippe Fabre

IRC E – 38 registered –

1- Give me 5 – Adrien Follin

2- Tchin Tchin – Jean Claude Bertrand

2- Just a joke – Marcello Maresca

Superyacht – Velsheda

Tofinou 9,5 (10 registered) 4 races selected

1- Jessie – Peter Dubens

2- Speed Bird – James Hudleston

3- Pippa – Edward S Fort

Group Tofinou 12

Milou – Simon Tate

Mercator – Daniel Farideh

Nomica – Alain Nocella

Code 0

1- Teewa 5 – Tanguy Legouvello

Groupe 15 mJI

1- The Lady Anne – Paul Goss

2- Tuiga – Bernard D’Alessandri

3- Mariska – Christian Niels

4- Hispania – Andy Longarela

Grand Epoque A –

1- Mariquita – Jim Thom

2- Moonbeam IV – Mickael Creach

3- Moonbeam III – Erwan Noblet

Epoque Aurique A

1-Avel – Christopher Austin

2- Bonafide – Giuseppe Giordano

3- Nan of Fife – Philippe Menhinick

Epoque Aurique B

1- Marigold – Richard Glen Allan

2- Runa IV – Yves Carcelle

3- Tigris – Paul Brand

Classique Marconi A – 13 registred

1- Arcadia – Patricia Hooves

2- Maria Giovanna – Jean Pierre Sauvan

3- Outlaw – Mike Horsley

Classique Marconi B

– Sovereign – Jacques fauroux

– Ikra – Yves marie Moreau

– White Dolphin – Yann Delplace

Epoque Marconi A

1- Rowdy – G. Walker (Herreshoff 1916)

2- Halloween – Inigo Strez (Fife 1926)

3- Emilia – Gastaldi/Sicotte (Costaguta 1930)

Epoque Marconi B

1- Leonore – Mauro Piani

2- Jour de Fête – Pascal Oddo

3- Lady Van – Don Martin

Epoque Marconi C

1- Skylark- Tara Getty

2- Cholita – Marilinda Nettis

3-Mercury – Jordi Cabau

Epoque Marconi D

1- Arrow – Phil Plumtree

2- Jalona- Luciano Frattini

3- Vagabundo II – Robbie Fabbe

Unforgettable!

Moonbeam IV, Velsheda, Ikra, Sonny… the stars shone at Les Voiles

André Beaufils: “Better than last year, worse than next year…”.

Peyron, Blakemore, Frers, Dick, Chirac and all the others… The fifteenth edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez was characterised this week by its many climatic contrasts, which gave the nautical jousts a very particular relief and flavour, which the 4,000 sailors will remember for a long time. The light, medium breeze on the first day of racing was followed by a slow build-up in wind strength, offering two sumptuous days of racing in the sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday. Although Thursday and Friday saw the wrath of the wind forbidding the races, they nevertheless allowed a few daredevils, Altaïr and Moonbeam III in particular, to pay tribute to the spirit of the Nioulargue by braving the heavy swell and gusts of over 30 knots. And as it was clearly written that these Voiles 2013 would not remain anonymous, it was on a sumptuous final day of racing, with plenty of wind, under a generous sun and on a vigorously animated sea, that the curtain came down on a play rich in emotions of all kinds (presence of Bill Jayson), exciting on the sporting front, and sumptuous in terms of the images which once again delighted photographers from all over the world. The end of the sailing season for the vast majority of sailors, whether Modern or Classic, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez was indeed the firework display they had been waiting for, the hoped-for party that sealed the friendships of thousands of sailors, who are already looking ahead to a year later, eager to reconnect as soon as possible with this unique spirit of friendship, conviviality and sharing in a yachting that is decidedly eternal.

In their own words : André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez: “Every year, we look for a new adjective, a new superlative to replace the previous year’s. The atmosphere, the weather, despite a windy passage, the regattas, the show, the spirit of the Nioulargue… everything came together for long, good moments of nautical pleasure. Of course, not everything is perfect and all our teams are already thinking about how to improve their respective areas of expertise. The task is not an easy one, because with 300 boats entered, and a waiting list that’s not getting any smaller, it’s hard to please everyone. But the goodwill is there and every year the miracle happens again, leaving the sailors with just one wish: to return to Saint-Tropez as soon as possible…”.

Bruno Troublé, Jour de Fête

“Another fantastic edition of Les Voiles. Jour de Fête did well (3rd) despite being a light-weather boat with flat seas. The regattas were very exciting and it’s always a delight to see so many beautiful boats, both modern and classic. I’ll be back next year with a hundred-year-old yacht, Olympian, a P Boat that won the Mackinac Cup in Chicago in 1914. This will be the first time this auric has left the great American lakes. That’s the beauty of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez: each year we discover new treasures of naval architecture…”

Bill Jayson, son of Dick Jayson, Pride

“My family and I received an extraordinary welcome. My father’s memory is very much alive here, amongst all his Tropezian friends. I was very touched by the welcome, and I’m still very proud to see how the Nioulargue heritage continues to shine through Les Voiles, thanks to André Beaufils and his teams… “

Jan Dekker, ORACLE TEAM USA et Dark Ice

“I came straight to Saint Tropez from San Francisco. This victory for ORACLE TEAM USA is obviously the highlight of my career. I’ve been coming to Les Voiles since 1999, and I sail with a group of friends gathered around a British owner, Mark Godard Watt. His boat is Dark Ice, a 45-footer designed by German Frers. I love the Voiles. It’s a chance for me to see a lot of friends who, like me, are sailing all over the world on different projects. I’m going home to Cape Town in South Africa tomorrow. I’ll be sailing the Maxi Rambler again, looking forward to another America’s Cup campaign.”

260 international journalists

During this magical week, the 15th Voiles de Saint-Tropez accredited exactly 260 journalists from all over France, as well as from Italy, Germany, the United States, England, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Turkey…

They were at Les Voiles:

Florence Arthaud, Sébastien Audigane (Navigateur Tour du monde (Orange), Alexia Barrier,((Navigatrice), Charles de Bourbon Siciles, Grace de Capitanie (comédienne), Yves Carcelle, (Ex Vuitton), Jean-Pierre Champion (Pdt FFV), Jacques Chirac, Sébastien Col (America’s Cup), Jan Dekker (Sth-Africa, America’s Cup, The Race, Volvo), Jean-Pierre Dick, (Vendée Globe, Transat Jacques Vabre), Leonardo Ferragamo (Ferragamo & Nautor Swan), Thierry Fouchier (America’s Cup), German Frers (Arg, Architecte), Bill Jayson, (Usa, fils de Dick Jayson), Bruno Jourdren (Transat AG2R), Simon Le Bon (chanteur Duran Duran), William Leymergie (Présentateur Télématin), Pier Luigi Loro Piana (Loro Piana), Sir Lindsay Owen Jones (Uk, Président L’Oréal), Philippe Monnet (Navigateur) Pierre-Antoine Morvan (Match Race, TFV), Philippe Mourniac (Tornado, All4one, America’s Cup), Marc Pajot (America’s Cup), Kito de Pavant (Navigateur), Lionel Péan (Tour du Monde Esprit d’Equipe), Eric Peron (Figariste), Loïck Peyron (America’s Cup), Luc Poupon ( navigateur + Voiles de St Barth), Ken Read (Skipper Puma, Rambler), Marie Tabarly (navigatrice), Marc Thiercelin (navigateur), Armel Tripon (navigateur), Bruno Troublé (Navigateur), Jean-Pierre Tuveri (Maire de Saint-Tropez), Marcel Van Triest (Holl, Navigateur et météo (Groupama)

Sailing Trophies

Rolex Trophy :

1 Ikra Yves Marie Moreau

2 Chinook Graham Walker

3 Lelantina Patrick Gibert

BMW Trophy :

1- Open season

2- Hamilton

3- Magic carpet 3

Trophée Silinger Grand Tradition : Moonbeam IV Mickael Creach

Trophée le Byblos : Chnook Graham Walker

Trophée GL Event Seven seas of Porto Marcus Kemp

Trophée de la Ville de Saint-tropez : Natalia (Swan 42) Natalia Brailoin, Roumanie

Trophée Edmond de Rothschild : Music (Baltic 50) James Blakemore (Afrique du Sud)

Trophée Kappa : Firefly (Proto Hoek) van Gelderen Pays Bas.

Trophée SFS : Desna (Desna 49) Suen Wackerhagen (Allemagne)

Trophée les marines de Cogolin : Turquoise (Dufour 40) Erik Aroux

Trophée SNSM : Give me Five(Farr 30) Adrien Follin

Le point sur les différents classements :

Modernes

IRC A

1 WALLYNO (WALLY 60) DE FROIDMONT Benoit

2 AROBAS (SWAN 601) LOGEL Gerard

3 FIREFLY (ONE OFF) VAN GELDEREN Mark

IRC B

1 MUSIC (SWAN 53) BLAKEMORE James

2 MOANA (MARTEN 49) VOBBE Gerrit

3 DESNA (KNIREM 49) WACKERHAGEN Sven

IRC C

1 NATALIA (CLUB SWAN 42) BRAILOIU Natalia

2 EARLYBIRD (SWAN 45) BRANDIS Hendrik

3 ELENA NOVA (SWAN 45) PLUMP Christian

IRC D

1 LA REPONSE (FIRST 40) MC IRVINE Andrew

2 PEN KALET X (40.7) LE TROQUER Georges

3 TURQUOISES (DUFOUR 40) AROUX Erik

IRC E

1 CARRINDUS (A 31) LEGLOAHEC Cyrille

2 EASY (MUMM 30) ENON Benjamin

3 GIVE ME FIVE (FARR 30) FOLLIN Adrien

Wally

1 Open Season

2 J One

3 Magic Carpet

Class J

1 Velsheda

2- Hanuman

3 Lionheart

Classics

CODE ZERO

1- BOTTES SECRETES TAUPIN Vincent

2-BLACK SOUL DOUVILLE DE FRANSSU Michel

3 – BLACK LEGEND GEIGER Reinold

CLASSIC MARCONI A after 2 races

1 MARIA GIOVANNA II  (SLOOP BERMUD) SAUVAN Jean-Pierre

2 OUTLAW  (COTRE MARCON) HORSLEY Mike

3 NAIF  (SLOOP BERMUD) GARDINI Ivan

CLASSIQUE MARCONI B après 2 courses

1 IKRA (12MJI) MORAULT Yves Marie

2 SOVEREIGN (12JI) FAUROUX Jacques

3 IL MORO DI VENEZIA (SLOOP) FERRUZZI Massimilliano

AURIC ERA A after 3 races

1 CHINOOK (NEW YORK 40) WALKER Graham

2 KELPIE (COTRE AURIQU) OLIVE Pelham

3 ORIOLE (SLOOP AURIQU) LOSTIS Jean-Pierre

AURIC EPOQUE B after 3 races

1 TIGRIS (COTRE AURIQU) BARNES Andrew

2 LELANTINA (GOELETTE AUR)GIBERT Patrick

3 PARTRIDGE (COTRE AURIQU) LAIRD Alexander

MARCONI ERA A after 2 races

1 SEVEN SEAS OF PORTO (12MJI) KEMP Marcus

2 MANITOU (MARCONI YAWL) TILLERAY Alex

3 OISEAU DE FEU (COTRE BERMUD) L’HUILLIER Jean-Philippe

EPOQUE MARCONI B après 2 courses

1 LEONORE (Q CLASS) PELASCHIAR Mauro

2 SIRIUS (MARCONI) ZAOLI Adrea

3 JOUR DE FETE (MARCONI) ODDO Pascal

EARLY MARCONI C after 2 races

1 SONNY (CUTTER) FRERS German

2 HORIZONTE (KETCH BERMUD) BALL Juan

3 SKYLARK OF 1937 (YAWL BERMUDIien) MORSE Tony

EPOQUE MARCONI D after 3 races

1 VAGABUNDO (KETCH) FABRE Robert

2 JALINA (BERMUDUAN CU) FAZIO Emanuele

3 SONDA (8 M CRUISER ) LEPRINCE Eric

GRAND TRADITION after 3 races

1 MOONBEAM IV (COTRE AURIQU) CREACH Mikael

2 MOONBEAM III (COTRE AURIQU) NOBLET Erwan

3 MARIQUITA (GAFF CUTTER) NEWMANN Georges

TOFINOU 12 après 3 courses

1 MILOU SCHOBINGER Mario

2 CAMOMILLE RS NATHAN Jean Louis

3 SEVEN BOULAY Jacques

TOFINOU 9.5 après 3 courses

1 SPEED BIRD HUDLESTON James

2 JESSIE

3 PIPPA Obe Edward

Dream conditions …

That’s it! It’s over! Nearly 4,000 sailors, a little groggy from so much light, so many exciting regattas, so much happiness shared on land and on the water, were struggling to realise today that the exceptional edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2016 was coming to an end in the mildness of an autumn Sunday. The prize-giving ceremony, traditionally held at the Citadelle of Saint-Tropez, provided the opportunity for a final moment of sharing, full of promises of an enchanting tomorrow, right here, in a year’s time. A year to recall the thousand and one moments of bravery during this dazzling week, the anthology tacks in contact with legendary yachts, in the glittering setting of the gulf. They will return, more convinced than ever of the unique character of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, capable of bringing together so many sailors from so many different horizons in the same spirit and mood. As André Beaufils, happy President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the event’s organiser, points out, it is they, the sailors, skippers and owners who make the event happen, and who, edition after edition, prolong the dream of the visionaries who created the Nioulargue 35 years ago.

They said:

André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez

“It’s an edition that will go down in the annals, in terms of the weather of course, which was absolutely fantastic, but also in terms of the constraints that were imposed on us this year with the work on the harbour master’s office and its impact on the location of the Voiles village, not forgetting the imperatives linked to safety. We can no longer organise an event like this in a carefree manner. I’m delighted with this week, as are all the competitors. That’s the main thing. Our partners have said they are happy. The Municipality of Saint-Tropez has reported some wonderful encounters, notably with Tahiti, thanks to Les Voiles. The show on the water was magnificent. The media were able to work in optimal conditions. This extremely positive feedback is the reward for all our volunteers. The village was very popular, with its trompe l’oeil windows. We’re going to keep the concept but make it wider. Our partner Rolex will be returning with its hospitality area. We’ll have the usual entrance, but with some changes.

How can we do better? I’m not asking myself that question. I don’t have any records to beat. We’ve achieved a level of quality that correlates with the event. We can change things according to external constraints. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is a bit like a Spanish inn; you eat what you bring! There’s nothing at stake in our regattas. The spirit must endure. We can allow ourselves a few excesses, a few moments of madness. It’s up to the competitors to create that madness.”

Georges Kohrel, Chairman of the Race Committee

“This year, it’s hard to be more satisfied! What a superb week, with superb conditions and superb racing! We haven’t had conditions like these for a long time. The teams on the water know each other perfectly; we’re making small adjustments, if necessary, so that there’s no break in the chain of skills. I have no organisational concerns about the three race committees, Modern, Tradition and Wally. It’s the skill of all our volunteers on the water that makes it possible to manage three race rounds and 300 boats simultaneously. The good weather and the beautiful boats have attracted a lot of people to the water. We have to explain to the public who come out on the water how to respect the regattas. For next year, we’re going to change the timetable to avoid the Modern rapids arriving under the Portalet just as the last Tradition boats are starting…”.

They were in Saint-Tropez

The world of the sea, regattas and ocean racing traditionally meets up under sail. At the helm of the most beautiful boats, in tactics, manoeuvres, abseiling as well as on the quays, the biggest names in sailing are present in the famous port of Var and in particular, in this year of the Vendée Globe, two competitors who will be at the start on 6 November: Sébastien Josse and Sébastien Destremeau, as well as a former winner, who will be in charge of safety for the next edition: Alain Gautier. Other Tourdumondists include Sébastien Audigane, the South African Jan Dekker, Philippe Poupon and his wife, the actress Géraldine Danon, Philippe Monnet, Bruno and Loïck Peyron (currently also in the Artemis challenge for the next America’s Cup) Lionel Péan and Eric Peron. A host of Figaro, Ministerial and other ocean class racers such as Yannick Bestaven, Sébastien Rogues, Erwan Leroux, Nicolas Lunven, Armel Tripon, Des Olympiques… such as Sofian Bouvet, (French 470 Rio team), Noé Delpech, (French 49er Rio team), Guillaume Florent, Olympic bronze Finn medallist in Beijing or the German Jöchen Schümann, Olympic Finn and Soling champion, America’s Cup specialists Marc Pajot, Bruno Troublé, Sébastien Col, American Tom Whidden and New Zealander Brad Butterworth, not forgetting crowned heads with a passion for regattas such as HRH Juan Carlos, King of Spain, HRH Charles of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies and Pierre Casiraghi, reigning helmsman of the 15mJI Tuiga.

LES TROPHÉES DES VOILES

Trophée Rolex : Moonbeam IV (Grand Tradition)

Trophée Groupe Edmond de Rothschild : TP 52 Team Vision (IRC C)

Trophée BMW : Open Season (Wally)

Trophée Kappa : Leopard (IRC A)

Trophée Pommery du plus beau spi : Elena of London

Trophée YCF : Spartan

Trophée Byblos : Spartan (Epoque Aurique A)

Trophée Jetfly : Rowdy (Epoque Marconi A)

Trophée Euronews : Maria Giovanna II (Classe Invités)

Trophée Mercantour Events : Yanira (Classique Marconi A)

Trophée Esprit Village : Cholita (Epoque Marconi C)

Tropheminin : Alibi

Trophée les Marines de Cogolin : Team Chalets (IRC D)

Trophée SNSM : Absolutely (IRC E)

The results:

The Voiles de Saint-Tropez welcomes three major categories of yachts on 3 separate race “rings”: Modern boats, Traditional yachts and Wallys.

5 groups of modern yachts are racing in Saint-Tropez, divided into 5 categories governed by the IRC. They have all completed 4 races this week.

Groupe IRC A

Ramblers 88 (George David) led the way for a long time, alternating with the other Mini Maxi, Michael Slade’s Leopard. Until Friday, the two “fighter jets” shared the victories. In the end, it was Leopard that came out on top. Lionel Péan placed his VOR 70 ‘S’ on the podium, the result of a fine display of consistency in real time. He was edged out by the immense ClassJ Velsheda for second place.

Groupe IRC B

Baltic 50 Music (James Blackmore) came out on top thanks to two fine heat wins. He beat his namesake, Alba Batzill’s Music from Switzerland, and Sergio Sagramoso’s Lazy Dog.

Groupe IRC C (Trophée Edmond de Rothschild)

This highly competitive group brings together some formidable 50 and 52 foot racers. The TP 52 Freccia Rossa owned by the Russian Vadim Yakimenko and Team Vision (Jean Jacques Chaubard) reign supreme, with Gérard Logel’s Botin Arobas in ambush. In the end, it was Team Vision who came out on top, after a hard-fought battle, ahead of Vadim Yakimenko’s Russian team.

Groupe IRC D

The A 40 Team Chalets (Philippe Saint André) literally crushed the competition with two heat wins. The J 133 Black Jack (Eric Gicquel) clung on to second place and kept Frédéric Bouillon’s Wallis at bay.

Groupe IRC E

A very tight group with no fewer than 36 entries. Philippe Frantz’s M 36 Absolutely swept all before it. The A 35 Tchin (Jean Claude Bertrand) and HEAT, Max Augustin’s Farr 30 completed the podium in that order.

WALLY (Trophée BMW) :

A record 16 Wallys took part in this year’s Voiles. They completed 6 races off the coast of Pampelonne.

Michael Atkinson and his Open Season won after many twists and turns on the final day, stealing the title from Sir Lindsay Owen Jones’ Magic Carpet Cubed. The 80-foot J One helmed by Piers Richardson was on the podium and took the 80-foot ranking, of which 6 boats raced in this group.

TRADITION 12 Groupes rassemblent l’ensemble des voiliers de tradition.

Groupe Classique Marconi Aurique : 7 inscrits

1- Yanira (Aas 1953)

2-Samarkand «5Sparksman&Stephens 1958)

3- Eugenia V (Rhodes 1968

Groupe Classique Marconi B

1- Outlaw (Illingworth 1963)

2- Argos (Holman 1964)

3- fantasque (Mauric 1970)

Groupe racer – rapides 12 m JI

1- Il Moro di Venezia (Frers 1976)

2- Ikra (Boyd 1964)

3- France (Mauric 1970)

Groupe Epoque Aurique

1- Spartan (Herreshoff 1912)

2- Olympian (Gardner 1913)

3- Chinook (Herreshoff 1916)

Groupe Epoque Aurique B

1- Kelpie of Falmouth (Sweisguth 1928)

2- Marigold (Nicholson 1897)

3- Lulu (Rabot Caillebotte 1897)

Groupe Epoque Marconi A

1- Rowdy (Herreshoff 1916)

2- Enterprise (Olin Stevens 1940)

3- Seven seas of Porto (Clinton Crane 1935)

Groupe Epoque Marconi B

1-Leonore (Anker 1925)

2- Jour de Fête (Paine 1930)

3- Carron II (Fife 1935)

Groupe Epoque Marconi C

1- Cholita (Potter 1937)

2- Blitzen

3- Fjord III (Frers 1947)

Groupe Grand Tradition (Trophée Rolex)

1- Moonbeam IV (Fife 1914)

2- Moonbeam III (Fife 1903)

3- Halloween (Fife 1926)

Classe Invités

1- Maria Giovanna II (Olin Stephens 1969)

2- Alibaba II

3- Dainty (Westmacott 1022)

Tofinou – 9 inscrits

1- Camomille – Jean Louis Nathan)

2- Black Legend (Christophe Delachaux)

3- Milou (Mario Schobinger)

Tofinou 9,5

1- Mynx – Guy Reynders

2- Pippa – Obe edward S. Fort

3_ Pitch – Patrice Riboud

15 m JI

1- Mariska (Fife 1908)

2- The lady Anne (Fife 1912)

3-Tuiga (Fife 1909)

4- Hispania (Fife 1909)

The traditional presentation of the Prizes and Trophies at the Citadelle of Saint-Tropez brought this extraordinary festival of international yachting, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, to a close under a radiant sun. Nearly 4,000 skippers, captains, sailors and owners are now returning to their daily lives in the four corners of the sailing world, a little dazed by so much festivity and maritime splendour displayed throughout the week in the setting of the Var gulf. The 2017 edition once again delighted them on the water and on land, and now we’re going to have to be patient as we wait a whole year to rediscover the friendship and conviviality so typical of the Tropez event in 2018. And let’s not forget the seafarers’ complicity, which was particularly evident this year between Saint-Tropez and Saint-Barth: all sailors, all united. What remains are the memories, and the thousands of dazzling images of extraordinary, timeless regattas, showcasing the world’s most beautiful yachts.

André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez

“Naturally, we’ll be remembering the fine weather conditions that ensured the success of this year’s event. 2017 was a good year. Every year I ask myself how I can innovate to amaze on land. I have a few ideas for the 20th edition next year. The parade of crews seems to be running out of steam. We need to think about reviving this festive aspect of the event. The feedback from the sailors, both crew and owners, is excellent. It’s great to hear. The only reservations concern safety on the water with regard to spectator boats. I’m also delighted to see the level of media interest locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, with over 200 French and foreign journalists and 20 film crews present at the event. Var Matin graced us with front-page stories and extensive coverage every day. Our partners seem to be delighted.”

Georges Korhel, Principal Race Officer: “Very fine conditions all week apart from Monday, which were a little rough at times in some people’s opinion, but the wind was there! We didn’t have any serious collisions. On the other hand, there were around ten falls overboard. Fortunately, there were no consequences! I’m very satisfied with the Committees, the teams on the water and the safety, which was extremely stretched on the water by the presence of countless spectator boats that weren’t always very disciplined or respectful of the yachts racing. We reinforce our teams every year, and try to use educational methods to warn yachtsmen of the risks of getting too close to the yachts in the race. There’s a lot of education to be done. The safety of the competitors is paramount. Otherwise, everyone worked well together. There were very few complaints to the jury, which proves that everything is working well!”

They were at Les Voiles: Loïck Peyron, Franck Cammas (Babsy), Patrizio Bertelli (Linnet) Sébastien Audigane (Mariska), Sébastien Destremeau (Ikra), Christian Ponthieu (Mariska), Alain Fédensieu (Nagaiana), Antoine Carpentier (Black pepper 2), Pablo Santurde (The Lady Anne), Jochen Schuman (Open Season), Ben Ainslie (Blitzen), Marc Pajot (Tango), Marcel van Triest (Magic Carpet3), Alexia barrier (Nada), Brad Butterworth (Rambler), Jan Dekker (Rambler), Dimitri Deruelle (Team Vision), Sime Fantella (Nahima), Flavio Favini (Magic Blue), German Frers (Fjord III), Torben Grael (Linnet), Erwan Leroux (Genie of the lamp), Philippe Monnet (Lys), Thierry Péponnet (Tango), Luc Poupon, Sébastien Col (Renata), Marie Tabarly (Mariska), Bruno Troublé (Chips), Nicolas Troussel (Daguet), Vasco Vascotto (Cannonball), Tom Whidden (Magic Carpet), Pierre Casiraghi (Tuiga)…

Standings: Wally The Wallys, on their dedicated wet round off Pampelonne, put in 6 great races, alternating between ‘banana’ courses and pretty coastal stretches. 14 of these superb futuristic machines were in the running this week. The predicted battle between the 4 Wallycentos lived up to all its promises, with Magic Carpet3 in a position to win for a long time against the formidable Open Season. However, it was the ‘little’ Wally 77 Lyra that put everyone on the same wavelength, with two fine heat wins in particular 1- Lyra – Wally 77: 12 pts 2- Open Season – Wally 107: 14 pts 3- Magic Carpet3 – Wallycento: 15 pts

Modern The 5 IRC groups have all completed 4 races this week, in a very varied wind range, which has produced some fine winners. IRC A Cammas at ease in the VOR 70 Franck Cammas has forgotten nothing about handling the VOR 70. He won in the company of Lionel Péan aboard the sistership of his Groupama IV, and beat off the Maxi 72 Cannonball and the giants Rambler and My Song, making the most of the week’s windy conditions. 1- Babsy – Franck Cammas 17 pts 2- Cannonball – Dario Ferrari : 24 pts 3- Rambler – Georges David : 25 pts IRC B 1-Music – James Blakemore 12 pts 2 – Daguet – Frederic Puzin 14 pts 3- Flo d’Orient -Bernard Coquelet : 16 pts IRC C 1- Renata – Orel Kalomeni : 8 pts 2- Alizée – Laurent Camprubi : 10 pts 3- Arobas – Gerard Logel : 14 pts IRC D 1- Takaoama3 – Pierre Chartier : 18 pts 2- Vito 2 – Gian Marco Magrini : 20 pts 3- Al Dente- Hubert Lombardo – 23 pts IRC E 1- Alice – Simon Henning – 11 pts 2- Heat – Max Augustin – 13 pts 3- Expresso 2 – Guy Claeys – 16 pts

Classics: Every day, the Classic yachts were able to validate some spectacular races in the Gulf. Competing in the Rolex Trophy, the four 15 m JI signes Fife ont, quant à eux, disputé 7 courses. Grand Tradition 1- Moonbeam III — Erwan Noblet : 8 pts 2- Halloween – Inigo Strez : 15 pts 3- Elena of London -Steve McLaren : 17 pts Groupe époque Aurique A 1- Spartan – Charles Ryan : 9 pts 2- Olympian – Marc Audineau : 9 pts 3- Kelpie – Olive Pelham : 11 pts Epoque Aurique B 1- Linnet – Patrizio Bertelli : 4 pts 2- Tilly XV – Joeri Moessnang : 8 pts 3- Oriole – Laurence Rames de Moers : 20 pts Epoque Marconi A 1- Rowdy – Riendan Mc Carthy : 10 pts 2- Blitzen – Peter Morton : 11 pts 3- Enterprise – Hans Christian Schrijvers : 17 pts Epoque Marconi B – les 8 m 1- Cholita – Bruno Catalan : 8 pts 2- Carron II – Jean Luc leveque : 9 pts 3- Jour de Fête – Pascal Oddo : 18 pts Epoque Marconi C 1-Cippino II – Daniel Sieleki : 7 pts 2- Fjord III – German Frers : 11 pts 3- Comet – Marc Marciano : 16 pts Epoque Marconi D 1- Sonda – Eric Leprince : 5 pts 2- Nagaiana – Alain Fédensieu : 14 pts 2- Java – Schengili : 15 pts Classique Marconi A 1- Lys – Philippe Monnet : 8 pts 2- Eugenia V : 13 pts 3- Yanira – Andre de Leon : 13 pts   Classique Marconi B 1- St Christopher – Daria Cabai : 9 pts 2- Aigue Blu – Fabrice Garau : 20 pts 3- Palynodie II – Henri Ferbus : 16 pts Classique Marconi R 1- France – Thierry Verneuil : 9 pts 2- Ikra – Sebastien Destremeau : 10 pts 3- Sovereign – Nicolas Berenger : 10 pts Groupe Invités 1- Maria Giovanna II – Jean Pierre Sauvan : 7 pts 2- Alibaba II – Jorge Blanco : 9 pts 3- Windhover – Olivier Poulain : 12 pts Marconi Moderne 1- Camomille – Jean Louis Nathan : 12 pts 2- Jolt – Peter Harrison : 17 pts 3- Aetos – Nicolas Sihouris : 13 pts 15 M JI 15 mJI après 7 courses. Mariska is declared the winner on the basis of the number of heat wins, in this case four. 1- Mariska – Benjamin Redreau : 14 pts 2- The lady Anne – Le may Richard : 14 pts 3- Tuiga – Pierre Casiraghi : 20 pts 4- Hispania – Jose rabane : 23 pts

Yacht Club de France Autumn Cup 12 m JI : 1- Ikra – Sébastien Destremeau Groupe Aurique 1- Tilly XV – Joerg Moessnang Groupe Classique : 1- Maria Giovana II – Jean Pierre Sauvan Groupe marconi : 1- Argyll – Griff Rhys Jones Groupe Marconi B 1- Cippino II – Martin Billoch Groupe Tofinou 1- Pitch – Patrice Ribaud

Les Trophées : Trophée Rolex : Mariska – Christian Niels – 15 m JI  Trophée Edmond de Rothschild : Renata – Orel Kalomeni – IRC C Trophée BMW : Wally 77 Lyra – Jaimie Anderson – Wally Tropheminin : Stele – Pascale Ligier Trophée de la Ville de Saint-Tropez : Renata –Orel Kalomeni – Modernes toutes catégories Défilé : Asana Concours de boules : Java Bleue Trophée du Yacht Club de France : Tilly XV – Joerg Moessnang Trophée Loro Piana : Babsy – Franck Cammas – IRC A Trophée Kappa : Music – James Blackmore – IRC B  Trophée Enata : Tokaoma3 – Pierre Chartier – IRC D Trophée Marines de Cogolin : Alice – Simon Henning IRC E Trophée Le Byblos : Spartan – Charles Ryan Epoque Aurique A Trophée Pommery : Linnet – Patricio Bertelli Epoque Aurique B Trophée Jetfly : Rowdy – Brendan Mc Cathy Epoque Marconi A Trophée SNSM : Cholita – Bruno Catalan Epoque Marconi B Trophée esprit Village : Cippino II – Daniel Sieleki Epoque Marconi C Trophée Air France : Sonda – Eric Leprince Epoque Marconi D Trophée Mercantour : Lys – Philippe Monnet Classique Marconi A

Partners of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez ROLEX BMW GROUPE EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD WALLY KAPPA HOTEL BYBLOS MERCANTOUR EVENTS LES MARINES DE COGOLIN L’ESPRIT VILLAGE DE SAINT-TROPEZ POMMERY JETFLY DANONE SUZUKI MARINE LORO PIANA ENATA MARE NOSTRUM AIR FRANCE CHEVALIER TORPEZ (LES VIGNOBLES DE SAINT TROPEZ) SUN 7 GRAPHIC Organisation : Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, Président : André Beaufils Principal Race Officer : Georges Korhel Moyens sur l’eau : Philippe Martinez Gestion financière : Delphine Reusse Inscriptions : Frédérique Fantino Communication : Chloé de Brouwer Rédaction : Denis van den Brink Site internet : www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr Facebook : les Voiles de Saint-Tropez officiel Twitter : @VoilesSTOrg Relations Presse : Maguelonne Turcat Photos : Gilles Martin-Raget, www.martin-raget.com

A memorable 20th edition!

At the invitation of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, almost 4,000 sailors took part in a full week of extraordinary, timeless regattas, filled with images, emotions and memories. Enough to last a whole year, until next summer comes to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez once again. True to this inimitable spirit of sporting friendship, built around an unchanging passion for beautiful sails and beautiful hulls, the 20th edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez once again offered a magical blend of styles, eras and classes of yacht, in all weathers and in all languages, painting a rare and unique spectacle every day in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez that we can’t wait to see again next year. The traditional prize-giving ceremony brought together crew and rivals for the last time, in a festive and joyous communion, which already augurs well for the great encounters to come, with the 20th anniversary of the event, which will be celebrated, as it should be, from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 6 October: don’t forget these dates!

The Julilée Fife for the Rolex Trophy The highlight of this 20th edition of Les Voiles was the 130th anniversary of the Dragon, the legendary signature of the Fife family saga, which gave rise to an exceptional Jubilee rewarded by the prestigious Rolex Trophy. For the first time in the Mediterranean, 20 sumptuous yachts designed by the Scottish genius of the golden age of yachting were brought together this year in the port of Saint-Tropez. And for this exceptional occasion, schooners, cutters, auriques and Bermudians all benefited from a special departure, giving rise to an unprecedented spectacle. It was the Viola aurique cutter that came out on top, adding her name to the Rolex Trophy list in her 110th anniversary year, the yacht having been launched in 1908.

Successful “Petites Voiles” Another new feature of the 20th edition of Les Voiles was the first “Petites Voiles”, held on Wednesday in the middle of the Port of Saint-Tropez. On the initiative of Tony Oller in partnership with the management team, 23 young girls and boys aged 6 to 12 from the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez’s brand-new Pôle voile légère (light sailing center) had their moment of glory, racing Optimists in front of a crowd of Voiles aficionados, much to the pride of their families.

They said: Tony Oller: President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez “In a word: happy! I see nothing but radiant faces, and receive nothing but compliments and thanks. The racers leave delighted, with their races, the welcome, the festivities, on land and at sea. We’ve validated a large number of races every day, and we’re crowning credible winners. The party in Saint-Tropez was complete, especially on Thursday during the crew parade, when the quays were packed with people, with a carnival air. The Petites Voiles brought
happiness and pride, both to the children of the Ecole de Voiles and to their parents. A very fine edition indeed!

Georges Kohrel, Principal Race Officer “I’ve had nothing but excellent feedback from owners and racers. It was certainly a very fine edition, between two blasts of Mistral. I’d like to thank all the teams, both on shore and on the water, who organized the races, refereeing and results with enormous skill. Sailing 300 boats is no easy task. I was also delighted to see that fair play and the pleasure of sailing often took precedence over pure competition. The result is an even more joyful and festive atmosphere on the water, in keeping with the spirit of Les Voiles. The fixed line principle is now well understood by competitors. It makes it easier to get all our series into the race quickly. We’re going to work on perfecting our registration procedures, by being a hair more demanding.”

Rankings :

Wally The Wallys, on their dedicated round course in front of Pampelonne, put in 6 great races, alternating between “banana” courses and long stretches of coastline. The announced clash between the 3 Wallycento boats lived up to all its promises, with Magic Carpet3 in a position to win for a long time. However, it was the “little” Wally 77 Lyra that put everyone in agreement, as it had done last year, by taking three fine heat victories.

1- Lyra – Wally 77 : 9 pts 2- Magic Carpet3 – Wallycento : 12 pts 3- J One – 14 pts

Modern The 5 IRC groups have all completed 4 races this week, in a highly varied wind range that has produced some fine winners.

IRC A : 24 inscrits 1- Cannonball – Dario Ferrari – 6 pts 2- Jethou – Sir Peter Ogden – 13 pts 3- Wallino – Benoit De Froidmont – 18 pts
IRC B – 24 inscrits 1- Flo d’Orient -Bernard Coquelet – 7 pts 2- Phoenix – Majec Marczewski – 12 pts 3-Daguet2 – Frederic Puzin- 15 pts
IRC C – 31 inscrits 1- Gladiator – Tony Langley – 18 pts 2- Team Chalets – Philippe saint André – 18 pts 3- Dralon – Pit Finis – 18 pts
IRC D – 41 inscrits 1- Creme anglaise – John Rainger – 15 pts 2- Merlin – Serguei Chevtsov – 21 pts 3- Foxy lady – Giuseppe Gambaro – 24 pts
IRC E – 41 INSCRITS 1- Topas – Harald Brushing – 14 pts 2- Expresso – Guy Claes – 16 pts 3- Alice – Simon Henning – 21 pts

Classics: Every day, the Classic yachts were able to validate spectacular races in the Gulf. Competing in the Rolex Trophy, the 20 Fife designs put on a great show, while the newcomer St Christopher (Sparksman&Stephens 1968) immediately made her mark on the Gulf.

Classique marconi A 1- St Christopher – Daria Cabai – 3 pts 2- Yanira – Pepe Negrete Caballero – 6 pts 3- Dune – Erick Coll – 9 pts
Classique marconi B 1- Sagittarius – Frederic Lafitte – 3 pts 2- Stiren – Oren Nataf – 5 pts 3- Palynodie II – Henri Ferbus – 8 pts
Classique marconi R 1- Il Moro di Venezia – Massimiliano Sferruzzi – 3 pts 2- Ikra – Hugues Destremeau – 6 pts 3- France – Pierre Fausset – 9 pts
Epoque Aurique A 1- Kelpie – Pelham Olive – 3 pts 2- Olympian – Guillaume fetas – 7 pts 3- Marga – Matteo Tacconi – 8 pts
Epoque Aurique B 1- Tilly XV – Joeri Moessanang – 3 pts 2- Folly – François Gouillard – 5 pts 3- Phoebus – Michel Durand – 8 pts
Epoque marconi A 1- Rowdy – Thirty Goodbye – 4 pts 2- Serenade – Hugues Boullenger – 4 pts 3- Manitou – Guy Robinson – 10 pts
Epoque marconi B 1-Santana – Wendy Schmidt – 3 pts 2- Blitzen – Charles Dunstone – 5 pts 3- Jour de Fete – Pascal Oddo – 9 pts
Epoque Marconi C 1- Cippino II – Daniel Sielecki – 3 pts 2- Fjord III – German fiers – 7 pts 3- Stormy Weather of Cowes – Tarquin Place – 10 pts
Epoque marconi D 1- Aloha – Francis van de Velde – 4 pts 2- Sonda – Eric Leprince – 4 pts 3- Java – Josef Schengili – 9 pts

Fife : 1- Viola – Fabien Després – 7 pts 2- Carron II – Angelo Mazzarella – 9 pts 3- Kismet – Richard Matthews – 10 pts
Grand Tradition 1- Elena of London – Steven Mc Laren – 3 pts 2- Puritan- Simon PANDOLFI – 6 PTS 3- Orianda – Sebastiano Maculi d’Ascoli – 13 pts
Groupe « Invités » 1- Windhover – Olivier Poulain – 5 pts 2- Josephine – Marc Froeschke – 6 pts 3- Dainty – Peter Nicholson – 7 pts
Big Spirit 1- Savanah – Hugh Morrison – 3 pts 2- Sultana – Robert radway – 6 pts 3- Eugenia VII – Nicolas de la Brosse – 8 pts

Les Trophées :
Trophée Rolex – Jubilé Fife  : Viola (1908) – Fabien Després
Trophée BMW : Wally 77 Lyra – Terry Hui
Trophée Edmond de Rothschild (IRC C): Gladiator – Tony Langley
Trophée du Yacht Club de France : Tilly XV – Joerg Moessnang
Tropheminin : Moogli – Caroline Petit
Trophée de la Ville de Saint-Tropez : Cannonball – Dario Ferrarri
Défilé des équipages : Imagine – thème des Vikings
Concours de boules : Lady Jo
Trophée Loro Piana : Topaz – Peter Holmberg
Trophée Kappa : Flo D’ Orient – Bernard Coquelet
Trophée Marines de Cogolin : Alice – Simon Henning
Trophée Le Byblos : Kelpie – Olive Pelham
Trophée Pommery : Tilly XV – Joeri Moessnang
Trophée SNSM : Rowdy – Timothy Goodboy
Trophée esprit Village : Santana- Wendy Schmidt
Trophée Air France : Elena of London – Steven Mc Laren
Trophée Mercantour : St Christopher – Daria Cabai
Trophée Torpez : Sagittarius – Frédéric Lafitte
Trophée Suzuki : Creme Anglaise – John Rainger

Coupe d’automne du Yacht Club de France : Ellad – Stéphane Richer

They were at Les Voiles : Sébastien Audigane, Ed Baird, Patrizio Bertelli, Brad Butterworth, Pierre Casiraghi, Sébastien Col, Jean-Pierre Dick, German Frers, Alain Gautier, Sydney Gavigner, Philippe Monnet, Marc Pajot, Yves Pajot, Lionel Péan, Loïck Peyron, Bruno Troublé, Nicolas Troussel, Marcel Van Triest, Tom Whidden Mais aussi Pierre Cosso (acteur, La Boum) Maud Fontenoy (Fondation Maud Fontenoy) Myriam Lamarre (Championne de boxe – Stelle) Pete Townsend (Guitariste et fondateur des Who -Eva),

The partners of Voiles de Saint-Tropez ROLEX BMW GROUPE EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD WALLY KAPPA HOTEL BYBLOS MERCANTOUR EVENTS LES MARINES DE COGOLIN L’ESPRIT VILLAGE DE SAINT-TROPEZ POMMERY SUZUKI MARINE LORO PIANA MARE NOSTRUM  AIR France DANONE CHEVALIER TORPEZ (LES VIGNOBLES DE SAINT TROPEZ) SUN 7 GRAPHIC

The successful bet of Voiles 2020 The awards ceremony on Friday evening of the second week of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2020 will have made it possible to measure the degree of satisfaction of the owners, skippers and sailors at the end of a beautiful week of regattas. It is also the moment chosen by Pierre Roinson, new President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, organizer of the event, and the new General Manager, Tony Oller, to highlight the success of a challenge far from being won just a fortnight ago, faced with the colossal constraints linked to the health crisis. The involvement of all, sailors or volunteers, partners and institutions, on land and at sea, made it possible to hold the event, and the saga of Les Voiles, begun in 1999, can continue without interruption while everyone is already looking forward to the 2021 edition. Regatta: at last!

Over 150 boats and 2,000 sailors enlivened the waters of the Gulf of Saint Tropez for 15 days. These figures are certainly far from those usually recorded with nearly 300 boats, but despite the exceptional circumstances make these Sails 2020 a reality. For many, it was the first, and the last regatta of the season and the pleasure of sailing was palpable. For its 22nd edition, Les Voiles was experimenting with a new format. 130 boats, divided into 6 Moderne groups and 9 Tradition groups competed in the first week, before giving way to 20 Maxi Yachts and two superb schooners. Many races were validated each week, despite the gusts of wind that shook the South East of France, and each of the two parts of the new-formula event was able to dedicate magnificent winners. With this wet starting line just under the Portalet for all the series, this unique edition in hand has greatly satisfied the racers, happy to race and show their superb mounts as close as possible to the Tropéziens môles. We also noticed many boats coming for a first participation, including 6 Classic yachts and about thirty Modern sailing boats, in a difficult context, confirming the strong attractiveness of the Tropezian event.

Pierre Roinson, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez: no break in the history of sailing! We succeeded! Organizing our 22nd edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez in compliance with the health requirements was a big challenge. After 15 days of events at Les Voiles, the general feeling shared by the teams is happiness. These sails have been so difficult to implement, with so many factors of uncertainty, authorizations to obtain etc… everything ends beautifully! We had very nice days, beautiful regattas and the owners, skippers and sailors leave very satisfied. Everyone was frustrated that we couldn’t sail this year. All of our volunteers, both on land and at sea, were great. We are really happy to have been able to make these sails, with the major support of the City. By remaining vigilant and careful, we avoided problems. We’re going to pursue the idea of separating the big boats from the rest of the fleet, for safety reasons and because we want to keep the departures in the gulf in front of the port and we’re going to continue to talk to the classes to refine the program. We have a very good permanent team at the club, and especially a team of amazing volunteers who help us run the club.”

Georges Korhel, Main Race Officer The show closest to the spectators! «As an organizer, everything went well, with this new regatta format that also made it possible to put all the participants at the start right in front of the port. The first week, with only 130 boats, went very well, and even with double the number of boats, we are convinced that this remains manageable. Our teams are well trained. Everyone does what they have to do. Tribute to our teams! It is necessary to offer more choice of great routes to the great modern ships that need miles, distance to express themselves. Fewer runs between 3 buoys. We will adapt, while keeping the principle of a two-week event. We have here very spectacular Modern ships, and the gulf lends itself to make spectacle. We can propose a perfectly adapted playground to allow the public to see these amazing units evolve as closely as possible. We can imagine routes close to the Saint-Tropez jetties. Entertainment to promote our sport.”

They were at Voiles… Patrizio Bertelli, Billy Besson, Mitch Booth, Marc Bouet, Francois Brenac, Aymeric Chapelier, Bertrand de Broc, Benoît De Froidmont, Fabien Després, Jean-Pierre Dick, Peter Dubens, Eric Dumont, Robin Follin, Sidney Gavignet, Tara Getty, Torben Grael, Bruno Jourdren, Marc Lepesqueux, Xavier Macaire, Anthony Marchand, Corinne Migraine, Jean-Paul Mouren, Jean-Pierre Nicol, Lionel Péan, Loïck Peyron, Christopher Pratt, Nick Rogers, Marc Thiercelin, Bruno Troublé, Maurits Van Oranje, Gerald Véniard

Programme 2020 (reminder) Week 1: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September: welcome of sailing boats up to about 20 metres (except for certain classes) Monday 28 September: regattas for modern sailing boats Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 September, Friday 2, Saturday 3 October: regattas for modern sailing boats and traditional sailing boats Thursday 1 October: Challenge Day Saturday 3 October: award ceremony (week 1) Week 2: Les Voiles Super Series Sunday 4 and Monday 5 October: welcome of the big units (Wally, IRCA, Maxi yachts, Grand Traditions, large schooners) Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7, Thursday 8, Friday 9: regattas of large units

Friday, October 9: award ceremony (week 2) The measures planned by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez (excluding competing devices) : Staff and volunteers – Screening of all workers before and during the Sailing Village event – Reduction of the village to 400 m2 (instead of the usual 1,500 m2), 400 people maximum – Exhibition spaces limited to partners. Access to the official North Sail store will be from the outside only. Masks, Intake Temperature Measurements and Water Alcohol Gel Required – Working with the Cerballiance Laboratory to screen for those interested in doing so. Activities: The traditional bowls competition, crew parade, crew festival and sardinade will not be able to take place this year. Media – Paperless registration formalities, no press room, press contact via email, text or telephone only. For boarding: negative test of less than 72 hours, mandatory wearing of the mask, appointment of boarding at the feet of the boats. The partners of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2020ROLEX BMW NORTH SAILS CHAMPAGNE BESSERAT DE BELLEFON EAUX 808 SUZUKI MARINE MERCANTOUR EVENTS MARSHALL TORPEZ (VIGNOBLES DE SAINT-TROPEZ) BERNARD OPTIC LORO PIANA INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION DERBEZ JARDINS PORT DE SAINT-TROPEZ LES MARINES DE COGOLIN FEDERATION FRANCAISE DE VOILE YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE

Les Voiles celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Nioulargue

A breathtaking first week The largest Maxis Yachts gathering in the world They were at Les Voiles, more than 3,200 sailors from around the world…

If the 2020 edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez had successfully installed a new format over two weeks, it was indeed the 23rd opus of the great gathering Tropézien that made it possible to measure, rid of a large part of the sanitary constraints, on land as well as on sea, the merits of a two-race regatta, that of Classic yachts and sailboats under 60 feet in the first week, immediately followed by a full week devoted exclusively to Maxis Yachts. A first week out of time, blessed by Eole with ideal sailing conditions, was the prelude to the largest gathering of Maxis Yachts in the world. What to delight the organizers, the President, Pierre Roinson, and the entire team of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, happy to celebrate so grandiose the 40th anniversary of the original race, the Nioulargue, with all the starts and finishes in front of the port of Saint-Tropez.

A breathtaking first week! As pointed out by Georges Korhel, Main Race Officer of Les Voiles, the first week of festivities and regattas – from September 25 to October 2 – won all the votes; all the wind registers allowed the race committees, both Modern and Classic, to send every day beautiful events always so contested. The 23rd Sails of the name have crowned formidable winners, starting with the very famous industry boss Patrizio Bertelli, the winner of the Rolex Trophy, aboard the Herreshoff Scud plan and his high-flying crew, who overcame the sumptuous P Class. Among all the winners in the 10 categories of traditional sailing yachts in the race, the Sails crown exceptional boats, to the signature of the greatest naval architects. Pretext (Nacira 47), for the North Sails Trophy (IRCB), and Nanoq, skippered by the Prince of Denmark for the BMW Trophy (IRCC), won in groups that were particularly competitive. It was Olympian, the 1913 P Class and its deep green hull that won the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy, after a stunning final, like a race match between Bruno Troublé, who knocked him out, and Peter Isler, America’s Cup figure, in command of Spartan.

The world’s largest Maxis Yachts event, from 3 to 9 October. With 45 units from 60 to 107 feet, also gathered at the invitation of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the second week of the Voiles rocked in gigantism and accumulated all the superlatives. Wally, J Class, pure racers invaded the gulf for spectacular regattas at will, in wind regimes favouring all expressions. Sport, at the highest level, but also demonstrations at the highest level of exceptional sailing boats, with futuristic profiles designed for pure performance. Comanche, Rambler 88, Leopard3, just like the Mini Maxis 72, delighted the public when, all sails deployed, they landed under the Portalet in search of the prestigious trophies of Voiles. Magic Carpet Cubed, the Wally Cento of Sir Lindsay Owen Jones battled to the last edge to win in IRC1 to confirm his recent title of World Champion, while the pretty Wally 77 Lyra found in Saint Tropez rewards to his many merits. We will long remember the formidable mano a mambo between the two J Class, Topaz and Velsheda whose rivalry has finally turned to the advantage of the first.

They said: Pierre Roinson, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez: “We were extremely complimented on the first week of Les Voiles. This is very important because it means that we have reconnected with history, the Moderns sailing at the same time as the Classics. It went wonderfully, with great weather. While scrupulously respecting the sanitary measures, we have reconnected with the atmosphere of the Voiles and it is a great pleasure. I met the owners of Maxis, who are absolutely delighted to come and sail here. Our second week was the largest Maxis gathering in the world with 45 units present. The Maxis were thus able to benefit from departure and arrival in front of the port of Saint-Tropez. This second week was very professional, with very high-level crews. The public also appreciated to be able to discover these rare boats that are the Maxis very close. I want to thank all of our staff and volunteers who have just joined Sail GP, Voiles and will be working on the Swan next week.”

Georges Korhel, Principal Race Officer « It was a great success. The first week was blessed with Gods, with varied wind conditions that allowed running every day. The second week was more complex, but we ran in very different conditions and we crowned beautiful winners. The Maxis are delighted, they are in the port, they are sailing in front of Saint-Tropez… that’s what they wanted. The first week, out of 240 boats, we were able to put 200 in the port. The competitors are happy and that’s what matters. Les Voiles was a great event for the Maxis. 45 boats this year, all of high quality, Rambler, Leopard, Topaz… rare boats that we are happy to share with the general public.»

They were at Voiles: More than 800 sailors from around the world enlivened the second week of Les Voiles, 2,400 the first. Some Maxis indeed require a lot of arms and weight to recall. Every day, Comanche embarked 28 men and women crew, Magic Carpet Cubed or Velsheda nearly 30, and 37 for Topaz. On the pontoons Jean-Baptiste Bernaz, Ernesto Bertarelli, Patrizio Bertelli, Arnaud Boissières, Michel Boujenah, Brad Butterworth, Dee Caffari, Pierre Casiraghi, Julien Cressant, Prince Frederik of Denmark, Simon Daubney, Francesco De Angelis, Bertrand de Broc, Patrice de Colmont, Kevin Escoffier, Shannon Falcone, Robin Follin, Thierry Fouchier, German Frers, Sidney Gavignet, Clément Giraud, Torben Grael, Peter Isler, Xavier Macaire, Corinne Migraine, Philippe Monnet, Marc Pajot, Lionel Péan, Loïck Peyron, Christopher Pratt, Jochen Schuemann, Giles Scott, Tom Slingsby, Bruno Troublé, Le Prince Maurits Van Oranje, Marcel Van Triest, Gerald Veniard, Tom Whidden.

The figures: 132 Modern sailing boats, 82 Classics, in the first week, followed by 45 Maxis, for a total of 3,200 sailors, 20 nationalities.

See you on Saturday, September 24, 2022 for a new edition

Partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez ROLEX BMW WALLY NORTH SAILS CHAMPAGNE BESSERAT DE BELLEFON SUZUKI MARINE MARSHALL MERCANTOUR EVENTS TORPEZ (VIGNOBLES DE SAINT-TROPEZ) BERNARD OPTIC DERBEZ JARDINS

institutional partners LA VILLE DE SAINT-TROPEZ ESPRIT VILLAGE PORT DE SAINT-TROPEZ LES MARINES DE COGOLIN FEDERATION FRANCAISE DE VOILE YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION

Sails in XXL format!

The new formula of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, now over two weeks, has for the third time demonstrated its consistency, rewarding runners and owners, as a well-informed or new audience, a unique show on the water, and a festive and friendly atmosphere on shore. 214 boats, Modern and Classic, animated by more 2,100 sailors in the first week, gave way to 800 sailors and 46 Maxi yachts the week. Everyone was able to compete in the best fairness, in compliance with the rules of security, within groups harmoniously respecting the characteristics of size and gauge of each sailboat. The Sails have also renewed, after two years highly restrictive with their trademark, this inimitable spirit of fairplay and conviviality linked to the passion of yachting. The sea, the sun, sumptuous regattas celebrated 160 years of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, organizer of the event, led by President Pierre Roinson and his teams. A reference edition!

This 24th edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez is undeniably to be marked with a white stone. Each of the two weeks has seen the most beautiful yachts in the world, both classic and modern, compete, sometimes in the wind, sometimes in the air. 46 of these, known as Maxis because of their size greater than 60 feet, constituted one of the largest gatherings of this type in the Mediterranean. The last race of their inshore circuit, Saint-Tropez saw the crowning of Capricorno, the best Maxi of the season orchestrated by the International Maxi Association. The IMA also took advantage of the dynamics of Les Voiles to open its entries to the multihulls, and to the foilers, who are now invited to the Tropéziennes start lines.

The village, beating heart of the Voiles One of the great satisfactions of President Roinson and his teams is, beyond the show and the sporting aspect, the beautiful conviviality encountered throughout the 15 days in the heart of the Village of Sails, essential nerve center of the expression of the good mood of the sailors coming from all over the world. An eco-friendly village that has also made the unanimity until late every evening.

Pierre Roinson, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez This fortnight has totally met our expectations. We are all delighted. All, that is to say the teams of the Nautique, the partners, the sailors, all those who have invested, and who leave conquered. We were spoiled by the summer weather. In total, we welcomed 260 Modern, Classic and Maxis boats and nearly 3,000 sailors. It is a success. We also really found the spirit of the Nioulargue, the party, the conviviality, a superb atmosphere in the evening around the bar. Our second week finds its marks, with many spectators, on the dike and the quay Jean Réveille. Not everything is perfect and we know where we need to improve. But our efforts to preserve the environment have very concrete and measurable results, particularly with the implementation of geopositioned electric buoys, without impact on the funds, and thanks to the dematerialisation of our documents, race notices, endorsements, registration forms and results, all now available only digitally. I think next year will be even better. The teams of Magic Carpet3 and Tango who took part in the first Club 55 Cup dedicated to the Maxis were delighted to play this unique moment of Les Voiles and then to meet up with Patrice de Colmont for a rare moment of sharing. It is important to rediscover this spirit in the second week, which is by nature more professional than the first. Georges Korhel’s teams are doing a remarkable job. They have been able to launch and validate races and that is to their credit. I believe that Sails are wonderfully revived after two years of Covid…”

They were at Voiles:

Alexia Barrier – Titouan Bernicot – Patrizio Bertelli – Mitch Booth – François Brénac – Brad
Butterworth – Pierre Casiraghi – Patrice de Colmont – Harold Cudmore – Isabelle Demongeot – Peter
Dubens – Tara Getty – Clément Giraud – Thierry Fouchet – Torben Grael – Karol Jablonski – Murray
Jones – Simon Le Bon – Xavier Macaire – Elodie-Jane Mettraux – Corinne Migraine – Stéphane
Mifsud – Philippe Monnet – Peter Ogden – Marc Pajot – Loïck Peyron – Christopher Pratt – Pierre
Quiroga – Ken Read – Alan Roura – SAR Frederick du Danemark – Jochen Schumann – Marie
Tabarly – Marcel van Triest…

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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