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