2019 saw the 20th anniversary of the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, held from September 28 to October 6.
The regatta, the most significant sailing event in Saint Tropez, pulled out all the stops to celebrate the 20th anniversary over the past week. Glorious sunshine and all types of breeze resulted in some sumptuous races right up close to the shores of France’s Var region. 4,000 sailors and their array of 300 Modern and Classic craft will begin to troop back to their respective home ports from this week, doubtless with a heavy heart at the prospect of having to wait a whole year until they can return to this magical and timeless festival of yachting in late September 2020. Before that though, they spent a day rightfully celebrating the winners at the traditional prize-giving held at the Citadel in Saint Tropez.
Sumurun by a nose The darlings of the general public and specialists alike, the classic or traditional boats are bunched into 11 groups in Saint Tropez according to their size, rig type and class measurement, with the aim of putting on a fair competition. To give honour where honour is due, in the group of Grands Traditions, Sumurun, the Bermudan ketch (Fife 1914) sailed brilliantly to finish just one point ahead of the 15mR Mariska (Fife 1908) after a series of races contested in all types of breezes. Moonbeam of Fife (Fife 1903) completes this podium. Among the breathtaking schooners, Elena of London, with an LOA in excess of 50m, bagged the title after winning all the races ahead of Naema, Orianda and Puritan.
Il Moro di Venezia among the 12mRs Three magnificent 12mRs, spanning a decade of the America’s Cup competition from the seventies, relished the racing in Saint Tropez. The Italians on Il Moro di Venezia took the win in corrected time, paying homage to second placed Ikra, which is always very quick whatever the conditions in the hands of top French racer Nicolas Bérenger, ahead of Pierre Bausset’s legendary France.
Yanira ahead of the curve The Bermudan cutter Yanira, built by the Danish naval architect Bjarne Aas and masterfully helmed by the Spaniard Pepe Negrete, took the main spoils in the Marconi A Classic group. Validating three races and as many victories despite some fierce competition, her rivals had to battle it out for the remaining podium places; Daria Cabal ultimately snatching second on the Bermudan cutter Saint Christopher (Sparkman&Stephens 1968) and Philippe Monnet and Yves Pajot’s Lys bagging third on Lys.
Stiren takes the title in the Group B Bermudan rigs The most recent winner of the Rhum category in the 2018 Route du Rhum, Sidney Gavignet sailed aboard the Bermudan yawl Stiren (Sparkman&Stephens 1963) this week. It proved to be a good call since he leaves Saint Tropez as champion thanks to two fine race victories. The Bermudan sloop O’Jala II put up some solid resistance by taking the win on Wednesday. Palynodie II, the 1962 Olin Stephens sloop earns herself another podium at Les Voiles.
Kismet dominates Viola Just as spectacular, the Group of Gaff Bs that gathers together a number of metre boats, all of which are over a hundred years old, witnessed a merciless battle between the season’s top three boats. In this way, Viola (Fife 1908), winner in Antibes and Cannes, had to make do with second place as she did in Monaco. Indeed, it’s Kismet (Fife 1898) which triumphs despite a great finish by Viola in the last race. Oriole (Herreshoff 1905), which is just as familiar with the top step of the podium, had to content herself with third.
Seven Seas of Porto dominates the group of large Bermudans The Epoque Marconi A group comprises ketches, yawls, schooners and Bermudan cutters of nearly 20m in length. It’s the 12mR Bermudan rig Seven Seas of Porto (Crane 1935) which dominated this very elegant group, finishing ahead of the Italian sloop Emilia Prima (Costaguta 1930) and the American yawl Manitou (Stephens 1937).
Cippino II does it again In the very dense fleet of Epoque Marconi boats that features the 18 craft chosen as this year’s group to compete for the Rolex Trophy, it’s the 1949 Frers design Cippino II which has repeated her success at Monaco Classic Week. Only Blitzen (Sparkman&Stephens 1937) managed to challenge her domination by taking one win. Within this tough context, the Bermudan yawl penned by Stephens (1934) Stormy Weather of Cowes, secures a worthy third place.
Olympian… Olympic! Earning many admirers, the group comprising gaffers of 15 to 18m in length (the Epoque Gaffer A category), saw one of Saint Tropez’ regulars take the win: the Gardner (1913) P Class Olympian. Jostled about at the start of the week by Ester (Hellgren 1901), the gunter-rig sloop rescued from the Baltic, Olympian was unbeatable the rest of the week, getting the better of Marga (10m Lilljegren 1910) and Chips (P 13 Starling Burgess 1913). Aloha secures the win among the small “Epoque Marconis » James McElroy took victory aboard Aloha, a 1923 Bermudan R Class (Edson B. Schock), in a group comprising metre yachts and Bermudan yawls. It’s the 8m Sonda (MacGruer 1951), that takes second ahead of Java (Raymond Hunt 1938). Josephine the most consistent… For the old familiars that don’t fit into any Class Measurement at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, there is a special ‘Guest’ category made up of 6 craft this year. It’s the Bermudan IOD Josephine (Bjarne Aas 1959) which posted the most consistent performance this week, making the podium every time. Maria Giovanna II (Olin Stephens 1969) is second ahead of Windhover (Luke 1904).
The curtain falls on the Mediterranean racing season for the Modern craft They make up the largest contingent of boat at Les Voiles, ranging from the futuristic Wallys and other Maxis, to the fine racer-cruisers, which are split into six IRC groups which have spent the week throwing themselves headlong into the racing, so treasured is victory in the bay within the context of Les Voiles. In Wally, Lyra confirmed her place as leader to take the BMW Trophy, ahead of Galateia, Magic Carpet3 and Y3K, the latter two tied on points. The IRC As were themselves split into 4 sub-groups comprising Superyachts, Maxis and Mini Maxis. The duel between the giants finally saw Velsheda get the edge within the context of the Loro Piana Trophy, designed to reward the best racer of over 24 metres. It’s also worth highlighting the success in IRCA 2 of the Swan 82 Kallima, the Italian Mylius 80 Twin SoulB in IRCA 3 and the Mini Maxi Vesper in the very elitist group of 72-footers. Solte, Genser Hasip’s Swan 53 has made a dazzling entrance at Les Voiles, taking the win in IRC B, a group of stellar 50-foot racers, getting the better of some of the event’s stalwarts, including the Mylius 50 Daguet 2 and Music, third this week.
Another familiar crew at Les Voiles, in IRC C this time, was that of Prince Frederik of Denmark on the TP 52 Nanoq, which triumphed in a strong group of 35 craft. Second was the Cookson 52 Rowdy 2 and third the TP 52 Spirit of Malouen. 38 yachts crossed swords all week long off Pampelonne in IRC D. Victory went to the formidable Farr 40 Bella Donna, ahead of the French prototype Albatros, and the Italian Galinari Vanessa. The young prodigy in the multihull category, Adrien Follin, enjoyed a thundering finish at Les Voiles, snatching victory for the JPK Give me Five in IRC E. The Farr 30 Topas bags second place, followed by another Farr 30, this one German, Heat. Finally, the ‘small’ racers in the IRC F group, comprising the Modern Marconi Tofinous and Code 0s, saw the three Tofinous dominate the competition this year: Camomille 3, followed by Pitch and the German Tofinou Aetos.
The Trophies: Town of Saint Tropez Trophy: Nanoq – Prince Frederik of Denmark Rolex Trophy: Cippino II – Daniel Sielecki Loro Piana Trophy: Velsheda – Rambler – Leopard 3 Yacht Club de France Trophy: Khayyam – Marc Lorgnon BMW Trophy: Wally 77 Lyra – Terry Hui Club 55 Cup: Ikra Centenary Trophy: Olympian IMA Mediterranean Inshore Challenge: Wallyno – Benoit de Froidmont Maxi Friendly Challenge: Leopard 3 – Samuel Wright. ISA Schooner Cup Series: Elena of London – Steven McLaren North Sails Trophy: Solte – Genser Hasip Torpez Trophy: Nanoq – Prince Frederik of Denmark Suzuki Trophy: Bella Donna – Jean Marie Genneri Marines de Cogolin Trophy: Give me Five – Adrien Follin Air France Trophy: Sumurun – Hugues Boulanger SNSM Trophée: Kismet – Richard Matthews Bessarat de Bellefon Trophée: Seven Seas of Porto – Marcus Kemp Esprit Village Trophy: Yanira – Pepe Negrete Mercantour Trophy: Stiren – Oren Nataf Crew procession: Frogfoot Bowls competition: Pondoro The Yacht Club de France’s Autumn Cup: Pitch – Patrice Riboux
Quotes: Tony Oller, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez “It’s been a fantastic week with some very varied weather conditions. The sailors are unanimous in their opinion that this edition has been a very fine vintage. The new village has been very popular. It was imagined and designed with a view to being eco-friendly, the wood being reused for 3 years. Our partners, Rolex, BMW, are delighted by this approach. After a transition year, I feel as if I’ve really got things in hand with a fabulous team behind me, because you can’t do it on your own. It’s very stressful, but as soon as the village is open, the event is no longer ours, it belongs to the sailors. The 2020 event will last 15 days, with one week dedicated more to the big boats. We’re working with the International Maxi Association on this and it really appeals to our partners.”
Georges Korhel, Principal Race Officer: “Everyone seems to be delighted! We had no particular problems to report. The racers have grasped the fact that Les Voiles is a festival of sailing and not a world championship. There were no general recalls, no actual contact and no injuries… Everyone adhered to the instructions and we worked well with the rescue services, the volunteers and the racers… My only regret is that despite start lines spanning over a mile, those boats which were over the line systematically came back to cross the line again, increasing the risk of contact. We had great weather, despite two days of Mistral. We got the boats racing at between 8 and 18 knots, which is very pleasant! I’m delighted with my teams, as well as the spectators who fully respected our safety zones. For next year, we’ll run Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez with a size limit of 23m for the Modern boats, and we’ll have a second week of competition with the large Modern craft and Grands Tradition. In this way, we’ll have courses suited to these types of boat, with starts and finishes off Portalet! We’re giving ourselves the winter to reflect on it with our partners.”
Martin Billoch – Cippino II winner of the Rolex Trophy “Without doubt it’s the finest edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez I’ve had the chance to participate in. Conditions have been very varied. Despite the fact that we favour the light airs, we still managed to bring our A game in the breezy conditions. Fjord III, our sistership helmed by the naval architect German Frers junior, was a formidable opponent, as was Jour de Fête. With 18 boats in this class, it was a race within a race and we just kept applying the pressure. We’re very honoured to win this Rolex Trophy and above all we’re very grateful that the brand is honouring our category in this way. We’re now going to get Cippino II back to Argentina after a 4-year European campaign. However, we’ll definitely be back as this edition has been magical”.
Results: Wally 1- Lyra 2- Galateia 3- Y3K IRC A 1 1-Velsheda – Barnaby Henshaw-Depledge 2- Rambler – George David 3- Leopard 3 – Samuel Wright IRCA 2 1- Kallima – Youri Loof 2- Umiko – Jacob Foale 3- Valkyrie – Hubert Wargny IRC A 3 1- Twin Soul B – Luciano Nandini 2- Flow – Clayton Deutsch 3- Wallyno – Benoit De Froidmont IRC A 4 1- Vesper – Jim Swartz 2- Ryokan 2 Olivier Lozachmeur 3- Jethou – Sir Peter Ogden IRC B 1- Solte – Vencer Hasip 2- Daguet2 – Frédéric Puzin 3- Music – Albert Bataille IRC C 1-Nanoq – Prince Ferderick 2- Rowdy 2 – Howard Dyer 3- Spirit of Malouen – Stéphane Névé. IRC D 1- Bella Donna – Jean Marie Gennari 2- Albator – Philippe Frantz 3- Vanessa – Patrizio Bertelli IRC E 1- Give me Five 555 – Adrien Follin 2- Topas – Harald Brunning 3- Heat – Ole Augustin IRC F 1- Camomille – Jean Louis Nathan 2- Pitch – Patrice Ribaud 3- Aetos – Nikolaos Sinouris
TRADITION Marconi A Classic 1- Yanira – Pepe Negrete 2- St Christopher – Daria Cabai 3- Lys – Philippe Monnet Marconi B Classic 1- Stiren – Oren Nataf 2- Fantasque – Jacques Guillaume 3- Meterblick for fun – Otto Pohlmann Marconi R Classic 1- Il Moro di Venezia – Massimiliano Sferruzzi 2- Ikra – Nicolas Berenger 3- France – Pierre Bausset Epoque Gaff A 1- Olympian – Philippe Oddo 2- Marga – Alessandra Angelini 3- Chips – Sébastien Bazin Epoque Gaff B 1- Kismet – Richard Matthews 2- Viola – Fabien Desprées 3- Oriole – Juan Carlos Eguiagaray Epoque Marconi A 1- Seven seas – Marcus Kemp 2- Emilia Prima – Luigi Guarnacca 3- Manitou – Hamish Easton Epoque Marconi B 1- Cippino II – Daniel Sielecki 2- Fjord III – German Frers 3- Comet – William Woodward Fisher Epoque Marconi C 1- Sonda – Eric Leprince 2-Aloha – James Mc Elroy 3- Java- Alexis Le Pasteur Grand Tradition 1- Sumurun – Hugues Boulanger 2_ Mariska – Benjamin Redreau 3- Moonbeam of Fife – Erwan Noblet GUESTS 1- Josephine – Marc Froeschke 2- Maria Giovanna II – Jean Pierre Sauvan 3- Windhover – Olivier Poulain