Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez - Day 4
by Maguelonne Turcat 29 Sep 2016 22:27 BST
24 September - 2 October 2016
The traditional Challenge Day had the salty-sweet taste of a fine summer's day this Thursday. With over twenty challenges launched according to each crew's affinities, some grouping together up to five protagonists on the same start line, 18 centenary boats battling it out for the Gstaad Yacht Club's Centenary Trophy, the merciless head-to-head with the four 15 mJIs and the original duel that was this year played out by Eugenia and Star Sapphire, today was a day for the most amicable of celebrations of the joys of sailing, the wind and sunshine suffused with the sparkling magic of the bay of Saint Tropez. A joyful interlude then at the heart of Les Voiles, where one and all were champions.
Spartan takes home the Centenary Trophy
In the end there were some 18 centenary yachts signed up for the 6th edition of the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy. From 12:30pm, according to a pre-established order dictated by the size of the yachts, the venerable and no less elegant Classics set sail in the wake of Lulu (1897 gaff cutter designed by Rabot Caillebotte) from the Portalet tower, bound for the Verughe mark and back, which equates to a 9-mile sprint. The first to make Saint Tropez after a little over an hour of racing was the magnificent New York 50 Spartan (Herreshoff 1912), which won the increasingly coveted Trophy. After a fine mano a mano they finished ahead of Olympian (Gardner 1913) and Rowdy (Herreshoff 1916).
The Club 55 Cup goes to Eugenia V
A much anticipated moment at Les Voiles, thanks largely to its symbolic impact and its wealth of anecdotes and good humour, the Club 55 Cup, in the wake of Pride and Ikra back in 1981, saw Eugenia V (Rhodes 1968) up against Star Sapphire, the Bermudan ketch (1957 Jack Laurent Giles design). The battle took place this morning, setting sail from Portalet tower bound for Pampelonne beach some 10 miles or so away. It was Eugenia who secured the win and had the pleasure of inviting the defeated crew to the Club 55.
No respite for the 15 m JIs
The elegant and oh so sporty 15 m JI raced on oblivious to the traditional Challenge Day. Indeed, in the quest for their annual title, these four survivors from the 15 metre Class, (Hispania, Mariska, The Lady Anne and Tuiga) are racking up every possible opportunity to get another point-scoring race on the leaderboard. In fact, the specificity of the 2016 championship means that the outright title is decided from the greatest number of wins amassed from all the year's three major meetings in Puerto Sherry, San Remo and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. As such, there's no room for error. After today's performance, Mariska now has a serious chance of winning not just at Les Voiles, but also outright. Two race victories for her mean that Tuiga and The Lady Anne really have their work cut out now if they're going to make a last-minute comeback.
The Lebanon in Saint Tropez
It goes without saying that Les Voiles' reputation is universal. Indeed, it attracts sailors from the world over, including regions sometimes forgotten by yachting for reasons it's not hard to imagine. And yet, one Lebanese crew has made its dream come true of sailing in the bay of Saint Tropez with the cream of world yachting. This was made possible with the help of two volunteer coaches from the Netherlands, Yvonne Beusker and Eric van Vuuren, who answered Patrick Soumrani's call and headed over to Beirut to coach and prepare a crew of 8 Lebanese sailors. They're sailing at Les Voiles this week aboard a chartered J 122, Noisy Oyster, and are currently mid-table in the IRC D Group.
The Rolex Trophy
Moonbeam IV (Fife 1914), which posted two fine second places, is holding the reins in the Grand Tradition group. The large sloop Cambria is lying in second place overall after a less dynamic day than during Tuesday's race. Halloween and Moonbeam III remain in contention for the Trophy a little shy of the leader.
The BMW Trophy
The Wallys, on their dedicated round off Pampelonne, have validated 3 races since Sunday. The imperial and perhaps untouchable Wally Cento Magic Carpet Cubed has a sizeable lead in the provisional overall ranking. The Wally 80 Nahita is a splendid second, ahead of another 80-footer, Lyra80. Of note is the rise in power of the new Wally Cento Galateia, author of a fine third place yesterday.
The Gaff Marconi Classic Group
1- Yanira (Aas 1953)
2- Samarkand (Sparkman&Stephens 1958)
3- Eugenia I (Rhodes 1968)
Marconi B Classic Group
1- Argos (Holman 1964)
2- Outlaw (Illingworth 1963)
3- Fantastique (Mauric 1970)
12 m JI Fast-racer Group
1- Ikra (Boyd 1964)
2- Il Moro di Venezia (Frers 1976)
3- Galvana (S&S 1974)
Period Gaff Group
1- Chinook (Herreshoff 1916)
2- Olympian (Gardner 1913)
3- Spartan (Herreshoff 1912)
Period Gaff B Group
1- Lulu (Rabot Caillebotte 1897)
2- Kelpie of Falmouth (Sweisguth 1928)
3 Marigold (Nicholson 1897)
Period Marconi Group
1- Rowdy (Herreshoff 1916)
2- Enterprise (Olin Stevens 1940)
3- Seven Seas of Porto (Clinton Crane 1935)
Period Marconi B Group
1- Leonore (Anker 1925)
2- Carron II (Fife 1935)
3- Jour de Fête (Paine 1930)
Modern yachts
5 Groups of Modern yachts racing in Saint Tropez, split into 5 categories governed by the IRC.
IRC A Group
Rambler 88 (George David) is jockeying for top spot with the other Mini Maxi, Michael Slade's Leopard. The two powerhouses are sharing the spoils of victory. Lionel Péan has managed to position his VOR 70 'S' on the podium after a very consistent performance in elapsed time. He's just ahead of the massive J-Class Velsheda.
IRC B Group
It's the same scenario at the head of the IRC B Group where the Adria 49 Flo D'Orient owned by Bernard Coquelet is tied on points with the Baltic 50 Music (James Blackmore). Idre, a Hanse 470, is still in contention and is sure to keep piling on the pressure through until Sunday.
IRC C Group - Edmond de Rothschild Trophy
This highly competitive group gathers together some formidable 50 and 52-foot racers. The TP52s Freccia Rossa owned by Russian Vadim Yakimenko and Team Vision (Jean Jacques Chaubard) are ruling supreme, with the Botin design Arobas owned by Gérard Logel in hot pursuit. The Swan 42 Long Echo is also upping its game.
IRC D Group
The A 40 Team Chalets (Philippe Saint André) is crushing the competition with two race victories. The J 133 Black Jack (Eric Gicquel) is hanging on though, and keeping the J 112 J Lance 12 (René Estoppel) astern.
IRC E Group
A very dense group with no fewer than 36 entries. The M 36 Absolutely skippered by Philippe Frantz is making a clean sweep of the prizes. The A 35 Tchin (Jean Claude Bertrand) and the J 111 Merlin (Sergey Chevtsov) are fighting over the minor places, under the threat of Heat, the Farr 30 (Max Augustin).
Chancegger, a test yacht...
Racing in Saint Tropez, the 12 m J France is the first French boat specially built for the America's Cup by Baron Bich. Originally though, this Cup enthusiast commissioned a 12 Metre JI from Britton Chance, which he had built in Switzerland at the Hermann Egger yard. And so came about Chancegger, a boat that was never supposed to race, but rather it was to serve as preparation for the construction of the future competition boat and participate in training sessions. Mrs Sargent Shriver, wife to the United States Ambassador to France and sister to President Kennedy is the patron of Chancegger, launched in 1969. Built in France, as required by the America's Cup rule, this first French 12 M JI benefited from the top-level expertise and techniques for 3-ply mahogany construction of the hull (using wood aged over 30 years) and the French-made winches were created under the watchful eye of Claude Bich.
Friday's weather forecast: the summer atmosphere is due to continue in the Bay of Saint Tropez with a little over 10 knots of SW'ly breeze lined up.
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