Photo finish as Spartan wins 6th Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy
by Juerg Kaufmann 1 Oct 2016 07:00 BST
29 September 2016
USA's flagged NYYC50 Spartan has won the 6th edition of the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy in an exciting photo-finish with 2014 winner Olympian, skippered by Bruno Troublé.
The USA-flagged NYYC 50' class Spartan, dating from 1913, has won the 2016 edition of the Centenary Trophy, the prestigious regatta raced during the Voiles de Saint-Tropez's and reserved to clas-sic yacht one hundred years or more old.
The regatta, raced in a pursuit format with staggered starts, began at 12.30 with the 19 yachts starting staggered defined by a special handicap system, considering their age, size and type of rig. Thanks to a good south-easterly wind of a dozen knots all the boats covered the 9-mile long course in less than two hours.
Spartan, sailed by an American-Finnish crew and debuting in the Mediterranean circuit, was the first on the finish line, off the French village's breakwater, beating 2014 winner Olympian, skippered by Bruno Trouble, for just a few seconds, proving once more that the format is ideal for such a varied fleet and guarantee fair competition and great show.
Third on the finish line was another Herreshoff design, the NYCC 40 Rowdy, at her first participation in The Centenary Trophy that just came of age, having been launched in 1916, exactly one century ago.
Past winners of the Centenary Trophy:
- 2011: Bonafide (1899)
- 2012: Marigold (1892)
- 2013: due to adverse weather conditions the race could not be sailed and the title was not awarded
- 2014: Olympian (1913)
- 2015: Oriole (1905)
- 2016: Spartan (1913)
Gstaad Yacht Club organizes the Centenary Trophy in co-operation with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez.