Volvo Ocean Race yachts in the spotlight at Les Voiles de St. Barth
by Gaia Coretti 5 Mar 2017 15:22 GMT
10-15 April 2016
Les Voiles de St. Barth © Christophe Jouany
With the curtain set to rise on the eighth edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth on 10th April, no fewer than 57 boats are already fully signed up for the event. Among these will be an impressive and rather unique fleet of Volvo Ocean Race boats including both VOR 60s and VOR 70s. It's a scenario that comes with the promise of some incredible battles and a series of top-flight 'races within the race'.
For this 2017 vintage of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth no fewer than 57 boats have already signed up to date, eight of which were designed for the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World, a famous crewed round the world yacht race split into legs): four VOR 60s (boats used for the race between 1993 and 2002) and as many VOR 70s (craft produced from 2005 to 2012). Among the 60 footers, we'll find the Lithuanian crew of Ambersail (ex Assa Abloy 1 designed by Bruce Farr and launched in 2001). Having already raced at Les Voiles in 2015 and 2016, Przemyslaw Tarnacki and his men will be competing in the event for the third consecutive year, keen to better their previous results of 6th and 5th place in the Maxi 2 class. However, a small group skippered by Chris Stanmore-Major on Challenger are sure to make life difficult for them. Challanger was originally built for the 1997 edition of the Whitbread but ultimately failed in her bid to circumnavigate the globe due to insufficient funds at the time. As a result, she ended up being shut in a shed for several years with just a few rare excursions for the Newport – Ensanada Race or the Transpac. However, she was entirely refitted early last season and is now highly competitive. It's the same scenario for Esprit de Corps IV skippered by Gilles Bardot, as well as Esprit de Corps II skippered by Georges Leblanc. The latter Farr design dates back to 1996 and notably completed the Whitbread 1997-1998 in third position in the colours of Swedish Match before going on to win the famous Sydney – Hobart 1999 as Nokia, rechristened Esprit de Corps II two years ago. It's a project with a great deal of promise!
Clashes at every stage of the game
We can also expect to see some fantastic 'races within the race' among the 70 footers from 10 to 15 April 2017. Among the heavyweights racing in Gustavia, we must begin by mentioning SFS II. The latter, which is none other than the ex Puma previously skippered by Ken Read during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 and Groupama 4's sistership, the winning boat in this particular edition, boasts a great power-weight ratio. Better still, she can count on Lionel Péan's wealth of experience to be pushed to her limit, despite the stiff competition. "There will be four of us VOR 70s, which translates as four boats with the same problematics. This will inevitably be very motivating, especially with regards the rating as the VORs are rather disadvantaged in relation to the Maxis that race in the same class. In addition to doing well overall, being the first VOR 70 to finish will obviously be a challenge for us within the fleet of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth. We know that the races will be full-on as we're all very close in terms of performance", explains the skipper, whose track record needs no further mention, other than to say that it includes a victory in the Solitaire du Figaro in 1983, a first place in the Whitbread on Esprit d'Equipe in 1986 as well as a World 12m JI Champion title in 2001. Warrior, the ex Camper – Team New-Zealand designed by Marcelino Botin that came second in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 with Chris Nicholson, was recently purchased by an American. This combination will undoubtedly form a sizeable adversary, especially as skipper Stephen Murray is not very well known in Europe, but is a very familiar face on the podiums of the major stateside races. Among his key achievements are a victory in the New-York Yacht Club Race Week aboard a TP52, first place in the Rolex Annapolis Newport Race aboard an C40 mki, as well as a win at Quantum Key West on an HPR Carkeek 40.
Very similar boats in terms of performance
Trifork / L4 is another force to be reckoned with. This machine, the former Ericsson 4 built in 2008, a year in which she set the 24-hour distance record in crewed configuration aboard a monohull after devouring 596.6 miles (a record which was only beaten six years later, in 2015, by Comanche with a distance of 618.01 miles), has certainly got form. Indeed, it's no accident that she won the Volvo in 2009 in the hands of Brazilian sailor Torben Grael. She's sure to be a contender in St. Barthélemy again too. "This boat is perfectly fitted out and equipped. In fact, she beat us two years ago in Palma. Her skipper is none other than the Dane, Jens Dolmer, who has an America's Cup campaign to his credit, as well as a victory in the World Maxi Championships and two Volvo Ocean Races, the first on Ericsson 4 in 2008-2009 and the second on Team Brunel during the last edition. She'll really be on her game", says Frenchman Péan, who has the benefit of already being familiar with Les Voiles de Saint-Barth having participated under the colours of SFS last year, albeit aboard the former Green Dragon. "To my mind, together with Warrior and Trifork / L4, we're really going to have to work hard", explains the Mediterranean skipper, who reckons the Monster Project led by Roman Guerra will definitely be a cut above the rest. Indeed, formerly known as Kostaka, this Russian boat that participated in the 2008-2009 edition of the VOR may not be as efficient as her rivals, but since she was bought up in January 2013 by Andrew Budgen and Fred Schywn from "Project 1 Racing Team", she has been equipped with a new sail wardrobe and then thoroughly revised and optimised. One thing for sure then, the results for Les Voiles de Saint-Barth 2017 will make very interesting reading!
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