Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez - Overall
by Maguelonne Turcat 7 Oct 2018 18:36 BST
29 September - 7 October 2018
On the invitation of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, nearly 4,000 sailors stocked up to the brim with the images, emotions and memories that coloured the packed week of extraordinary, timeless racing. It will certainly be enough to keep them going for the rest of the year, until they can return to the gulf of Saint Tropez once more in late summer.
True to its inimitable spirit of sporting kinship, built around an unchanging passion for beautiful sails and stunning hulls, the 20th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez once again served up its usual magic in all weathers and all languages amidst a blend of styles, yachting eras and classes of yacht, painting a rare and unique spectacle each and every day in the sublime setting of the gulf of Saint Tropez. The traditional prize-giving gathered together crew members and adversaries one last time, in a festive and joyful communion, which already augurs well for the future encounters in the 20st anniversary of the event in 2019, which will be celebrated in style from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 6 October. Be sure to free up a space in your agendas for these dates!
The Fife Jubilee for the Rolex Trophy
This was surely the highlight of this 20th edition of Les Voiles, the 130th anniversary of the Dragons, a legendary signature of the Fife family saga, which gave rise to an exceptional jubilee rewarded by the prestigious Rolex Trophy. Competing altogether for the first time in the Mediterranean, 20 sumptuous yachts designed by the Scottish genius from the golden age of yachting, gathered together this year in the port of Saint Tropez. And on this very special occasion: gaff and Bermudan schooners and cutters benefited from their own start, resulting in a truly unforgettable spectacle. Ultimately, it was the gaff cutter Viola, which masterfully took the win, adding her name to the long list of Rolex Trophy winners on her 110th anniversary, the yacht having been launched in 1908.
Success in the "Petites Voiles"
Another major new feature of the 20th edition of Les Voiles, the "Petites Voiles" debut, was organised on Wednesday right in the middle of the Port of Saint Tropez. On the initiative of Tony Oller, in partnership with the support team, 23 young girls and boys aged 6 to 12 from the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez's brand new dinghy sailing cluster had their moment of glory racing on Optimists in front of a huge crowd of Les Voiles fans and their very proud families.
Quotes
Tony Oller, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez: "In a word: happy! All I can see are beaming smiles and I've received nothing but compliments and thanks. The racers are leaving here delighted with their races, the reception and the festivities both on shore and at sea. We validated a large number of races every day and we're crowning worthy winners. The festival feel in Saint Tropez was second to none, particularly so on Thursday during the crew procession, the quaysides absolutely swarming with people amidst a carnival ambiance. The Petites Voiles competition was a happy and proud addition to proceedings, as much for the children from the local sailing school as their parents. It has most definitely been a very fine vintage!"
Georges Kohrel, Principal Race officer: "All the feedback has been excellent from the owners and racers. It was most definitely a very fine edition, between two inventions from the Mistral. I'd like to thank all the teams on shore and on the water, who took expert care of organising the races, umpiring and posting the results. Getting 300 boats out on the water sailing is not an easy task. I'm also delighted to have witnessed only fair play, with the sheer pleasure of sailing often taking precedence among the different rivals rather than competition pure and simple. The upshot of that was an even more joyous and festive ambiance on the water, which is very much in line with the spirit of Les Voiles. The principle of a fixed start line is now something that the competitors have a real grasp of, which makes it much easier to send all our series off racing quickly. We're also going to work on honing our registration procedures by being just a tad more demanding on that score."
Gracing Les Voiles were: Sébastien Audigane, Ed Baird, Patrizio Bertelli, Brad Butterworth, Pierre Casiraghi, Sébastien Col, Jean-Pierre Dick, German Frers, Alain Gautier, Sydney Gavigner, Philippe Monnet, Marc Pajot, Yves Pajot, Lionel Péan, Loïck Peyron, Bruno Troublé, Nicolas Troussel, Marcel Van Triest and Tom Whidden
As well as Pierre Cosso (actor, La Boum) Maud Fontenoy (Fondation Maud Fontenoy) Myriam Lamarre (Boxing champion – Stelle) Pete Townsend (Guitarist and founder of The Who).
And so to the rankings...
Wally
On their dedicated round set off Pampelonne, the Wallys validated 6 fine races, alternating between windward-leeward courses and long coastal courses. The announced clash of the 3 Wallycento titans very much lived up to expectations, with Magic Carpet3 looking set to take the win for a long while. However, it was the 'little' Wally 77 Lyra, which ultimately gained the upper hand after posting three stellar race bullets.
1- Lyra - Wally 77: 9 pts
2- Magic Carpet3 - Wallycento: 12 pts
3- J One: 14 pts
Modern yachts
The 5 IRC groups all validated 4 races this week, in a very varied wind range, which saw some mighty winners take the crown.
IRC A: 24 entries:
1- Cannonball - Dario Ferrari - 6 pts
2- Jethou - Sir Peter Ogden - 13 pts
3- Wallino - Benoit De Froidmont - 18 pts
IRC B - 24 entries:
1- Flo d'Orient -Bernard Coquelet - 7 pts
2- Phoenix - Majec Marczewski - 12 pts
3- Daguet2 - Frederic Puzin- 15 pts
IRC C - 31 entries:
1- Gladiator - Tony Langley - 18 pts
2- Team Chalets - Philippe Saint André - 18 pts
3- Dralon - Pit Finis - 18 pts
IRC D - 41 entries:
1- Creme Anglaise - John Rainger - 15 pts
2- Merlin - Serguei Chevtsov – 21 pts
3- Foxy lady – Giuseppe Gambaro - 24 pts
IRC E - 41 entries:
1- Topaz - Harald Brushing - 14 pts
2- Expresso - Guy Claes - 16 pts
3- Alice - Simon Henning - 21 pts
Classic yachts
Each day the Classic yachts were able to validate some spectacular races in the gulf. Competing in the Rolex Trophy, the 20 Fife designs put on a showstopping performance, whilst newcomer St Christopher (Sparkman&Stephens 1968) really got her bearings in the gulf.
Marconi A classic:
1- St Christopher - Daria Cabai - 3 pts
2- Yanira - Pepe Negrete Caballero - 6 pts
3- Dune - Erick Coll - 9 pts
Marconi B classic:
1- Sagittarius - Frederic Lafitte - 3 pts
2- Stiren - Oren Nataf - 5 pts
3- Palynodie II - Henri Ferbus - 8 pts
Marconi R classic:
1- Il Moro di Venezia - Massimiliano Sferruzzi - 3 pts
2- Ikra - Hugues Destremeau - 6 pts
3- France - Pierre Fausset - 9 pts
Period Gaff A:
1- Kelpie - Pelham Olive - 3 pts
2- Olympian - Guillaume fetas - 7 pts
3- Marga - Matteo Tacconi - 8 pts
Period Gaff B:
1- Tilly XV - Joeri Moessanang - 3 pts
2- Folly - François Gouillard - 5 pts
3- Phoebus - Michel Durand - 8 pts
Period Marconi A:
1- Rowdy - Thirty Goodbye - 4 pts
2- Serenade - Hugues Boullenger - 4 pts
3- Manitou - Guy Robinson - 10 pts
Period Marconi B:
1-Santana - Wendy Schmidt - 3 pts
2- Blitzen - Charles Dunstone - 5 pts
3- Jour de Fete - Pascal Oddo - 9 pts
Period Marconi C:
1- Cippino II - Daniel Sielecki - 3 pts
2- Fjord III - German fiers - 7 pts
3- Stormy Weather of Cowes - Tarquin Place - 10 pts
Period Marconi D:
1- Aloha - Francis van de Velde - 4 pts
2- Sonda - Eric Leprince - 4 pts
3- Java - Josef Schengili - 9 pts
Fife:
1- Viola - Fabien Després - 7 pts
2- Carron II - Angelo Mazzarella - 9 pts
3- Kismet - Richard Matthews - 10 pts
Grand Tradition:
1- Elena of London - Steven Mc Laren - 3 pts
2- Puritan - Simon PANDOLFI - 6 PTS
3- Orianda - Sebastiano Maculi d'Ascoli - 13 pts
"Guest" group:
1- Windhover - Olivier Poulain - 5 pts
2- Josephine - Marc Froeschke - 6 pts
3- Dainty - Peter Nicholson - 7 pts
Big Spirit:
1- Savanah - Hugh Morrison - 3 pts
2- Sultana - Robert Radway - 6 pts
3- Eugenia VII - Nicolas de la Brosse - 8 pts
The Trophies
Rolex Trophy – Fife Jubilee