Classics and Moderns make way for Maxis Trophies for the first week of Les Voiles
The port of Saint-Tropez is abuzz with activity on this second Sunday of the Voiles. After the enchantment of the first week, dozens of Classic yachts, including the huge schooners Elena and Shenandoah, and the fleet of modern boats up to 18m28, leave their places along the quays Suffren and Jean Jaurès to the impressive Maxis and other Wallys. With the unfailing support of the town of Saint-Tropez, all the Société Nautique teams are once again on deck to ensure a seamless transition between the dazzling week just gone and the arrival of an exceptional fleet of some 50 Maxis Yachts, invited to take their turn in the sumptuous nautical stadium set in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. The parade of competition beasts and their top-of-the-range crews will continue tomorrow, Monday. Jousting on the water is scheduled to begin at 11am on Tuesday.
An assessment of the first week of Les Voiles by Pierre Roinson, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez “It’s a real pleasure to hear the owners and our partners say how delighted they were with their stay at Les Voiles. Throughout the week, we rediscovered the very special spirit of the Nioulargue, marked by festivities and competition. We also added our commitment to the environment, with the presentation of the Voiles Bleues initiative. For the 160th anniversary of ‘La Nautique’, we made the most of the sometimes tricky weather conditions, which will undoubtedly leave unforgettable memories for all the participants. The Classic and Modern yachts are now giving way to the big Maxis. It’s the start of a new week of Les Voiles, dedicated to the big boats. It’s the same event that’s continuing, and one that I hope will be as fair and festive as the first part. During the ‘lay day’ scheduled for next Thursday, we’ll see a Club 55 Cup in Maxi style: two of the Wally Cento Tango and Magic Carpet3 have challenged each other, with the complicity of Patrice de Colmont, to revive the founding act of the Nioulargue”.
The winners of the Trophées des Voiles : Rolex Trophy: schooners take centre stage Seven magnificent classic schooners were racing in their own group as part of the prestigious Rolex Trophy. Shenandoah of Sark, the majestic three-masted schooner designed by Ferris (1902) and helmed by Russel Potter, made the most of the last race in a steady breeze to triumph, notably over the huge and formidable Elena of London. Shenandoah beat Orianda, the beautiful Danish schooner (Dahlstrom 1937) and the very fast Naema (Mylne 2006).
A France the Club 55 Cup This year’s Club 55 Cup, the iconic Les Voiles challenge, featured the 15-metre J Tuiga against the 12-metre France. It was the latter, in the hands of François Pailloux, who triumphed uncontested. Coupe de la Ville de Saint-Tropez This trophy is awarded to the top modern yacht in all categories. This year, it went to Peter Dubens’ Cape 31 North Star2, a great leader in the IRC E group.
Grand Tradition Group – Besserat de Bellefon Trophy A strong group! 15 MJs, ketches and large cutters, all between 23 and 40 metres in overall length, graced the waters of the Tropézien with their magic. Sumurun (Fife 1914), the legendary ketch helmed by Hugues Boullenger, which has crossed the centuries collecting laurels and trophies with implacable regularity, added her name to the Voiles prize list, repelling with authority the assaults of Halloween (Fife 1926) and Mariella (Mylne 1938).
Epoque Aurique A – Mercantour Events Trophy Insatiable Scud! Patrizio Bertelli’s magnificent Auric cutter (Herreshoff 1903) reigned virtually unchallenged despite Marga (Liljegren 1910) performing like the devil in Friday’s light airs. Spartan completed the podium. The New York 50 designed by Herreshoff in 1913, certainly the fastest of the group, was unable to save its measurement handicap.
Epoque Aurique B – Byblos Trophy They don’t just impress on account of their size – the largest, Veronique (Luke 1907), boasts a good 25 metres overall – but they shine with incomparable elegance. The auric-rigged yachts in this group included no fewer than 12 cutters, yawls and ketches, all over a hundred years old! And it was indeed a venerable yacht, Lulu (Rabot 1897), impressive in a stiff breeze in the hands of Bernard Manuel, that came out on top against Juan Carlos Eguiagaray’s defending champion Oriole (Herreshoff 1905). Kismet (Fife 1898) shared the same number of points to take third place on a prestigious podium. Marconi Era A – Marshall Trophy 12 Marconi-rigged yachts, with triangular mainsails, raced in this highly eclectic group, with a harmonious mix of cutters, ketches and yawls, all more or less 20 metres long. Sklylark of 1937, (Olin Stephens 1937) proved untouchable, winning all her races. Another Stephens design, also a yawl, Comet (1946), a regular at the front, finished second, just one point ahead of the formidable Blitzen (Sparkman&Stephens 1938).
Epoque Marconi B – SNSM Trophy This eminently sporting group is made up of a dozen pure racers, from 10 to 15 metres. Its winner perfectly represents the spirit of this category. It was the 8-metre J Bona, a fine, elegant steed launched in 1934 to a Baglietto design. It had a tough time against William Borel’s 6m JI One Wave (Camatte 1948) and the Swiss 8m JI designed by Fife, Carron II.
Marconi A Classic – Torpez Trophy A great battle between 12 mJIs and Bermuda sloops in this group, representative of yachting in the 60s. Eugenia V, launched in 1968 on a Rhodes design, crushed the competition with its two heat wins. Hugues Destremau and Ikra, a Voiles darling, took another podium finish, sharing it with Lionel Péan’s Hermitage (Levi 1965).
Classic Marconi B – Turquoise Trophy The classic sailing of the 60s and 70s is revived in this Marconi B group. The winner is an Italian sloop from Cesare Sangermani’s 1968 collection, which regularly finished second in the week’s races to win the overall classification ahead of the 1971 Sparkman&Stephens Sagittarius and Ojala II, a 1973 One Tonner. Guest Group – Pierre Basset Trophy This group brings together yachts with such unique characteristics and dimensions that they would be unfit to race in any other group. One Tonner, Houari, cotre aurique and IOD Bermudien had a field day. And since a winner was needed, the privilege fell to a regular at Les Voiles, Jap, the little 1897 Fife. The smallest boat in the fleet, Dainty (Wesmacott 1922), measuring 8.20 metres, took second place, ahead of Maria Giovanna II (Stephens 1969).
And the Moderns… There were 122 Modern yachts racing under IRC rules, in groups B, C, D, E and F. This magnificent fleet completed 4 races this week, on coastal courses off Cavalaire.
IRC B – North Sails Trophy Laurent Corbin’s First 53 Yaziga was eagerly awaited at Les Voiles. She triumphed in her confrontation with the Swan 53 Bedouin and disposed of the Solaris 50 Nergy at the end of some fine racing in a wide variety of wind and sea conditions.
IRC C – BMW Trophy This highly sporting trophy is also one of the most prestigious at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Nanoq, the Prince of Denmark’s TP52 scored another success in a particularly hotly contested group where the T52s reign supreme. Beau Geste, the other TP52 owned by the President of the Hong Kong Yacht Club Karl Kwok, had to bow out, as did Jolt 3, Peter Harrison’s TP52. IRC D – Suzuki Trophy This is the densest group of Modern Les Voiles yachts, with 30 entries, all formidable racers and cruisers from 9 to 12 metres. Peter Dubens won with his North Star II, not only at the head of the group, but also within the fratricidal rivalry of the Cape 31s. It was two other Mills designs, Marc Pajot’s Dopamine and Tilly Harrison’s Jolt 4, which rounded off the runners-up spots.
IRC E – Marines de Cogolin Trophy 26 entries. King of Blue by Telemaque II took the top spot with three heat wins, despite one slip-up: the Farr 30 Topas managed to beat him on Friday. The J 99 Space Jockey completes the trio.
IRC F – Bernard Optique Trophy The IRC F group was a very fine one, with Tofinous, Code 0 and Wally Nano racing with elegance and a fine competitive spirit. Pippa, a Tofinou 9.5 that has been a regular at the top of the rankings, won. Her runner-up was another Tofinou 9.5, Outsider, closely followed by Team 42… a Tofinou 9.5 of course.
SNST Trophy This prize goes to the all-female crew, Caroline Petit’s Dufour 36 Moogli.
Yacht Club de France Trophy: Sumurun (Fife 1914) Parade of crews The Parade of Crews, organised on Thursday evening, was a great success once again this year. It was the crew of Joel Laid’s marconi ketch Belle Aventure (Fife 1929) who won the jury’s favour with their very personal interpretation of Claude Lelouch’s famous film, “L’aventure c’est l’aventure”. He beat out the crew of Cristalline (Dufour 44), who teamed up with the crew of the yacht Imagine, which was shipwrecked last summer, and who proved their unfailing good humour in the face of adversity to liven up this parade of crews of all kinds in the spirit of the ‘grand siècle’.
Les Voiles 2022, the first week, in figures 122 Modern and 82 Classic yachts for this first week. Crew: more than 2,000 men and women on board, representing more than twenty nationalities. Press: 150 TV, radio, print and web journalists, around a third of them from outside France Teams at sea and on land, the majority of whom are volunteers: 200 people Safety and press organisation boats and guests: 60 A great success for the redesigned and enlarged Sails Village, with a more remote bar, which enabled us to fill up with sailors and visitors every day. Many thanks to the team from the municipality, the harbour master’s office, Esprit Village and of course the teams from the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez.
They are at Les Voiles: Titouan Bernicot, Patrizio Bertelli, HRH Frederick Prince of Denmark, Bertrand de Broc, Sophie de Turkheim, Pierre Casiraghi, Torben Grael, Bruno Jourdren, Simon Le Bon, Pierre Quiroga, Mickael Mergui, Philippe Monnet, Marc Pajot, Lionel Péan, Loick Peyron, Christopher Pratt, Alan Roura, Bruno Troublé.
Programme 2022
Semaine 2 : Les Voiles Maxi Yachts
Lundi 4 octobre : accueil des grandes unités modernes (Wally, Mini Maxis, Maxis, Super Maxis)
Mardi 4, mercredi 5, vendredi 7, samedi 8 : régates
Jeudi 6 : lay day/reserve day
Samedi 8 octobre : remise des prix (semaine 2)
Partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez ROLEX BMW NORTH SAILS WALLY SUZUKI MARINE MARSHALL MERCANTOUR BYBLOS BESSERAT DE BELLEFON TORPEZ (VIGNOBLES DE SAINT-TROPEZ) BERNARD OPTIC PEPINIERES PIERRE BASSET ESPRIT VILLAGE A SAINT-TROPEZ
VILLE DE SAINT-TROPEZ
PORT DE SAINT-TROPEZ
LES MARINES DE COGOLIN
FEDERATION FRANCAISE DE VOILE
YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE
INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION
Organisation :
Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez
Président : Pierre Roinson
Principal Race Officer : Georges Korhel
Responsable Régates : Frédérique Fantino
Responsable technique : Philippe Martinez
Communication et Attachée de Direction : Chloé de Brouwer
Rédaction : Denis Van den Brink
Site internet : www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr
Media site : www.snst-media.com/
Facebook : les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Officiel www.facebook.com/VoilesDeSaintTropezOfficiel
Twitter : @VoilesSTOrg
Instagram : les_voiles_de_saint_tropez https://www.instagram.com/les_voiles_de_saint_tropez/
Photo : SNST/Gilles Martin-Raget
Vidéo :SNST/Guilain Grenier, 6G
Relations Presse : Maguelonne Turcat