Rainy Thursday, happy Thursday! On this day dedicated to informal encounters in the playful spirit started by the Nioulargue, the enthusiasm of the crews entered in Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez won out over the damp weather and the breeze that kept playing hard to get. Bets were flying over Challenges launched in every direction between competitors, and the Club 55 Yacht Cup, which pitted Hallowe’en against Mariella.
And 18 centenarians, who have seen it all before, engaged in a pursuit race with an intensity matching their venerable age. Meanwhile, around twenty crews were getting ready for tonight’s parade, another highly anticipated event where imagination rules.
18 centenarians in great shape
These eighteen boats have vowed eternal life, and as long as they keep finding passionate owners along the way who are aware of the heritage in their hands, that vow will be fulfilled!
Eighteen centenarians answered the call today from the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, which organizes the Centenary Trophy together with the Gstaad Yacht Club for the 15th consecutive year.
This pursuit race has the advantage of determining the winner as soon as the finish line is crossed, since starts are staggered according to each boat’s rating. So it was the small Gaff-rigged Epoque boat Lulu, 11.50 m long, that led the way this morning. Sumurun the 29-meter-hull Fife design, reputed to be the fastest according to the Comité International de la Méditerranée rating, set off 43 minutes later! In the meantime, the four P Class boats were also present, along with Leonore, 101 years old and last year’s winner upon its induction into the club of these spirited centenarians.
Over the 9-mile out-and-back course, it was the gaff-rigged cutter Kismet that took the lead ahead of another Fife design, Tuiga, skippered by Pierre Casiraghi, vice-president of the Yacht Club de Monaco and winner of the 2025 Admiral’s Cup with the team flying the YCM colors. Naturally, the longer the race went on, the more the higher-rated boats were favored. But at the finish in front of the Village des Voiles, it was indeed Kismet, helmed by Sir Richard Matthews, already a winner of the Centenary Trophy in 2022, that came out on top.
This is the fourth yacht to have its name inscribed twice on the cup, after Olympian (2014 and 2021), Oriole (2015 and 2023), and Thilly XV (2017 and 2018)
Club55 Yacht Cup: Hallowe’en forever
Celebrating its centenary this year, Hallowe’en celebrated its birthday in the finest way by challenging the defender of the Club 55 Yacht Cup, Mariella, the Mylne-designed yawl. These two Tradition yachts have been trading places in the standings since Tuesday, and this new Challenge was a fitting nod to the regatta that pits them against each other in the BIG category. ” What better way to close out the season than with Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and this Challenge, which ends with a friendly lunch at the Club 55? ” said Inigo Strez this morning, the New Zealand captain and owner ofHallowe’en, seated in the all-mahogany saloon of his Fife design. Thrilled at the prospect of this encounter, Inigo Strez has ownedHallowe’en for 18 years now, and he is also its captain and helmsman, which is quite rare on a boat of this size. His victory today against Mariella rewards a lifetime of passion.
Challenges, or the art of improvisation
Traditionally at Les Voiles, Thursday is set aside for Challenges. Every competitor can challenge whoever they like (provided the challenge is accepted!), and the race committee, anchored at the Portalet buoy, is on hand all day to give starting signals and record finishes. Yesterday on the dock, crews were setting dates according to their whims and affinities for a host of informal, good-natured match races. Take Pacha, a Classic Marconi design by Camper and Nicholson, which came from Bonifacio keen to cross swords with Quatre Quarts, a Modern yacht also from the Isle of Beauty. Thibault, Pacha’s skipper and also the organizer of the Corsica Classic, had also invited Mister Fips, the handsome Marseille-built Vaton design, and Eileen 1938, ” the finest Epoque Marconi” in his view, to come and race.
Eileen 1938 is indeed beautiful, but what about the trio of three-masted schooners parading around the Gulf of Saint-Tropez this morning? Atlantic sailed alongside two surprise guests: Créole, the 1927 Charles Nicholson design, and Adix, the Arthur Holgate design whose replica dates back to 1984. Some 4,500 m² of sail aloft for a historic photo.
The Maxis take on the wind
It was the turn of the Maxis in classes 2, 3 and 4 to sail windward-leeward courses. The committee, chaired by Yvon Poutriquet, had planned to send the Maxi 1s today on the long 28-mile coastal course toward L’Escalet and then Cavalaire. The three J Class yachts stuck to the format they were built for, namely a course between three buoys. It was a chance for each of them to gain the upper hand in this tightly contested regatta, close since Monday, as every boat has won a race so far. Yesterday, the friendly sailing that brought them together in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez showed that none of these giants is immune to damage, since after Svea’s hook failure on Tuesday, Hanuman tore her genoa in two during a tack!…
After a long wait in the bay, the committee ultimately decided to cancel the day’s races for lack of wind at 2:30 PM. See you tomorrow under the sun to try again.
Spotlight on:
Pétanque: At the competition held last night on Place des Lices, the crew of Grand Soleil Mad IV took the win against Code 2, Black Legend IV
3 questions for Stephan Kandler
Back from the second preliminary regatta of the America’s Cup, sailed in AC40s in Naples, where the French team finished third, Stéphane Kandler stopped by Les Voiles yesterday to greet the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the supporting club of the Défi Orient Express
What brings the head of the French Challenge to Saint-Tropez in the middle of America’s Cup preparations?!
I came from Naples, practically like a neighbor! This will be our second campaign with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez as our official yacht club, since the America’s Cup is first and foremost a challenge between yacht clubs. President Pierre Roinson believed in us a great deal three years ago, when we were somewhat the underdogs of the competition, and we owe a debt of gratitude for that trust today. So coming to greet our club during Les Voiles is a meaningful symbol. And the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez represents France very well, symbolically, in this highly international competition — it’s a source of pride for all of us.
All the more so since you know the event well, having taken part in it yourself?
I came to sail at Les Voiles back in the 1980s, when it was still called the Nioulargue. The first time was aboard the family’s First 51. After that, we had an ILC 40 and many other boats. Those were the early days of the Kandler family in racing. What’s great here is that within five minutes, you run into plenty of former crewmates, friends, and familiar faces. I had the chance to stop by the Club 55 today, somewhere I hadn’t been in over 30 years, and it really struck a chord…
Let’s get back to Naples — despite a few dramatic moments, the results are good, with that nice third-place finish…
We were really pushing hard on the AC40s! A capsize on the first day, another while we were leading the regatta, but we finished third behind the two favorites, Luna Rossa and New Zealand. What I’ll remember is that we were very solid toward the end of the competition, winning three out of five races. That’s the key takeaway — the ability to score points and always stay in the leading group. We’ve built up a lot of confidence and sent a strong signal to the other challengers. It’s also good news for the team, which gave a great deal throughout September. We’re in the middle of moving from Lorient to Naples, with a large 3,000 m² base under construction, alongside the SailGP races running in parallel and this preliminary regatta in Naples…
Speaking of which, how is the French AC75 coming along?
It already arrived in Naples last week, and it’s in the yard where it will be prepared; we should start sailing it in two weeks. We had planned to launch it in early October, so we’re on schedule, and we’ll be the first team to sail an AC75 on the waters of Naples around October 19th, which is significant. Teams that get started early are generally the ones that perform well, and I hope that proves to be a good omen.
2026 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Program
Friday, October 2: Maxi, Modern, and Classic Regattas, including the Rolex Trophy
Saturday, October 3: Maxi, Modern, and Classic Regattas, including the Rolex Trophy,
Awards Ceremony for Maxis, including the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy
Rolex Trophy Presentation
Sunday, October 4: Awards Ceremony for Moderns and Classics, including the BMW Trophy and special trophies.
PARTNERS OF LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ
Major Partner
ROLEX
Premium Partners
BMW
EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD
Preferred Partners
WALLY
SUZUKI MARINE
BRIG
Associated Partners
VSC CORPORATE RECOVERY CONSULTING
PORT DES MARINES DE COGOLIN
NORTH SAILS
Suppliers
MERCANTOUR EVENTS
BYBLOS
PEPINIERE DU GOLFE
CHAMPAGNE BARONS DE ROTHSCHILD
CHATEAU SAINT-MAUR CRU CLASSE
MAITRES VIGNERONS DE LA PRESQU’ILE DE SAINT-TROPEZ
TIKAMOON
L’ECOLE DU LUXE
Institutional Partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
CITY OF SAINT-TROPEZ
PORT OF SAINT-TROPEZ
SAINT-TROPEZ TOURISME
ESPRIT VILLAGE À SAINT-TROPEZ
FRENCH SAILING FEDERATION
YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE
INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION
COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DE LA MÉDITERRANÉE
Organization
Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, President: Pierre Roinson
Principal Race Officer: Georges Korhel
Registrations: Frédérique Fantino
Sea Safety: Gilles Doyen
Logistics and Supplies: Alice Coquant
Communications, External Relations: Chloé de Brouwer
Internet
www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr
www.societe-nautique-saint-tropez.fr
Instagram: les_voiles_de_saint_tropez
Facebook: les Voiles de Saint-Tropez officiel
X (ex-Twitter): @VoilesSTOrg
Youtube: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Officiel
Media Production
Editorial: Pierre-Marie Bourguinat
Video: Guilain Grenier, Images 6 G Production/SNST
Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
Press Relations: Maguelonne Turcat