Unforgettable!

Moonbeam IV, Velsheda, Ikra, Sonny… the stars shone at Les Voiles

André Beaufils: “Better than last year, worse than next year…”.

Peyron, Blakemore, Frers, Dick, Chirac and all the others… The fifteenth edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez was characterised this week by its many climatic contrasts, which gave the nautical jousts a very particular relief and flavour, which the 4,000 sailors will remember for a long time. The light, medium breeze on the first day of racing was followed by a slow build-up in wind strength, offering two sumptuous days of racing in the sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday. Although Thursday and Friday saw the wrath of the wind forbidding the races, they nevertheless allowed a few daredevils, Altaïr and Moonbeam III in particular, to pay tribute to the spirit of the Nioulargue by braving the heavy swell and gusts of over 30 knots. And as it was clearly written that these Voiles 2013 would not remain anonymous, it was on a sumptuous final day of racing, with plenty of wind, under a generous sun and on a vigorously animated sea, that the curtain came down on a play rich in emotions of all kinds (presence of Bill Jayson), exciting on the sporting front, and sumptuous in terms of the images which once again delighted photographers from all over the world. The end of the sailing season for the vast majority of sailors, whether Modern or Classic, the Voiles de Saint-Tropez was indeed the firework display they had been waiting for, the hoped-for party that sealed the friendships of thousands of sailors, who are already looking ahead to a year later, eager to reconnect as soon as possible with this unique spirit of friendship, conviviality and sharing in a yachting that is decidedly eternal.

In their own words : André Beaufils, President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez: “Every year, we look for a new adjective, a new superlative to replace the previous year’s. The atmosphere, the weather, despite a windy passage, the regattas, the show, the spirit of the Nioulargue… everything came together for long, good moments of nautical pleasure. Of course, not everything is perfect and all our teams are already thinking about how to improve their respective areas of expertise. The task is not an easy one, because with 300 boats entered, and a waiting list that’s not getting any smaller, it’s hard to please everyone. But the goodwill is there and every year the miracle happens again, leaving the sailors with just one wish: to return to Saint-Tropez as soon as possible…”.

Bruno Troublé, Jour de Fête

“Another fantastic edition of Les Voiles. Jour de Fête did well (3rd) despite being a light-weather boat with flat seas. The regattas were very exciting and it’s always a delight to see so many beautiful boats, both modern and classic. I’ll be back next year with a hundred-year-old yacht, Olympian, a P Boat that won the Mackinac Cup in Chicago in 1914. This will be the first time this auric has left the great American lakes. That’s the beauty of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez: each year we discover new treasures of naval architecture…”

Bill Jayson, son of Dick Jayson, Pride

“My family and I received an extraordinary welcome. My father’s memory is very much alive here, amongst all his Tropezian friends. I was very touched by the welcome, and I’m still very proud to see how the Nioulargue heritage continues to shine through Les Voiles, thanks to André Beaufils and his teams… “

Jan Dekker, ORACLE TEAM USA et Dark Ice

“I came straight to Saint Tropez from San Francisco. This victory for ORACLE TEAM USA is obviously the highlight of my career. I’ve been coming to Les Voiles since 1999, and I sail with a group of friends gathered around a British owner, Mark Godard Watt. His boat is Dark Ice, a 45-footer designed by German Frers. I love the Voiles. It’s a chance for me to see a lot of friends who, like me, are sailing all over the world on different projects. I’m going home to Cape Town in South Africa tomorrow. I’ll be sailing the Maxi Rambler again, looking forward to another America’s Cup campaign.”

260 international journalists

During this magical week, the 15th Voiles de Saint-Tropez accredited exactly 260 journalists from all over France, as well as from Italy, Germany, the United States, England, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Turkey…

They were at Les Voiles:

Florence Arthaud, Sébastien Audigane (Navigateur Tour du monde (Orange), Alexia Barrier,((Navigatrice), Charles de Bourbon Siciles, Grace de Capitanie (comédienne), Yves Carcelle, (Ex Vuitton), Jean-Pierre Champion (Pdt FFV), Jacques Chirac, Sébastien Col (America’s Cup), Jan Dekker (Sth-Africa, America’s Cup, The Race, Volvo), Jean-Pierre Dick, (Vendée Globe, Transat Jacques Vabre), Leonardo Ferragamo (Ferragamo & Nautor Swan), Thierry Fouchier (America’s Cup), German Frers (Arg, Architecte), Bill Jayson, (Usa, fils de Dick Jayson), Bruno Jourdren (Transat AG2R), Simon Le Bon (chanteur Duran Duran), William Leymergie (Présentateur Télématin), Pier Luigi Loro Piana (Loro Piana), Sir Lindsay Owen Jones (Uk, Président L’Oréal), Philippe Monnet (Navigateur) Pierre-Antoine Morvan (Match Race, TFV), Philippe Mourniac (Tornado, All4one, America’s Cup), Marc Pajot (America’s Cup), Kito de Pavant (Navigateur), Lionel Péan (Tour du Monde Esprit d’Equipe), Eric Peron (Figariste), Loïck Peyron (America’s Cup), Luc Poupon ( navigateur + Voiles de St Barth), Ken Read (Skipper Puma, Rambler), Marie Tabarly (navigatrice), Marc Thiercelin (navigateur), Armel Tripon (navigateur), Bruno Troublé (Navigateur), Jean-Pierre Tuveri (Maire de Saint-Tropez), Marcel Van Triest (Holl, Navigateur et météo (Groupama)

Sailing Trophies

Rolex Trophy :

1 Ikra Yves Marie Moreau

2 Chinook Graham Walker

3 Lelantina Patrick Gibert

BMW Trophy :

1- Open season

2- Hamilton

3- Magic carpet 3

Trophée Silinger Grand Tradition : Moonbeam IV Mickael Creach

Trophée le Byblos : Chnook Graham Walker

Trophée GL Event Seven seas of Porto Marcus Kemp

Trophée de la Ville de Saint-tropez : Natalia (Swan 42) Natalia Brailoin, Roumanie

Trophée Edmond de Rothschild : Music (Baltic 50) James Blakemore (Afrique du Sud)

Trophée Kappa : Firefly (Proto Hoek) van Gelderen Pays Bas.

Trophée SFS : Desna (Desna 49) Suen Wackerhagen (Allemagne)

Trophée les marines de Cogolin : Turquoise (Dufour 40) Erik Aroux

Trophée SNSM : Give me Five(Farr 30) Adrien Follin

Le point sur les différents classements :

Modernes

IRC A

1 WALLYNO (WALLY 60) DE FROIDMONT Benoit

2 AROBAS (SWAN 601) LOGEL Gerard

3 FIREFLY (ONE OFF) VAN GELDEREN Mark

IRC B

1 MUSIC (SWAN 53) BLAKEMORE James

2 MOANA (MARTEN 49) VOBBE Gerrit

3 DESNA (KNIREM 49) WACKERHAGEN Sven

IRC C

1 NATALIA (CLUB SWAN 42) BRAILOIU Natalia

2 EARLYBIRD (SWAN 45) BRANDIS Hendrik

3 ELENA NOVA (SWAN 45) PLUMP Christian

IRC D

1 LA REPONSE (FIRST 40) MC IRVINE Andrew

2 PEN KALET X (40.7) LE TROQUER Georges

3 TURQUOISES (DUFOUR 40) AROUX Erik

IRC E

1 CARRINDUS (A 31) LEGLOAHEC Cyrille

2 EASY (MUMM 30) ENON Benjamin

3 GIVE ME FIVE (FARR 30) FOLLIN Adrien

Wally

1 Open Season

2 J One

3 Magic Carpet

Class J

1 Velsheda

2- Hanuman

3 Lionheart

Classics

CODE ZERO

1- BOTTES SECRETES TAUPIN Vincent

2-BLACK SOUL DOUVILLE DE FRANSSU Michel

3 – BLACK LEGEND GEIGER Reinold

CLASSIC MARCONI A after 2 races

1 MARIA GIOVANNA II  (SLOOP BERMUD) SAUVAN Jean-Pierre

2 OUTLAW  (COTRE MARCON) HORSLEY Mike

3 NAIF  (SLOOP BERMUD) GARDINI Ivan

CLASSIQUE MARCONI B après 2 courses

1 IKRA (12MJI) MORAULT Yves Marie

2 SOVEREIGN (12JI) FAUROUX Jacques

3 IL MORO DI VENEZIA (SLOOP) FERRUZZI Massimilliano

AURIC ERA A after 3 races

1 CHINOOK (NEW YORK 40) WALKER Graham

2 KELPIE (COTRE AURIQU) OLIVE Pelham

3 ORIOLE (SLOOP AURIQU) LOSTIS Jean-Pierre

AURIC EPOQUE B after 3 races

1 TIGRIS (COTRE AURIQU) BARNES Andrew

2 LELANTINA (GOELETTE AUR)GIBERT Patrick

3 PARTRIDGE (COTRE AURIQU) LAIRD Alexander

MARCONI ERA A after 2 races

1 SEVEN SEAS OF PORTO (12MJI) KEMP Marcus

2 MANITOU (MARCONI YAWL) TILLERAY Alex

3 OISEAU DE FEU (COTRE BERMUD) L’HUILLIER Jean-Philippe

EPOQUE MARCONI B après 2 courses

1 LEONORE (Q CLASS) PELASCHIAR Mauro

2 SIRIUS (MARCONI) ZAOLI Adrea

3 JOUR DE FETE (MARCONI) ODDO Pascal

EARLY MARCONI C after 2 races

1 SONNY (CUTTER) FRERS German

2 HORIZONTE (KETCH BERMUD) BALL Juan

3 SKYLARK OF 1937 (YAWL BERMUDIien) MORSE Tony

EPOQUE MARCONI D after 3 races

1 VAGABUNDO (KETCH) FABRE Robert

2 JALINA (BERMUDUAN CU) FAZIO Emanuele

3 SONDA (8 M CRUISER ) LEPRINCE Eric

GRAND TRADITION after 3 races

1 MOONBEAM IV (COTRE AURIQU) CREACH Mikael

2 MOONBEAM III (COTRE AURIQU) NOBLET Erwan

3 MARIQUITA (GAFF CUTTER) NEWMANN Georges

TOFINOU 12 après 3 courses

1 MILOU SCHOBINGER Mario

2 CAMOMILLE RS NATHAN Jean Louis

3 SEVEN BOULAY Jacques

TOFINOU 9.5 après 3 courses

1 SPEED BIRD HUDLESTON James

2 JESSIE

3 PIPPA Obe Edward