{"id":5058,"date":"2025-10-04T21:57:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T19:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/a-finale-of-contrasts"},"modified":"2026-09-17T19:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:04:00","slug":"a-finale-of-contrasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/a-finale-of-contrasts","title":{"rendered":"A Finale of Contrasts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Following yesterday’s flamboyant fireworks display that illuminated the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, and the subsequent crew party, Saturday marked market day in Saint-Tropez. This offered a final opportunity for last-minute bargains for the approximately 3,000 crew members of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, who were invited from 11 AM for the ultimate race day of this 27th edition. <\/strong>The magic of Les Voiles once again worked its charm, and the Maxis, whose prize-giving ceremony takes place this evening before honoring the Modern and Classic yachts tomorrow, would certainly not disagree. A tight schedule deprived the Classic yachts of a final race, but as the scores are tallied, everyone can savor having experienced an exceptional week.<\/strong> <\/strong>Maxis: Minimal Gaps and Deserving Winners<\/strong>Two windward-leeward courses for Maxi 1 and GP classes, and a coastal race for Maxis 3, 4, and 5, comprised the day’s program in Pampelonne Bay for the conclusion of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. In total this week, the remarkable fleet of 41 yachts over 60 feet, the largest gathering of Maxis alongside the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, completed six races for the two main classes and five or four for the other three. A few more figures: in four of the five categories, the gaps between the top two were a maximum of one or two points, a testament to very close racing and suspense that lasted until this evening.In Maxi 1<\/strong>, for the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy<\/strong>, nothing was definitively decided yesterday between V<\/em>, Karel Komarek’s Wallycento, and Capricorn<\/em>, Alessandro del Bono’s Judel-Vrolijk 82. However, with two victories today, the crew of V<\/em> achieved a near-perfect week (4 wins out of 6 races) and triumphed convincingly in the overall standings. Leopard 3<\/em> of Joost Schuijff completed the podium, and the mixed crew of Tilakkhana II<\/em> led by Pascale Decaux, finished in fourth position after a very strong week on the formerMagic Carpet Cubed<\/em>.In Maxi GP<\/strong>, the Wallyrocket 71 Django <\/em> left its mark on this edition of Les Voiles and confirmed its victory in September at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo.. <\/em>Lighter and more planing than its competitors, it proved very fast in the light conditions of the week, often associated with chop in Pampelonne Bay. However, the crew of Italian Giovanni Lombardi Stronati had a tough battle against American Vesper <\/em>, always in contention, <\/em>whom they only edged out by one point in the overall standings.Yesterday’s hierarchy, which prevailed throughout the week, was respected in Maxi 3<\/strong> with the victory of another Italian team, that of Twin Soul B<\/em>, led by Federico Lunardini. The Mylius 80 managed to keep the Wally 77 Lyra<\/em>, the defending champion in this class, at bay by only two points.In Maxi 4<\/strong> , however, the Italian Vismara 62 Yoru<\/em> retained its 2024 title. Penalized by an OCS today, Luigi Sala’s crew nearly squandered their excellent start to the week, marked by three consecutive victories. But by eliminating this last race from the final count, they saved their position by one point ahead of Seaquill<\/em>, Alessandro Doria’s Swan 60. One point also separates the latter from the Belgian Kallima II, who had a very strong end to the week, concluding with a first place in today’s coastal race.Ultimately, in Maxi 5<\/strong>, the victory was the most decisive. Crazy Diamond<\/em>, Enzo Pelizzaro’s Solaris 60, which conceded no races to its two runners-up Viva la vida<\/em> and Saida<\/em>, separated by one point on the podium, won the category. <\/strong>Moderns: Downwind Starts<\/strong>With a southwesterly breeze established, a downwind start, meaning with the wind from behind, released the five Modern categories at the Tour du Portalet in front of the public gathered on the Jean R\u00e9veille pier. This exercise demands crucial timing management to avoid crossing the line early while preparing to hoist the spinnaker, which must not inflate before passing the line.In IRC 0<\/strong>, the anticipated match between Vesper<\/em> and Zen<\/em> did not disappoint, and from the start, these two contenders for the overall victory closely marked each other. However, the Australians of Zen<\/em> could not maintain the pace today. Despite its poor start on Monday, it was indeed Vesper<\/em> that won the BMW Trophy<\/strong>, a victory for the American crew’s consistency throughout the rest of the week.Nanoq Final Final<\/em>, which won today’s race, completed the podium but thus relinquished its crown this year after four consecutive victories in this class. Often at the forefront, the high-rated boats such as Daguet 5<\/em> and Kilara II<\/em>, the Wallyrocket 51, were never able to save their time in the light conditions and relatively short courses against the TP 52s, which occupied the top five places out of six entries.Light winds are not necessarily penalizing for the most highly rated boats. Proof of this is the victory of Give me Five<\/em>, the smallest of the IRC 2<\/strong> but with one of the highest ratings. On the podium for five races with two victories, Adrien Follin’s crew made very few mistakes and always managed to recover from difficult situations, as today where they finished second despite a second-row start. Consistency could also have rewarded Zappys<\/em> in IRC 1<\/strong> but it was ultimately the Ker 40 Vito 2<\/em> that won by one point thanks to its strong second place today (Zappys<\/em> only finished ninth). However, there was an undisputed victory for Pride<\/em> in IRC 3<\/strong> , imperial all week, with second place being its worst score yesterday. For the second consecutive year, the famous Swan 44 takes home the cup, a boat that was at the origin of the Nioulargue through its duel with the 12m JI Ikra<\/em> in 1981. The Graves family, who have cherished their black Swan since 1973, enlisted the services of Steve Benjamin this year, an Etchells World Champion and 470 Olympic medalist in 1984. The well-drilled team left the competition far behind in IRC 3<\/strong>, the most represented category with 33 boats on the line. Finally, in IRC 4<\/strong>, today’s victory by Expresso<\/em>, Guy Claeys’ JPK 10.10, last year’s winner, was not enough to make up for its overall deficit. It was Corto Maltese<\/em>, the First 34.7 of Italian Michel Colasante, third today, who took the win. A logical victory for the one who won three of the five races contested this week. <\/strong>Classics: For Pleasure and for Glory<\/strong>It was past 3 PM when the Classics were scheduled to start, the time limit stipulated in the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Race Instructions. Consequently, there was no race today for the 81 Classic yachts, many of which remained on the water, sharing for one last time this season the pleasure of being part of this exceptional fleet. Chips<\/em>, Olympian<\/em>, Corinthian and Joyant<\/em> , the four P Class boats that compete in an informal championship all year, engaged in a final speed test, while the 12m JIs continued their spectacle awaiting their tender, as Lelantina<\/em>, the gaff schooner designed by Alden, sailed along the pier to salute the spectators. Patrick Gibert’s crew, a member of the SNST, could savor their home victory in the Cruiser <\/strong> category. The two three-masted vessels, Adix and Atlantic, also offered a perfectly choreographed ballet in the golden light of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, the final postcard from Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. In Big<\/strong>, awarded the Rolex Trophy<\/strong>, it was therefore Cambria<\/em> that won by a narrow point ahead of Elena of London<\/em>, with the schooner Atlantic<\/em> completing the podium. Undoubtedly, these three vessels, with their majesty, left their mark on this 27th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Against the large schooners, it was ultimately the longest sloop entered \u2013 40 meters overall, and the tallest mast in the port, across all classes \u2013 50 meters, that inscribed its name on the long list of holders of the prestigious Rolex Trophy, which celebrated its twentieth edition this year.In Grand Tradition<\/strong> and in 12m JI<\/strong>, New York 50 Spartan<\/em> and Kiwi Magic <\/em> achieved undisputed victories, leaving no races to their competitors.In Gaff Rigged Era<\/strong>, Kismet<\/em>, Sir Richard Matthews’ century-old Fife design, won this year ahead of Oriole<\/em>, the Herreshoff design that won last year, and another Fife design, Viola<\/em>, returning to Les Voiles this year, completed the podium. As a reminder, Sir Richard Matthews had already won here last year, but that was at the helm of his 12m JI Crusader<\/em> ! In Classic Marconi<\/strong>, Argynne III<\/em>, the Cornu design built by the Bonnin brothers in Arcachon in 1955, won everyone over. Built before 1950, the Marconi Era<\/strong> boats are divided into two rating categories. In A<\/strong>, it was the Sparkman Stephens Varuna VII<\/em> that took the prize, and in B<\/strong>, the honors went to one of the two Sonny<\/em> yachts, the one skippered by British Tobias Brand.Finally, in IOR<\/strong>, the two Frers designs Il Moro di Venezia<\/em> and Matrero<\/em> finished with equal points, but the former won with two first-place finishes compared to only one for its Argentine competitor, who showed significant improvement since his first participation in Les Voiles last year. <\/strong> <\/strong>Three Questions for Charles Caudrelier: “The Choreography of Maneuvers Interests Me Greatly”<\/strong>The winner of the Route du Rhum and the Ark\u00e9a Ultim Challenge visited Saint-Tropez this weekend. This was an opportunity to ask him a few questions about the future Gitana 18<\/em>, which sails under the colors of Edmond de Rothschild. <\/strong> <\/strong>Passing through Saint-Tropez, are you here to sail?<\/strong>No, I’m here as a visitor; I’m accompanying Edmond de Rothschild, who is a partner of the event, and with winter approaching in Brittany, it’s not unpleasant to find the sun here! I did one race of Les Voiles on Mari Cha IV<\/em> with Mike Sanderson in the 2000s, the famous schooner which was a very beautiful boat. It was nice but very brief! There are many boats here that we never encounter in the Atlantic; is that inspiring?<\/strong>Yes, in fact, I’ve never sailed on a Classic! When I was young, it didn’t really interest me, but today I look at them differently. The crew aspect, the maneuvers, interest me greatly. If there’s one thing I found fantastic about the America’s Cup, it’s the maneuvers, that choreography. I love what they do today; I’m not in the ‘it was better before’ camp, but we’ve lost a bit of that aspect that I enjoy. When I competed in the Volvo Ocean Race, orchestrating an entire crew fascinated me. I see how complicated it already is with 11 sailors, so I imagine with 20 on the Maxis or Classics, it must not be simple! <\/strong>You withdrew from the Transat Caf\u00e9 l’Or; what is the status of Gitana 18<\/em>?<\/strong>Initially, we had planned to launch in October, the Transat was not on the program because we had a Jules Verne Trophy attempt with Gitana 17<\/em> scheduled for winter 2024-2025. When we broke its mast returning from the Mediterranean last year, the record campaign was canceled, leaving a big void in the schedule, and accelerating to be present at the start of the Transat made sense. But we quickly realized it wasn’t realistic, and at some point, we preferred to postpone to fully implement all the boat’s technical choices. So, we will try to launch the boat with all the ideas Guillaume Verdier envisioned. Everything looks interesting on paper, but when it comes to execution, it’s often more complicated than expected! The teams show great imagination, and I am quite impressed by the solutions they manage to find. We are fortunate to have a digital twin, and we do a lot of simulator training while awaiting the first sails. Our first race will be the Ultim Odyssey in the Mediterranean starting May 28th, and we are all eager, even though the boat was primarily designed for transatlantic races and round-the-world challenges. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2025 Program<\/strong>Sunday, October 5<\/strong>: Prize-giving Ceremony for Modern and Classic yachts, including the Rolex Trophy Main Partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez<\/strong>ROLEXBMWEDMOND DE ROTHSCHILDWALLYSUZUKI MARINEBRIG <\/strong>Official Partners and Suppliers of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez<\/strong>NORTH SAILSPORT DES MARINES DE COGOLINMERCANTOUR BYBLOSEKLE VSCPEPINIERE DU GOLFE CHAMPAGNE BARONS DE ROTHSCHILD CHATEAU SAINT-MAUR CRU CLASSEDOMAINE BERTAUD BELIEU <\/strong>Institutional Partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez <\/strong>CITY OF SAINT-TROPEZPORT OF SAINT-TROPEZESPRIT VILLAGE IN SAINT-TROPEZSAINT-TROPEZ TOURISMFRENCH SAILING FEDERATIONYACHT CLUB DE FRANCE INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION <\/strong>Organization:<\/strong>Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Nautique de Saint-Tropez, President: Pierre RoinsonPrincipal Race Officer: Georges KorhelRegatta Manager: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique FantinoOn-Water Resources: Gilles DoyenCommunication and Executive Assistant: Chlo\u00e9 de BrouwerEditorial: Pierre-Marie Bourguinat Websites: www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr<\/a> ; www.societe-nautique-saint-tropez.fr<\/a>Facebook: les Voiles de Saint-Tropez officielX formerly Twitter: @VoilesSTOrgInstagram: les_voiles_de_saint_tropezVideo<\/strong><\/a>: Guilain Grenier, Images 6 G Production\/SNST 2025Photos<\/strong>: Gilles Martin-Raget Press Relations<\/strong>: Maguelonne Turcat <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following yesterday’s flamboyant fireworks display that illuminated the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, and the subsequent crew party, Saturday marked market day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"autoplay":false,"delay":"","video_mp4":false,"video_webm":false,"poster_image":false,"nugget":false,"partner":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5058"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5059,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5058\/revisions\/5059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}