A memorable 20th edition!
At the invitation of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, almost 4,000 sailors took part in a full week of extraordinary, timeless regattas, filled with images, emotions and memories. Enough to last a whole year, until next summer comes to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez once again. True to this inimitable spirit of sporting friendship, built around an unchanging passion for beautiful sails and beautiful hulls, the 20th edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez once again offered a magical blend of styles, eras and classes of yacht, in all weathers and in all languages, painting a rare and unique spectacle every day in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez that we can’t wait to see again next year. The traditional prize-giving ceremony brought together crew and rivals for the last time, in a festive and joyous communion, which already augurs well for the great encounters to come, with the 20th anniversary of the event, which will be celebrated, as it should be, from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 6 October: don’t forget these dates!
The Julilée Fife for the Rolex Trophy The highlight of this 20th edition of Les Voiles was the 130th anniversary of the Dragon, the legendary signature of the Fife family saga, which gave rise to an exceptional Jubilee rewarded by the prestigious Rolex Trophy. For the first time in the Mediterranean, 20 sumptuous yachts designed by the Scottish genius of the golden age of yachting were brought together this year in the port of Saint-Tropez. And for this exceptional occasion, schooners, cutters, auriques and Bermudians all benefited from a special departure, giving rise to an unprecedented spectacle. It was the Viola aurique cutter that came out on top, adding her name to the Rolex Trophy list in her 110th anniversary year, the yacht having been launched in 1908.
Successful “Petites Voiles” Another new feature of the 20th edition of Les Voiles was the first “Petites Voiles”, held on Wednesday in the middle of the Port of Saint-Tropez. On the initiative of Tony Oller in partnership with the management team, 23 young girls and boys aged 6 to 12 from the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez’s brand-new Pôle voile légère (light sailing center) had their moment of glory, racing Optimists in front of a crowd of Voiles aficionados, much to the pride of their families.
They said: Tony Oller: President of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez “In a word: happy! I see nothing but radiant faces, and receive nothing but compliments and thanks. The racers leave delighted, with their races, the welcome, the festivities, on land and at sea. We’ve validated a large number of races every day, and we’re crowning credible winners. The party in Saint-Tropez was complete, especially on Thursday during the crew parade, when the quays were packed with people, with a carnival air. The Petites Voiles brought
happiness and pride, both to the children of the Ecole de Voiles and to their parents. A very fine edition indeed!
Georges Kohrel, Principal Race Officer “I’ve had nothing but excellent feedback from owners and racers. It was certainly a very fine edition, between two blasts of Mistral. I’d like to thank all the teams, both on shore and on the water, who organized the races, refereeing and results with enormous skill. Sailing 300 boats is no easy task. I was also delighted to see that fair play and the pleasure of sailing often took precedence over pure competition. The result is an even more joyful and festive atmosphere on the water, in keeping with the spirit of Les Voiles. The fixed line principle is now well understood by competitors. It makes it easier to get all our series into the race quickly. We’re going to work on perfecting our registration procedures, by being a hair more demanding.”
Rankings :
Wally The Wallys, on their dedicated round course in front of Pampelonne, put in 6 great races, alternating between “banana” courses and long stretches of coastline. The announced clash between the 3 Wallycento boats lived up to all its promises, with Magic Carpet3 in a position to win for a long time. However, it was the “little” Wally 77 Lyra that put everyone in agreement, as it had done last year, by taking three fine heat victories.
1- Lyra – Wally 77 : 9 pts 2- Magic Carpet3 – Wallycento : 12 pts 3- J One – 14 pts
Modern The 5 IRC groups have all completed 4 races this week, in a highly varied wind range that has produced some fine winners.
IRC A : 24 inscrits 1- Cannonball – Dario Ferrari – 6 pts 2- Jethou – Sir Peter Ogden – 13 pts 3- Wallino – Benoit De Froidmont – 18 pts
IRC B – 24 inscrits 1- Flo d’Orient -Bernard Coquelet – 7 pts 2- Phoenix – Majec Marczewski – 12 pts 3-Daguet2 – Frederic Puzin- 15 pts
IRC C – 31 inscrits 1- Gladiator – Tony Langley – 18 pts 2- Team Chalets – Philippe saint André – 18 pts 3- Dralon – Pit Finis – 18 pts
IRC D – 41 inscrits 1- Creme anglaise – John Rainger – 15 pts 2- Merlin – Serguei Chevtsov – 21 pts 3- Foxy lady – Giuseppe Gambaro – 24 pts
IRC E – 41 INSCRITS 1- Topas – Harald Brushing – 14 pts 2- Expresso – Guy Claes – 16 pts 3- Alice – Simon Henning – 21 pts
Classics: Every day, the Classic yachts were able to validate spectacular races in the Gulf. Competing in the Rolex Trophy, the 20 Fife designs put on a great show, while the newcomer St Christopher (Sparksman&Stephens 1968) immediately made her mark on the Gulf.
Classique marconi A 1- St Christopher – Daria Cabai – 3 pts 2- Yanira – Pepe Negrete Caballero – 6 pts 3- Dune – Erick Coll – 9 pts
Classique marconi B 1- Sagittarius – Frederic Lafitte – 3 pts 2- Stiren – Oren Nataf – 5 pts 3- Palynodie II – Henri Ferbus – 8 pts
Classique marconi R 1- Il Moro di Venezia – Massimiliano Sferruzzi – 3 pts 2- Ikra – Hugues Destremeau – 6 pts 3- France – Pierre Fausset – 9 pts
Epoque Aurique A 1- Kelpie – Pelham Olive – 3 pts 2- Olympian – Guillaume fetas – 7 pts 3- Marga – Matteo Tacconi – 8 pts
Epoque Aurique B 1- Tilly XV – Joeri Moessanang – 3 pts 2- Folly – François Gouillard – 5 pts 3- Phoebus – Michel Durand – 8 pts
Epoque marconi A 1- Rowdy – Thirty Goodbye – 4 pts 2- Serenade – Hugues Boullenger – 4 pts 3- Manitou – Guy Robinson – 10 pts
Epoque marconi B 1-Santana – Wendy Schmidt – 3 pts 2- Blitzen – Charles Dunstone – 5 pts 3- Jour de Fete – Pascal Oddo – 9 pts
Epoque 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
Epoque 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
Groupe « Invités » 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
Les Trophées :
Trophée Rolex – Jubilé Fife : Viola (1908) – Fabien Després
Trophée BMW : Wally 77 Lyra – Terry Hui
Trophée Edmond de Rothschild (IRC C): Gladiator – Tony Langley
Trophée du Yacht Club de France : Tilly XV – Joerg Moessnang
Tropheminin : Moogli – Caroline Petit
Trophée de la Ville de Saint-Tropez : Cannonball – Dario Ferrarri
Défilé des équipages : Imagine – thème des Vikings
Concours de boules : Lady Jo
Trophée Loro Piana : Topaz – Peter Holmberg
Trophée Kappa : Flo D’ Orient – Bernard Coquelet
Trophée Marines de Cogolin : Alice – Simon Henning
Trophée Le Byblos : Kelpie – Olive Pelham
Trophée Pommery : Tilly XV – Joeri Moessnang
Trophée SNSM : Rowdy – Timothy Goodboy
Trophée esprit Village : Santana- Wendy Schmidt
Trophée Air France : Elena of London – Steven Mc Laren
Trophée Mercantour : St Christopher – Daria Cabai
Trophée Torpez : Sagittarius – Frédéric Lafitte
Trophée Suzuki : Creme Anglaise – John Rainger
Coupe d’automne du Yacht Club de France : Ellad – Stéphane Richer
They were at Les Voiles : 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, Tom Whidden Mais aussi Pierre Cosso (acteur, La Boum) Maud Fontenoy (Fondation Maud Fontenoy) Myriam Lamarre (Championne de boxe – Stelle) Pete Townsend (Guitariste et fondateur des Who -Eva),
The partners of Voiles de Saint-Tropez ROLEX BMW GROUPE EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD WALLY KAPPA HOTEL BYBLOS MERCANTOUR EVENTS LES MARINES DE COGOLIN L’ESPRIT VILLAGE DE SAINT-TROPEZ POMMERY SUZUKI MARINE LORO PIANA MARE NOSTRUM AIR France DANONE CHEVALIER TORPEZ (LES VIGNOBLES DE SAINT TROPEZ) SUN 7 GRAPHIC