2010 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez

[MLovett]

September 27, 2010


Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, France


LES VOILES DE ST TROPEZ KICKS OFF

The grande finale of the yachting season – certainly for the classic yachts that all summer-long prowl the Mediterranean in search of competition and camaraderie – began today. Close to 300 yachts filled the Vieux Port and nearby marinas for the weeklong Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, a ‘don’t miss’ stop on the yachting circuit. Spectacular fall weather conditions, a brisk mistral from the north with clear blue skies, prevailed on the first day to please competitors and photographers alike.

The Tradition class boats, which start racing tomorrow, don’t have the stage to themselves however; there is a impressive grand-prix fleet of “moderns” from maxi yachts such as the Judel Vrolik 72-footer Rán, straight from a win at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, the Wally class’ towering 44 metre Tripp-designed Esense, to the Tofinu class, most of which at 9.5metres are just below the official minimum length, but this local fleet have been grandfathered in and seemingly up to the challenge of sailing on the same body of water as these comparative behemoths.

But it is the solely the Traditional class and, within this grouping, only boats 16 meters and over, that can compete for the Rolex Trophy – this year there are 50 entries eligible. The winner will be the boat with the overall low point score after the week of racing. The winning boat and skipper will be awarded the Trophy and a Rolex Submariner timepiece.

Racing for the Rolex Trophy is the 25-meter cutter-rigged, Hallowe’en, created by the renowned Scottish yacht designer, William Fife III, from whose drafting table many famous, head-turning, and seakindly lines came, from the turn of the 19th century through the early 1900s.

Hallowe’en was launched in 1926 and was a new type of design for Fife, sort of a cruising version of the successful 15-Metre class, which included Tuiga and Lady Ann. With her original rig, Hallowe’en was – and in fact still is – a powerful boat: shortly after her launch, she won the Fastnet Race and set a course record of 93 hrs, 13 mins (with the start/finish off Cowes).

The boat changed hands and names several times over the years; as the yawl-rigged Cotton Blossom IV she was a force to be reckoned with, winning many races in the 1950s and ‘60s. She spent a decade in the Caribbean as a charter yacht, and was re-fit in the late 1980s in Newport, RI. Then, sold again and taken to the Med, Hallowe’en was returned to her original name and cutter rig, as per Fife’s original design. In a subsequent re-fit her mast was lengthened and boom shortened to allow for a more easier to manage permanent backstay.

Hallowe’en newest owners bought her in 2006. Two of them, Michael Cotter and Dan O’Connor, were racing Dragons in the Med where they were told the 83-foot classic was for sale, and what started as an innocent inquiry ended up as an addition to the fleet.

The owners, in fact, include five keen Irish sailors, from around Dublin, who have known one another for over 20 years, many of them active in the Dragon fleet and other classes as well. One of them, Michael Cotter, also owns a similar sized Reichel/Pugh-designed modern maxi yacht that he’s actively campaigned at the Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Middle Sea Race, and Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, where he won class in 2009. But that carbon fibre and Kevlar-built boat is light years from the likes of Hallowe’en’s teak planking on oak frames, yet Cotter and his happy-go-lucky band of friends seem to enjoy the best of both modern and classic sailing worlds.

While the boat is regularly used, and shared, by all owners in a seemingly easy-going arrangement, it is also chartered for cruising and racing. Only a few classics with such a rich history as Hallowe’en offer an opportunity to compete in an event such as Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.


The Rolex Trophy

The Rolex Trophy will be awarded during Sunday's prize giving ceremony at the Citadelle.The very first winner of the Rolex Trophy in 2006 was the 25 metre Marconi-rigged schooner, So Fong. Designed by the renowned naval architecture firm, Sparkman & Stephens, So Fong was built in Hong Kong in 1937.

The 25 metre yawl, Agneta, built in 1951, won the Rolex Trophy in 2007. Agneta’s beautiful varnished mahogany hull and tanbark sails are unmistakable on the water.

But it is the Herreshoff-designed NY 40 class Rowdy, that all eyes are on this year. Rowdy won the Rolex Trophy two years in a row – 2008 and 2009 – and is back to defend her title for a 3rd time!

Rowdy is one of the New York Yacht Club 40 class, so named because the design was commissioned by the New York Yacht Club and is 40 feet on the waterline. Of the approximately 14 boats constructed, Rowdy is one of the few left. In addition to having a major refit, the boat has been optimized more recently, under owner Graham Walker’s care. Walker’s crew, including boat captain Jonathan Greenwood, have left nothing to chance, carefully tweaking and improving both the boat and how they sail her. Rowdy has enjoyed an impressive record on the classic circuit and she’ll be a formidable boat to beat.


Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2010 Event Programme
Sunday, 26 September: Welcome for yachts
Monday, 27 September: Welcome for yachts; Racing in Modern division
Tuesday, 28 September: Coastal race for all
Wednesday, 29 September: Coastal race for all
Thursday, 30 September: Challenge Day (match racing)
Friday, 1 October: Coastal race for all
Saturday, 2 October, Coastal race for all
Sunday, 3 October: 11am, Prizegiving Ceremony at La Citadelle

[MLovett]

September 28, 2010


Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, France


A GENTLE BREEZE FOR THE CLASSICS

Though generous earlier in the day for the Modern class with about 6-8 knots, the wind was not cooperative by midday for the first start – and the first race of the week – for the Tradition class yachts, dropping to 2-3 knots on the Golfe de St Tropez.

The Modern class boats were sent further off the coast where they found quite favorable conditions with 8-10 knots for both races today. The race committee in the Tradition class start area struggled initially and finally managed to find enough of a breeze to get the smaller boats off after a short postponement. The breeze, initially was from the northwest, switched to the northeast during the day. The biggest Tradition class boats set off at 2 pm on a 14.1 nautical mile coastal race.

Despite the light wind, close maneuvers took place between Mariska and Tuiga and between Cambria and Moonbeam III, and the whole of the Tradition fleet provided a good show on a pretty September’s day. After slightly more than two hours, happy competitors came back to Saint-Tropez harbour, ready for a party – tonight is Le Sardinade on the quay. Parties are part of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez spirit and shoreside activities are equally competitive to the ones at sea.

The Rolex Trophy competition has officially begun with today’s race and the first results will only be known in the middle of the week. The waiting period reinforces the suspense: will Rowdy be good enough for a third time in a row? We’ll look for an answer in few days…

Vying for the Rolex Trophy is one of the smallest yachts in the division, Irina VII, a 16.5-meter Marconi cutter. Originally built as Sonas in 1935 for Major J.G. Allan, from Helensburgh, Scotland, the boat Sonas was designed by Alfred Mylne and built by William Fife & Son at the famous Fairlie shipyard in Scotland. With a name like Sonas, which means happiness in Gaelic, one might have assumes this pretty cutter enjoyed a tranquil lifetime. However, the boat has gone through numerous owners and seemingly continual alterations over its’ 75 years – including changing the sail plan from a cutter to a ketch, which altered its appearance significantly. In 1947, owner James C. Guthrie turned the rig into a Bermudian sloop and reduced sail area at the same time.

And the changes continued…in 1952, under the leadership of a new, Norwegian owner, George Von Erpecom, Sonas became Irina VII. Four years after that, Irina VII had yet another new owner, though this time it would be for a fairly long period, from 1965 to 1980, during which the yacht would be part of the Island Cruising Club in Salcombe, Devon.

In her new role at the sailing school, Irina VII had nine bunks added to accommodate sail trainees on board; she sailed many years on the English Channel providing an opportunity for young people to experience sailing on board a beautiful classic boat.

Since 1985, Irina VII began a transformation through the Potts family, with a major refit to restore her to her original appearance and a more presentable look. In 2002, with a French owner at the helm, Irina VII found both her original Marconi cutter "lines" and rig after 16,000 hours of work.

Based for the last eight years in Marseille, Irina VII is often part of Mediterranean classic regattas, sometimes chartered and allowing privileged participants to take part in regattas such as Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

[MLovett]

September 29, 2010

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, France



CONDITIONS WORTH THE WAIT

Another day in Saint-Tropez that required patience from competitors and the race committee alike. At the scheduled 11am start time for the Modern fleet, the breeze was unsettled and would take a delay of nearly two hours to get racing underway. The Moderns and Wally classes finally found breeze further offshore where they eventually started. In the Golfe de Saint-Tropez, there was not a breath of wind to start, then at 1pm someone hit the wind switch and an easterly breeze filled in. The ‘grand epoque’ big boat class that included Thendara, Altair, Elena, Sunshine, Milena, and Iduna got off the starting line around 3pm and were sent on a 14 mile nautical mile course that had a short leg to a mark upwind and then a downwind reach to a turning mark off St Raphael and a beat back to the finish line off of Saint-Tropez.

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, and La Nioulargue before that, has every year since the inception in 1981, included both a stunning collection of modern racing yachts, as well as traditional boats which date back over 100 years. At each and every regatta world-wide, where the classics sail, there is a specific criteria for what constitutes the “Tradition” class – here in Saint-Tropez it is quite simple: all boats built before 1975 – regardless of design or construction. So the Tradition class at Les Voiles features an interesting mix which includes the oldest yacht here, Partridge, a 22.5 metre gaff cutter built in 1885, to an impressive collection of Fife schooners and cutters; the Sparkman & Stephens designed yawl, Stormy Weather; and Running Tide, a well-known American maxi from the late ‘60s.

Newly launched last year and sailing here is the impeccable Herreshoff schooner, Elena. One year in planning and almost two years in build, the 55-metre (180’) gaff-rigged schooner, was meticulously built in steel, as a replica of the original Elena, built almost one hundred years earlier. The owner of the original Elena, Morton Plant’s directive was to build a boat to beat Westward, which in its’ day was one of the most competitive yachts and clearly the boat to beat. Elena is nearly identical to that of Westward – in fact above the waterline she is identical. But underwater, the keel was deeper, which moved the ballast lower and improved upwind performance. It seemed to work, as Elena went on to win the King’s Cup TransAtlantic Race from New York to Spain.

Today the ‘new’ Elena is under the command of captain Steve McLaren, who has previously been at the helm of the Herreshoff schooner Eleonora, and the Bruce King-designed Alejandra before that. McLaren exudes quiet confidence, a trait that is handy on the starting line steering a 215 ton, 180’ yacht into seemingly tight places. Elena regularly sails with a crew of eight, as she has for most of the past year chartering in the Med; here at Les Voiles, her only regatta his year, racing demands a competent crew of up to 40.

Elena was off the start line of today’s race at speed and in good position, with Moonbeam III below and Thendara and Altair just above and ahead. With a clear opening, Elena quickly found her pace, and by the downwind reach, had passed the others and took the lead on the water. Her towering rig made of Oregon pine and Sitka spruce – the mainmast is 42 metres above the waterline – allows for an impressive 1180 sq m sail area upwind and 1800 sq m downwind. With a crew boss to oversee maneuvers, communication is key and with length on deck of 41 metres, a radio is used to talk to the foredeck crew. As well, with a draft of 17 ft, attention is paid near shore to make sure there’s enough water below.

On the beat back to the finish, with the breeze shifting, Elena gained ground on both Thendara and Altair which together carried on further on starboard around the bottom mark legging out further offshore. With any luck, and lots of apparent skill, Elena may have saved her time on the others, but there are a few days of racing still up for grabs.

The Rolex Trophy

The Rolex Trophy will be awarded during Sunday's prize giving ceremony at the Citadelle. First awarded in 2006, past winners include:

2006 – So Fong, 25 metre Marconi-rigged schooner. Designed by the renowned naval architecture firm, Sparkman & Stephens, So Fong was built in Hong Kong in 1937.

2007 – Agneta, 25 metre yawl, built in 1951. Agneta’s beautiful varnished mahogany hull and tanbark sails are unmistakable on the water.

2008 & 2009 – Rowdy, Herreshoff-designed NYYC40 class. So named because the design was commissioned by the New York Yacht Club and is 40 feet on the waterline.

[MLovett]

September 30, 2010

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, France



LES VOILES: BACK TO THE ROOTS

Back in the early 1980s, a competition was borne in a bar between two amiable sailors. On a fall day in 1981, skipper Jean Laurain had stopped in St Tropez after extended cruising in the Mediterranean. There, Laurain met an American, Dick Jayson who was cruising on his Swan 44. After talking about the merits of their boats, soon a race, and a bet, was on. The stakes were simple: the loser would buy dinner for the winner at the legendary Club 55, a bar and restaurant on Pampelonne Beach in Saint-Tropez.

That race was the roots of what became La Nioulargue and now Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, a celebration of friendly competition. So midway through the week of racing, today is the Challenge Day, wherein one boat challenges another, or several to their own race.

This year there were 14 challenges, with the center stage today a battle of the giant Fifes for the Club 55 Cup: the 40 metre cutter-rigged Cambria versus Mariquita, the 38 metre gaff cutter. The course was 15 nautical miles from the start off St Tropez around the Nioulargue mark, then to the finish line off Pampelonne beach. The other challengers agreed to courses – of varying lengths depending on conditions – between themselves. Today’s breeze of eight knots at the start, built to 15 knots during the day, before dropping off again towards the end of racing. In a rematch, and replay of last year, it was Cambria who beat Mariquita.

Another of the challenges between slightly smaller, but no less important boats that, in their own way, embody the spirit of the regatta, was one between the Sparkman & Stephens yawls, the 16.3 metre Stormy Weather (1934) and the 17 metre Argyll (1948), and the 15 metre sloop, White Wings (1948) designed by John Alden. All were, and still are, well-built, ocean racing yachts, with pedigrees to prove it.

Stormy Weather, helmed by designers Rod & Olin Stephens, won the New York – Bergen TransAtlantic Race and the Fastnet Race the year after she was launched, and the Newport Bermuda Race a year later in 1936. Still in winning form in 2001, she came first in class at the America’s Cup Jubilee in Cowes.

Stormy Weather has been owned by Christopher Spray, from the UK, for the past nine years. Spray saw the boat at the America’s Cup Jubilee and inquired with his broker who told him, “Well yes, but she’s never going to be for sale.” Fate intervened and a few weeks later the broker called to tell him it was indeed for sale. Onboard is a collection of friends, one or two professional sailors, and family including Spray’s wife, son and daughter.

Spray said, “Stormy Weather’s got a great racing history and we just do our best to maintain her reputation, which is what we going to try to do today against the Alden boat (White Wings). They’re a very tough, very professional, very competitive crew. Even today when it’s supposed to be fun I’m sure they’re going to be hard to beat.” This fall Spray will sail Stormy Weather, with his son in the crew, to the Caribbean for the winter and to compete in classic regattas there.

White Wings, a John Alden-designed cutter, was originally built for a family in Toronto, and was the flagship of the Royal Toronto YC. Mike Sparks wanted a very good-looking boat, and fell in love with White Wings walking down the jetty in Corsica. He said, “ I thought the lines were beautiful and bought it within a few weeks.”

Spark has owned her for three years, and raced this past season in Imperia, Corsica, Antibes, Cannes, Saint-Tropez. He used to race one-designs in the UK and said, “After a disastrous World Championship, where it’s so cold in July in the Solent, we decided to come down here for some good weather…food, and wine.”

The S&S designed Argyll, was very recently acquired by the Welsh comedian and actor, Griff Ryhs-Jones. Ryhs-Jones has another classic boat (the Philip Rhodes-designed sloop, Undina) which he divides his attention – and sail inventory – on, but it is Argyll that has really caught his eye. Rhys-Jones said, “It’s a very authentic boat. There was a little sequence of boats, Argyll, Dorade, Stormy Weather and they’re all yawls.

“With her last two owners, Arygll’s been fantastically pampered. The yacht survey said basically there is nothing wrong with this boat, and for a wooden boat, that’s an extraordinary thing! I like to start with new, rather than start with an old wreck, like we did with Undina, and then spend a lot of money doing it up.”

The 60-year old boat has indeed, over the past ten years, undergone a meticulous refit to the double-planked mahogany hull and teak decks, as well as the interior and exterior joinery, and spars, much of the work done by MB Yachts in Dorchester, UK. Standing onboard the boat with its’ varnished mahogany trim glinting in the sun, Rhys-Jones allows, “Perhaps a bit too pampered to go racing.”

As one of the last challenges to go off, the trio enjoyed half a dozen lead changes on their 14 nautical mile course out to the Nioulargue buoy, across to a mark off St. Raphael, and to the finish off the Tour du Portalet in Saint-Tropez. By race end, White Wings perservered, and led Stormy Weather and Argyll across the finish line. For the three classic yachts it was all part of an ongoing personal, and fun, competition. Tomorrow they’ll be back with the pack as regular fleet racing continues.

[MLovett]

October 1, 2010

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, France


STUNNING DAY ON THE BAY OF PAMPELONNE

After a day ‘off’ at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, on Friday it was back to fleet racing for the 289 boats here this year. Les Voiles is unique in the diversity of the fleet; for this 12th edition there are 101 boats in the Tradition division, 165 in the Modern division, 11 in the Wally division, and 12 in the Tofinu division.

The Tradition fleet is a motley collection of fore-and-aft schooners, Bermudian sloops, Marconi cutters, among others. The terms indicating the type of sail plan often seem difficult to understand, but in this maze of technical names for sailing yachts it relates to one, two, or three masts, carrying various types of sails. The schooner has two or more masts, with the forward mast shorter than the aft (main) mast. The reverse – in simple terms – is a ketch, when the shorter after (mizzen) mast is located in front of the rudder post; and if the mizzenmast is located aft of this axis, it is a yawl. A Marconi rig or sail plan features a mainsail that is triangular-shaped, with the narrow end (head) at the top of the mast. Very common with traditional yachts, is a fore-and-aft sail plan, also known as gaff-rigged. Finally, a cutter is a sailing yacht that has at least two headsails.

From the air over the Bay of Pampelonne today, the Les Voiles fleet seemingly filled the water to the horizon, unusual in that all of the divisions, Tradition, Modern, and Wally, were racing on the same body of water. The race committee opted to the fleet southward outside of the Golfe de Saint-Tropez, which was where the wind finally materialized. And while they all divisions had their own courses, there was indeed overlap, with some modern grand-prix boats crossing classic gaffers, but there was plenty of real estate for all competitors. Again today, there was a delay for the scheduled start times and then around 2pm, the wind line moved in from the southwest and all classes were off in a building breeze that ranged from 8 – 12 knots.

The smaller Tradition division boats were sent on a 15.8 nautical mile course, the bigger boats on a 18.9 nautical mile course; all boats left the starting line in the Golfe de Saint-Tropez, sailed out around Porte Moutte and then beat across the Bay of Pampelonne to a windward mark off Cap Camarat, back to Porte Seiche, where the course they eventually finished when the course was shortened.

At press time results were not final – with the big fleet, calculations will be forthcoming by this evening. As of this morning, after two days of racing, the leaders for the Rolex Trophy – the low point leaders, all four yachts with two wins each – were the NYYC40 Rowdy (1916), the 12m Ikra (1964), the gaff ketch Thendara (1937), and the gaff cutter Moonbeam IV (1914). A collection of traditional boats that, in itself, celebrates over 50 years of innovative yacht design and impeccable construction. Of course it helps that all of these boats have been highly maintained and/or undergone significant restoration efforts, but they are all true to their original design.

The Rolex Trophy

The Rolex Trophy will be awarded to the low point winner from the Tradition division boats that are more than 16 metres (length on deck). There are 44 boats eligible in this division, spread over seven classes. At Sunday's prize giving ceremony at the Citadelle, the winner will be awarded the Rolex Trophy and a Rolex Submariner timepiece. The Trophy was first awarded in 2006, past winners include:

2006 – So Fong, 25 metre Marconi-rigged schooner. Designed by the renowned naval architecture firm, Sparkman & Stephens and built in Hong Kong in 1937.

2007 – Agneta, 25 metre yawl, built in 1951. Agneta’s beautiful varnished mahogany hull and tanbark sails are unmistakable on the water.

2008 & 2009 – Rowdy, Herreshoff-designed NYYC 40 class. Commissioned by the New York Yacht Club, this design is 40 feet on the waterline (approx 65 ft LOA).