J/99 KING OF BLUE Victorious at Les Voiles de St Tropez Regatta!

 

J/133 JIVARO SILVER & J/122E BURAN BRONZE IN IRC D CLASS!

(Les Voiles de St. Tropez, France)- Traditionally, the mixture of classic yachts with ultra-modern boats is the main characteristic of the world-famous Les Voiles de St Tropez Regatta. Organized over a week, from September 30th to October 8th, this event offers spectacular, beautiful sailing in an exceptional environment. 


From the cozy confines of St Tropez Harbor, the sailors depart each day to explore the widely varying race courses offered by the regatta PRO in the Bay of St Tropez, truly one of the most picturesque coastlines in the world.

In this amazing challenging year, a few J/owners have managed to excel and have fun with their family and friends.


After a four-day, four race event in rather changeable weather, between beautiful weather with a light wind and more difficult weather with strong winds, the J/99 KING OF BLUE finished 1st in the IRC E Class of twenty-boats with a remarkably consistent record of 1-1-2-1 for 5 points total! With all podium finishes, no other boat in their class even came close to challenging them! As the winner, they were also awarded the Marines de Cogolin Trophy.


We had a chance to catch up with owner Pascal Fan, owner of KING OF BLUE:

“We are very happy with our races at Les Voiles. This year has been very special for us. We bought the J/99 at the beginning of the year, before the Covid-19 crisis. We were only able to sail on board in regattas in the spring.  In fact, during the Sémac Trophy, we were fortunate to have finished 3rd overall!

It is with great pleasure that we’ve participated in this 2020 edition of Les Voiles in St Tropez.  We are so happy and so grateful to participate as a family and friends.  During the various coastal races, we were around 3rd or 4th on the downwind tracks and 1st on the upwind tacks. Our J/99 KING OF BLUE is the real bomb! We were all delighted to sail on board! You really have to try it to enjoy!"


Meanwhile, two other J/Crews had remarkable performances as well in huge, twenty-boat IRC D Class. Winning the silver medal was a familiar French crew, Yves Grosjean's J/133 JIVARO with a 2-3-2-3 tally for 10 pts. Taking the bronze in his first major offshore regatta was a Russian team; Alexey Moskvir's J/122E BURAN had a 3-4-3-4 record for 14 pts.  Learn more about the J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster here:

Gorgeous Rolex Giraglia Race

(St Tropez, France)- The Yacht Club Italiano, St Tropez Yacht Club, and the Yacht Club de Monaco hosted the 67th edition of the Rolex Giraglia Race. 297 yachts were entered in both IRC and ORC classes. The regatta format included a “feeder” race to St Tropez from Sanremo, Italy. Then the fleet sailed three days of inshore races that include three Windward/ Leeward races. Ultimately, the fleet took off on the famous Rolex Giraglia Race, essentially a straight shot from St Tropez to a port round of the Giraglia Rock off the northeastern end of Corsica/ Sardinia, and head straight back to a finish in Hercules Bay off Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Feeder Race
104 yachts were on the starting line for the coastal race from Sanremo to Saint Tropez. The starting gun went off at midnight for the 10th anniversary of the 60.0nm race. The fleet included yachts from 16 different countries, with some boats flying the Latvian, Polish, Czech, Maltese, Russian, Swedish and Turkish flags.

The forecast for the midnight start was for an easterly/north-easterly wind of around 10 kts. The strategic decision for navigators was to decide whether to hug the coast, lengthening the course but picking up more wind, or head straight for Saint Tropez. The northeast breeze held and most boats simply sailed a straight, fast, rhumbline course, with most boats finishing by noon the next day.

Inshore Races
There was only two days of racing the inshore races due to the fickle weather pattern that had setup over the Mediterranean.  The first day saw the northeasterly flow continue, with moderate 5 to 15 kt breezes. The front moved further east, leaving behind a broad, light gradient flow that was not strong enough to conduct any racing on the second day.  Then, a new front moved in and the fleet had good racing on the final inshore day with more breezes again filling in from the east at 6-10 kts.

Rolex Giraglia Race
The start for the famous 241.0nm race was blessed with a crisp southwesterly wind of 15 to 20 kts that would carry the fleet all the way to the Giraglia Rock in near record time.

It was thrilling as ever to see such a mixed fleet leave the quays of Saint Tropez head out of port for the long race: 241.0nm with still uncertain weather keeping up the suspense that reigned on the quayside this morning.

The weather outlook remained uncertain, as anything could happen, especially with the stronger wind expected for Friday the 14th. Navigating on board Rambler 88 was Silvio Arrivabene, who reckoned that they were likely to arrive at the Giraglia rock "before dusk" on Thursday evening and cross the finish line in the early hours of tomorrow morning (Thursday). "There is a relatively fresh westerly, which will hopefully get us to Giraglia in the afternoon. It is downwind, so maybe we will put in a couple of gybes. Then we will come back on port tack all of the way to Monaco where we can expect the usual park-up. That will depend on if the westerly remains strong during the night." The course from Giraglia Rock to the finish line off Monaco is 297 degrees, which made for a quick fetch/tight reach.

In the end, several J/Crews had good outcomes for their week of sailing in the Mediterranean in some of the most historical, famous, and enjoyable, “watering holes” in the world- St Tropez and Monte Carlo.

In ORC A Class, Chile’s Nicolas Ibanez Scott sailed his J/122E ANITA into 4th place in the huge forty-four-boat class in the Rolex Giraglia Race, a great showing for their team. The only teams to beat them were flat-out carbon fiber races, like the winning canting-keeler, a Cookson 50. Then, in the ORC B class of thirty-six boats, Marcello De Gaspari’s Italian crew on the J/109 FREMITO D’ARJA sailed an awesome first inshore race, taking third place, but got black-flagged in the second race, ending their bid for a podium finish in a no-discard-race series.

In the IRC Division, Frenchman Yves Grosjean’s RORC race-winning J/133 JIVARO sailed a steady series to take 6th in IRC A Class of forty-eight boats, by far the highest placing production racer-cruiser in a class comprised of custom carbon racers such as the half-dozen TP52s! Not far behind them in 8th place was the British team on the J/122 CREME ANGLAISE skippered by John Rainger. Then, in the enormous fifty-boat IRC B Class, David Estoppey’s new J/112E NINOTCHKA from Switzerland started off slowly in the first inshore race, but sailed well to close the series with a 6-9 to take 7th place.  For more Rolex Giraglia Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/111 STORMs Giraglia Rolex Race!

J/109 JET LAG Takes IRC-B Overall!
(St Tropez, France)- This past week, a large fleet of top European offshore teams racing in IRC, ORC took part in the 62nd Giraglia Rolex Cup, an annual international rendezvous that regularly attracts over 200 yachts for a week of competition. It is more than simply a sailing event, exhibiting spirited and fair-minded competition, genuine camaraderie among the participants and sublime locations. Sailors are drawn from all corners of the world and all segments of the sport to take part in what has become one of the “must-do” events of the yacht-racing year. This year’s event was marked by a momentous event, finishing the Giraglia Rolex offshore race in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

The decision to finish the race in Monte-Carlo was made in the spirit of this great Mediterranean occasion. It is the Yacht Club Italiano’s contribution towards the inauguration of the stunning new clubhouse of its twin club, the Yacht Club de Monaco, which has been designed by the world-renowned architect Lord Foster and was opening its doors for the first time during the final days of the Giraglia Rolex Cup.

The Giraglia Rolex Cup is classic adventure that takes place over a week, from 13 to 21 June. Following a prologue race from Sanremo (13 June) the fleet gathered in Saint-Tropez for three days of inshore competition (15 - 17 June) before embarking on a 241-nautical mile offshore race (starting 18 June) to Monte-Carlo, via the Giraglia, the rocky outcrop off the northern tip of Corsica. Organized by the Yacht Club Italiano in conjunction with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the Yacht Club de France, the Yacht Club Sanremo and, this year, the Yacht Club de Monaco, Rolex has been involved since 1998 and has been integral to the regatta’s continued growth in stature.

In addition to honoring the celebration of YC Monaco’s new clubhouse, it also marked the debut of the Double-Handed Division in the Giraglia Rolex Offshore Race.  A grand armada of 206 yachts set off on the offshore race under a sky awash with low cloud and a sea caressed by a warm, but gentle easterly breeze. With so many boats on the water, the start of the 241-nm Mediterranean classic offered a spectacular panorama to those watching from both Saint-Tropez and the northern shore of the gulf.  Taking it all in and looking forward to the challenge was Massimo Colosimo, owner of the J/111 J-STORM, and crew Maurizio Dotti that were taking part in the Double-Handed Division.  Here’s Massimo’s commentary on the race:

“The start took place off the lovely harbor of Saint Tropez under a dark and cloudy sky, sailing in light 8 kts westerly breeze.  The Double-handed division took off to windward to the first weather mark in order to split-up the huge fleet crossing the Tyrrhenian Sea.

After rounding the weather mark, the next course was straight to Corsica.  At this time, the breeze increased and J-STORM hoisted their biggest Gennaker (the A2 asymmetric) and started flying downwind to the next mark- the Giraglia Rock just in front of the wild Cape Corso.

J-STORMS’s average speed was in the range of 15 kts, easy-to-handle by the two crew- Maurizio & myself. J-STORM  was easily overtaking most of the biggest IRC and ORC boats that had their start an hour and a half earlier!

While approaching the Giraglia Rock, the breeze dropped a little but before nightfall, J-STORM was in the middle of all the big boats and was poised to win her class, if not the entire race overall.

By early morning the wind increased and backed, producing big chop on top of the swells.  It was not exactly the best point of sail for a double-handed crew.  Nevertheless, with no crew sitting on the windward rail, Maurizio and I managed to sail quite fast, paying attention all the time to the best heel angle and closely watching their tactics with their competitors. It was a long 90nm upwind leg to the finish off Monte Carlo, Monaco.  The finish off Monaco can often be difficult because the high bluffs and mountains of the coastline often kill the seabreeze.  J-STORM faired incredibly well, holding the west/southwest position on rhumbline for most of the course, arriving in Monaco still in the offshore breeze and making an average speed of 7.5 kts.  Quite an accomplishment for a 36 footer double-handed in a long offshore race.”

Perhaps the most startling achievement is that it was the first time Massimo and Maurizio sailed their J/111 J-STORM in a double-handed race, easily beating some of the most famous professional ocean sailors such as Pietro D'Ali and Dede de Luca (both trans-Atlantic single-handed champion sailors), plus several good French Teams.  Bravo! Congratulations, “job well done” to both Massimo and Maurizio!

The other J/Teams in the event also had awesome performances.  In the Giraglia San Remo to St Tropez Race, sixty-six boats sailed and the J/109 JET LAG sailed by Richard Burton took first overall against a super-hot fleet of IRC racers.  They were followed by Igor Raspopov’s J/109 M.A.R.C. I in 19th overall and Viktor Zhakharov’s J/122 NOISY OYSTER in 22nd, Paolo Rossini’s J/105 ANDA YA in 24th and Eugeni Nikiforou’s J/111 MERLIN in 28th.

For the Giraglia Inshore Series, the IRC A class had fifty-eight entries and Laurent Charmy’s J/111 SL ENERGIES GROUPE FASTWAVE took 7th in class and the J/133 JIVARO sailed by Yves Grosjean took 15th. In the IRC B class, the J/teams faired quite well.  After their successful regatta debut in the San Remo- St Tropez race, Richard Burton’s crew on the J/109 JET LAG continued their winning ways, taking third in class, just one point out of second!  Fourth was Patrick Gouedart’s J/109 JEDI and tenth in class was Pascale Barbier’s J/97 NO LIMIT.

The Giraglia Rock race had several impressive performances in addition to the Double-handed win by the J/111 J-STORM.  Taking 5th overall in IRC was the J/111 SL ENERGIES GROUPE FASTWAVE sailed by Laurent Charmy.  Also sailing an excellent race was Giancarlo Ghislanzoni’s J/133 CHESTRESS 3, taking 9th IRC overall. Finally, Richard Burton’s J/109 JET LAG took 13th overall.

In fact, it was Richard Burton’s combination of strong offshore performances and a dominating “inshore series” in his J/109 JET LAG that enabled them to be crowned by HRH Prince Albert of Monaco as the Giraglia Rolex Cup IRC B Series champion!  They managed to beat the “crème-de-la-crème” of the Mediterranean offshore fraternity from France, Monaco and Italy sailing A35s, X34s, First 36.7s, Grand Soleil 40s, X35s and Elan 410s.   Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Carlo Borlenghi   For more Giraglia Race sailing information

J'Taime Les Voiles de St Tropez!

J/97, J/109 & J/111 Win The Party!
(St Tropez, France)- For its 15th edition, from 28 September to 6 October 2013, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez offered thousands of sailors, skippers and owners of sublime yachts an idea, a state of mind, a certain experience of yachting, that was colored by the unique convivial atmosphere synonymous with the gathering of seafarers far and wide.  It's the "history" and the "future" of yachting side by side in Saint-Tropez. A dizzying, intoxicating mixture of fashion, parties, gorgeous people and fabulous sailing (usually) in the beautiful azure waters off the picturesque village of St Tropez.

The autumn’s major festival of international yachting lived up to its expectations for the sailors doing battle in the Gulf of Saint Tropez and the waters off Pampelonne Beach in front of the infamous Cub 55 (where beach clothing is often optional). A festival on shore, a sporting celebration at sea, it's a proven recipe for success that is synonymous with "la dolce vida" or, perhaps, "la vida loca" (as in Rio's Festival or New Orleans' Mardis Gras)!

Boasting Modern and Classic boats alike, the 300+ yachts brought the Baie of Saint Tropez to life. As always,  Les Voiles brings the magical spectacle of yachts hitting the water that represented over a century of yacht design and aesthetics.  After sailing, the heart of the event was the "Les Voiles Village"-- the event’s hub where sailors from across the yachting world and locals gathered ashore to enjoy evening festivities.

The sailors were greeted by an extraordinary mix of weather this year.  From fierce storms that swept down from the northwest bringing 30-45 kt gales to sublime, gorgeous days of westerlies with 10-15 kts-- perfect for a day's sail with friends after a long evening of entertainment with friends in the village of St Tropez or dancing at the Club 55 disco on the Pampelonne beach until dawn!

In the end, the event was declared "Unforgettable", according to Bruno Troublé, Louis Vuitton Cup master-mind and long-time J/80 owner and sailor in J/80 French, European and World Championships. It was a week full of contrasts, indeed, with a quiet start in calm weather, culminating with two fantastic sailing days on Wednesday and Saturday-- mostly remembered for excellent sailing conditions under a blazing sun. The 15th edition of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez proved once again the place to be and put an emphatic exclamation mark to the end of a great sailing season!! Good times ashore, with parties on board, and the great musical atmosphere of the Village were only rivaled by the excellent sailing on the spectacular Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

And, Saint-Tropez attracts the stars, both human and sailing machines. Many of them J sailors past and present (J/24s, J/80s, J/109s)-- Sébastien Col, Jan Dekker, Peter Holmberg, Jean-Pierre Dick-- they were all there, most sailing anonymously and enjoying one of the world’s greatest sailing festivals.

J/Teams had great fun sailing in the wide variety of conditions.  IRC D class had 40 boats participating and taking 6th was the J/111 MERLIN sailed by Michel Buffet, finishing just 8 pts from second. The IRC E class had 36 boats sailing.  Taking 10th was the J/109 JEDI skippered by Patrick Gouedart, 12th was the J/109 JAVA BLUE III helmed by Eric Bardaille who, in turn just beat by one point the 13th place team- the J/97 NO LIMIT led by Pascale Barbier.  Sailing photo credits- Gilles Martin Raget/ Marseilles, France.  For more Les Voiles des St Tropez sailing information

Rolex Giraglia Cup Update

(St Tropez, France)- When St Tropez rolls out the red carpet, with gardens in full bloom, surrounding hills of the Baie de St Tropez lush with fragrant flowers, fabulous cafes serving up an orgy of delicious seaside cuisine, crystal-clear skies dotted with puffy white, cottony clouds and warm Mediterranean breezes sweeping down the picturesque coastline, it's awfully hard to beat.  And so far the sailors have been treated to nothing but the best St Tropez has to offer.

Spoiled after four days of exceptional weather conditions sailing the inshore racing portion of the event, the teams are now headed out into the challenging 242-nautical mile race from St Tropez, France to Sanremo, Italy via the Giraglia Lighthouse sitting on a rocky outcrop off the northern tip of Corsica.  Of course, can't be too bad if you're simply going out to sea, turning left and going from the French Riviera's hot-spot to the Italian Riviera's ho-spot, right?  Think again.  The forecast is for 20-30 kts and by Thursday blowing up to 40 knots in a classic Mistral-like condition.  “It will be very demanding with a lot of wind throughout today,” explained Francesco de Angelis, former J/24 World Champion in Capri, Italy and tactician onboard the 62-foot NATALI–B2. “For tomorrow we are forecasting a certain drop in conditions and some changes of direction bringing lighter winds. It will be a difficult race for everyone although, as always, you can never predict what is going to happen.”

Few boats will be as experienced and up to the challenge as the J/122 ARTIE from Malta, owned by Lee Satariano and co-skippered by Christian Ripard. In their previous competitive offshore outing the combination were the first Maltese in ten years to win the hugely demanding 606-nm Rolex Middle Sea Race. Keeping them honest will be Giancarlo Ghislanzoni on his J/122 CHESTRESS 3.  Also, in the hunt will be Olivier Parchet's J/122 NOISY OYSTER and Edward Gatt Floridia's J/122 OTRA VEZ.  With four J/122s racing, one of them is certain to revel in the conditions.

After the first four races in IRC A with 73 boats participating, the top J/122 is Giancarlo's CHESTRESS 3 sitting in 6th place, just 20 points out of third going into a double-counter race.  Just behind in 10th is Olivier's NOISY OYSTER and 11th is Lee's ARTIE RTFX.

In IRC B, with 55 boats participating, the top J is Antonio Marcri's J/39 SCINTILLA J sitting in 9th place.  The J/109 JAVA BLEUE 3 sailed by La Forest Bardaille sits in 12th place and another J/109 JET LAG sailed by Richard Burton (not the movie actor!) is lying in 20th place. With the forecast for a solid breeze and waves, look for the J/109s in particular to make a quick climb up the ladder and be further up the standings after the Giraglia Race.   For more Rolex Giraglia Race sailing information

J/122 Third In St Tropez 900 Race

(St Tropez, France)- With the support of the City of Saint-Tropez, under the aegis of the FFV (Federation Francois de Voile) and the race sponsors, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez held its famous first offshore race in the Mediterranean- the 900 nm St Tropez Race.  This "tour of the Mediterranean" makes the Giraglia and the Middle Sea Races, both notorious for having to cope with demanding and often capricious weather on the Med, look like practice races.  The St Tropez race, to give you some perspective, is nearly 35% longer, crosses a number of major shipping lanes and rounds some of the most famous (and largest) islands in the Med.  The race goes from St Tropez, to the island of Minorca, then around Sardinia, then around Corsica and back to St Tropez.

Like their other famous J/122 sisterships in Malta and Italy, Olivier Parchet's French team on his J/122 NOISY OYSTER finished third overall in IRC, just behind famous French Solo Champion Lionel Pean, in an elapsed time of 6 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes. Said Olivier, "It was a difficult finish for us since we were in first position for over 75% of the race after passing the Minorca turning mark!  A bit frustrating but nevertheless a fantastic race for us.  We're happy with the outcome, not bad for a "comfort without compromise" 40 foot sailboat!  The J/122 is simply amazing, perfect for how we sail in the Med. By the way, NOISY OYSTER will participate to Giraglia in June, Copa del Rey in Palma in July and Middle sea Race in October in Malta!"  Best regards, Olivier

In addition to the J/122, the 2011 St Tropez Overall Winner, the J/109 ALBACOR IV sailed by Jena-Louis Pezin, managed to hang tough in this demanding race to score a sixth overall in an elapsed time of 7 days, 13 hour sand 12 minutes.   For St Tropez 900 Race sailing results   For St Tropez 900 Race sailing information