In the Press

9-21-2016

Les Voiles de Saint Tropez Preview

September 21, 2016

LesVoilesSaint Tropez, France (September 24 – October 2, 2016) Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is a regatta held annually the last week of September on the Mediterranean. The town of Saint Tropez, on the south coast of France, plays host to an incredible gathering of classic wooden yachts, high-tech modern superyachts, as well as a variety of production and custom boats of all sizes. In all, more than 300 boats will race next week in the gulf of Saint Tropez from September 24th to October 2nd in this classic regatta.

In the modern division, a few very different Reichel/Pugh designs will be competing at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez next week. The French team of Team Vision Future will be racing aboard their TP52. This all-out raceboat was built in 2008 by Cookson Boats in New Zealand and launched as Artemis Racing for the Audi MedCup Series. Before racing as Team Vision Future, the boat raced as Near Miss for a few years in events around Europe. Team Vision Future has already had success in Saint Tropez this year, including an IRC A class win in the 2016 Giraglia Rolex Cup Inshore Series. With their local knowledge and well-prepared team, we hope to see them on the podium here again next week.

Botta Dritta, a 66’ cruising yacht by Italian builder Advanced Yachts will also be racing next week. The Advanced 66 brings the modern styling and luxurious accommodation found on large custom superyachts to a more accessible size range. In fact, when looking at photos one could easily mistake an Advanced 66 for the stunning 112’ superyacht Nilaya if not for the size of people on deck! This yacht features a spacious raised saloon below, with sweeping views out over the water and a generous cockpit area with clean decks and uninterrupted lines. With Naval Architecture by Reichel/Pugh, the yacht is a great all around performer, with no shortage of speed despite the level of comfort above and below deck.

Reichel/Pugh’s latest yacht to launch, the 130’ custom superyacht My Song will make her racing debut in Saint Tropez next week in the modern division. Launched earlier this summer from the Baltic Yachts yard in Finland, My Song is a true state-of-the-art superyacht. She combines the racing pedigree of Reichel/Pugh hull, appendage, and sailplan design with gorgeous interior and exterior styling by Italian design house Nauta Yachts, all in a svelte 105 tonne Carbon composite form made possible by the high-tech construction expertise of Baltic Yachts. The My Song crew is also coming to Saint Tropez after a fantastic showing and class win at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia earlier this month. With many still-to-be-revealed innovative features, this yacht is sure to be a standout both on the racecourse and while moored next week. Stay tuned for our technical article publishing September 26 at Seahorse.

In the Wally division, Reichel/Pugh will again have two WallyCentos lined up against each other on the course with Galateia and Magic Carpet3 competing. For the Wally class, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez marks the end of the season, so close racing can be expected as each yacht vies for the last available points to move up the Wally leaderboard. Magic Carpet3 has been a perennial leader at Wally events since her launch in 2013 from the Wally yard and won the Wally class overall in 2014. Galateia represents the latest generation WallyCento and is still in her first season of racing after launching from Green Marine in September 2015. Her crew will no doubt be on the hunt for the podium in this event after a pre-start collision forced them to retire early from racing at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.

The Reichel/Pugh team wishes the best of luck to all competitors at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez next week, where we will once again be treated to some of the best racing the Mediterranean has to offer.

Click for more at the official regatta site and Facebook page

Title photo of courtesy of Michael Kurtz
Pictured at St Barths Bucket 2016

Design No. 252 RP Wallycento Galateia
Naval Architecture and Engineering by Reichel/Pugh
Interior design by Antonio Costamante – Aim Yacht Interiors
Built by Green Marine, U.K. – Launched September 2015
Owner’s suite, two guest cabins and three crew
2016 Les Voiles de St Barth – 3rd Place Maxi Class One

Design No. 181 RP 220’ Superyacht Hetairos
Naval Architecture by Reichel/Pugh
Built by Baltic Yachts – Launched in 2011
Interior Design by Rhoades Young
Owner’s suite, four guest cabins and 10 crew