Unlike the Mediterranean original, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, there are no classics at the start off Gustavia, but there are plenty of professional sailors and regatta-hungry owners. The reasons: Sailing takes place over a full four days and the trade winds off St Barth blow reliably in mid-April. However, at 9 to 20 knots, it was somewhat more moderate than last year for the 12th edition. In addition, the local race director usually plans a high proportion of room sheet passages in his courses. At Les Voiles de St. Barth, small islands or rock formations often serve as tacking marks or, in most cases, "jibe marks". This is spectacular to look at, but difficult to navigate and challenging to sail due to the wind cover.
There were only two starters in the Maxis, both VO70s. Roy Pat Disney celebrated his event premiere with "Pyewacket 70". Walt Disney's great-nephew took part in 25 Transpac 600s with yachts of the same name and won the race between Los Angeles and Honolulu five times. He brought America's Cup veteran Peter Isler on board as navigator. "The Les Voiles short course races are completely different from what the Pyewacket team normally does," said Disney. "The races around and through the surrounding islands were tricky. We often had 20-degree turns and strong gusts." As "Pyewacket 70" also topped the overall standings of this year's RORC 600, the US sailors took the prize for the Caribbean Maxi Challenge in addition to their Les Voiles success.
Strong field of performance cats
Seven yachts competed in the class with the second largest number of starters. The experienced Belgian maxi sailor Filip Balcaen achieved a clean sweep with his ClubSwan 50 "Balthazar". Tactician Bouwe Bekking summarised: "Everything went according to plan and the owner did a fantastic job at the helm."
The most fiercely contested was the multihull classification with 14 participants. Among others, two HH66s, Nala and Nemo, two Gunboat 62s and the 50-foot cat "Lodigroup", which sailed to second place with Loïc Escoffier and Marc Pajot, crossed the line. The "Zoulou" owner Erik Maris was delighted with the overall first place and a watch from the title sponsor (Montre Richard Mille RM 60-01). The French banker placed his MOD-70 class trimaran in the hands of Loïck Peyron.
Here here are the results of the Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille 2023.
More about regattas off St. Barth
Sören Gehlhaus
Stellvertretender Chefredakteur BOOTE EXCLUSIV
