St. Barth's Bucket Regatta: 30 superyachts sailed for a bucket in the Caribbean

The crème de la crème of sailing Superyachts once again made a pilgrimage to the island chain of the Lesser Antilles, more precisely to the capital harbour of Gustavia on Saint-Barthélemy. The tranquil French-ruled Caribbean jewel with a population of just 9,000 is transformed into the stage for the most spectacular sailing show for large formats every March on the occasion of the St. Barths Bucket Regatta. Before they were sent around the 21-square-kilometre island over three days, the computers first ran hot. The race data of the 30 participants, wind and wave data and the up to 35(!) course variations resulting from the fact that some small satellite islands are included or the island is circumnavigated in both directions were fed into the computers. The software predicted the respective race duration and thus the order of the kangaroo start on a daily basis. After all, the precious creatures should not come too close to each other and there should be immediate winners of the six groups at the finish.

The tradition of the St. Barth's Bucket provides the kangaroo start

The back-to-back starts have historical roots. The spirit of the bucket regatta originated in 1986, when a handful of owners organised a small one-day regatta off Nantucket on the US east coast to celebrate a birthday. The handicaps were agreed over a drink the evening before the start. They played a major role in the starting order, as the fastest participant started last and had to roll up the field from the back. The fun sailing event was moved to the Caribbean in 1995, where over 35 entries were accepted at peak times. Once again this year, race director Peter Craig announced the start sequence every morning. The line-up impressively shows the range of the 30 participants, who ranged from cruisers to racers. In the three "Corinthian Spirit" groups, there was no requirement for professional crew or the use of spinnakers or gennakers, but headsails such as Code Zero were allowed to be unfurled. In St. Barths jargon, these classes are called L'Esprit 1 and 2 and Les Mademoiselles.

In the first race, the starting time ranged from 11.30 a.m. for "Melek", a 56-metre ketch with a displacement of 540 tonnes from Perini Navi, to 12.57 p.m. for "Spirit of Malouen X". The Wally 107 crossed the line just a few seconds behind "Hetairos", the huge carbon ketch (67 metres) from Baltic Yachts. Nevertheless, a sporty start was made right at the beginning. "Melek" made the best start of the fleet, just two seconds after the scheduled start time. The smallest participant, "Freya", a Swan 90, crossed the line in 15th place, clearly winning her class with three firsts. The longest starter, "M5", at 78 metres, was fifth on the 20.5 nautical mile island circuit in light winds.

Up to 28 nautical miles around the island

On the following two days it bristled up a little, resulting in courses of up to 28 nautical miles. Between the many rock formations, it was very tight, as "Hanuman's" tactician Peter Isler described. He came together with six other boats at the Roche le Bouf waymark: "It was the best example of superyacht communication, with crews of J-boats, 200-footers and modern 90-footers each completing one of the toughest manoeuvres: hoisting the spinnaker, jibing and then reaching to round the rocks. Everyone stuck to the racing rules and it all worked!" It was particularly close between Royal Huisman's 56-metre ketch "Aquarius" and "Hetairos" at Les Gazelles. The ketches, each with regatta-experienced owners and crews, took turns at the top, beating the sensational Huisman newbuild "Nilaya" (47 m) in third place in the final ranking. Whereby "Hetairos" was once again successful.

The big ones were close and fair

The two Js grouped together with the Les Elegantes, with "Hanuman" relying on a gennaker on the deflection block instead of a spinnaker. In contrast to regattas organised by the International Maxi Association (IMA), the Owner Driver Rule does not apply to the Bucket. It states that owners must steer for a certain amount of time, including to the start, and are then allowed to hand over the wheel to professionals. The experienced "Velsheda" owner was at the helm the entire time, taking three first places. Captain William Gibbon said: "He liked the wave conditions and did a great job. We sail with him a lot, but in race mode we have an advantage over some of the other boats because we have a complete, well-oiled crew." Behind the J-Class beauties was the debutant "Zemi" (33 metres), followed by "Perseverance" (40 metres), another yacht from Finnish Baltic halls.

Buckets for "Gelliceaux" at their premiere

A surprise was provided by the 36 metre long "Gelliceaux". The Carbon-Slup, which was launched by Southern Wind in Cape Town last August, won the six-team L'Esprit 1 group with a 1-3-3 series and the owner at the helm. And as this was achieved in the most competitive class, the owner's family was allowed to hold up the coveted Hermès bucket, which gives the event its name, and fill it with champagne. The overall winners of the St. Barths Bucket Regatta are only yachts with a length of more than 30.50 metres that sail in a class of three or more starters. It also depends on the highest performance density. The most competitive class is the one in which the points and time difference between first and third place is the smallest.

It was the first regatta ever for "Gelliceaux's" captain Clive Walker. His conclusion: "The regatta was exactly as we had expected. We sailed well on the first day and won, the owner has a good feeling for the yacht. Things didn't go so well on the second day. Today we saw a squall coming over the island, tacked, sailed towards it and benefited from a spin." The owner added: "We didn't even dream of winning the Bucket. Gelliceaux far exceeded expectations and we are very proud of the whole team." On the way to first place, "Gelliceaux" smashed the code zero on the final day and received a 30 per cent time penalty. The SW108 dropped back to third place, but scored a total of seven overall points compared to the second-placed team's eight "Vijonara" (42 m, Pendennis).

St. Barth's Bucket fleet launch soon after all?

What would the Bucket be without premieres, as the organisers of the non-commercial event have been responding to changes within the supersailing scene for several years now. This was the case in 2017 with a starting group for 90-footers. This year, there was a special Performance Ouvert category, in which the Wally 107 "Spirit of Malouen X" competed with other performers over 100 feet long. "Hetairos" won, whereas the "Spirit of Malouen X", which was decisive for the new ranking, finished in last place behind the bucket newcomer "Maximus". It was not enough for a separate fleet start, as was actually planned. Perhaps the 100-footers, many of which will be competing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup off Sardinia, will be drawn to the Caribbean next year. Then they will be sailing for the bucket from 13 to 16 March.