Ideal conditions and flawless Maxi scorelines at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
by James Boyd / International Maxi Association 1 Oct 16:11 PDT
28 September – 6 October 2024
The 82ft Django HF leads the Wally 101 y3K during Race Day 2 of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez © Gilles Martin-Raget / www.martin-raget.com
After two days of competition at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the concluding event of the International Maxi Association’s 2024 Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge, the leaders astonishingly maintain flawless scorelines across all four classes.
For the second consecutive day, the race committee from the Société Nautique de Saint Tropez organized a coastal race for Maxi C and D, while the larger and faster Maxi A and B classes sailed two windward-leeward races. The starting point for the 41 maxis was the Bay de Pampelonne, with courses set in the Golfe de Saint-Tropez for both ‘modern’ and ‘classic’ classes. The first warning signal at 12:00 saw the Maxi C fleet head off first, following a general recall and a black flag start, followed by Maxi D. Today’s course featured an extended windward-leeward segment starting with an 18-mile beat southwest towards Formigue.
In Maxi C, there was a constant battle between the reigning champion, IMA President Benoît de Froidmont’s Wally 60 Wallyño and Luigi Sala’s similarly-rated Vismara 62 Yoru. With wind gusting to 20 knots, once again the Italians claimed victory, finishing just 40 seconds ahead under IRC corrected time, with Karl Pisec’s Solaris 72 Black Pearl securing third place.
For this event in Saint-Tropez, Sala has enlisted Trieste tactician Lorenzo Bodini (who regularly races on the dominant H20), who remarked: “Wallyño is a challenging boat in windward-leewards while we excel at reaching, so we are pleased with today. We fought hard – making the most of every small wind shift to increase our lead.”
“The wind was strongest at the top mark. Afterward, we saw some strong gusts, but it became tricky as the wind dropped again with an unforeseen 10-15 degree shift.”
For a second consecutive day, Anthony Ball’s vintage 1979 Swan 65 sloop Six Jaguar triumphed in Maxi D, followed by Luca Scoppa’s Dehler 60 Blue Oyster in second place, finishing 2 minutes and 8 seconds later under IRC, and Francois Benais’ Shipman 63 Bambo, the 2021 victor, in third.
However, the most exciting competition was between the Maxi A and B classes in their windward-leeward races across Pampelonne Bay.
In the first race, Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s ClubSwan 80 My Song received a strong start at the pin, alongside Wendy Schmidt’s 85ft Deep Blue at mid-line and Alessandro Del Bono’s IRC82 Capricorno near the committee boat. Yet it was Peter Harrison’s 72ft Jolt that crossed the fleet in the initial minutes and maintained her lead: She rounded the top mark ahead of Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s 82ft Django HF, with Sir Peter Ogden’s Maxi 77 Jethou in third. At the finish line, Jolt clinched the win after IRC time correction, with Jethou taking second place, followed by Django HF and My Song.
Jolt also started strong in the second race, while the fleet faced a setback as the 72ft Balthasar’s jib tore from luff to leech just before the start, and My Song was unable to clear the committee boat. Surprisingly, Claus Peter Offen’s Wally 101 y3K, one of the heaviest boats in Maxi A, led at the top mark, followed by Django HF and Jolt. Ultimately, Jolt again triumphed, finishing under IRC 1 minute and 42 seconds ahead of Jethou (second for the fourth time here) with Deep Blue taking third.
Remarkably, Jolt won today’s second race without functioning electronics or hydraulics. “We experienced a major shutdown during the pre-start, so we reverted to traditional methods,” explained tactician Hamish Pepper. Sailing big maxi yachts without hydraulics is typically unfeasible: “We were fortunate that at the time it shut down, we had everything set properly – if the vang had been on, we wouldn’t have made it around the top mark since we couldn’t ease it, so we navigated using our existing settings. We were lucky to manage it.”
In Maxi B, Terry Hui’s Wally 77 Lyra also maintained her perfect scoreline, despite facing issues with the main halyard during the final finish. During the first race of the day, Christian Oldendorff’s magnificent 111ft Spirit Yachts Geist finished second, with Maurits van Orange’s recently acquired Wally 80 Sud in third position. In the second race, the podium was rounded off by Andrés Varela Entrecanales’ Vismara 68 Pelotari.Project and Peter Dubens’ Frers 60 Spectre.
It was particularly impressive to witness the 111ft modern classic Geist rounding the top mark first in today’s second race. “The boat is performing very well,” stated tactician Paul Campbell-James, a renowned figure among British grand prix yacht racers participating onboard.
“Replacing the keel and the rudder has drastically improved the boat’s performance – last year we had to heel the boat significantly and dip the leeward rail to gain any control. Now we can sail it flatter and perform competitively regarding rating.” They also utilize a spinnaker deck drop system that allows them to drop kites in 10 seconds instead of 90, enabling later drops.
“Once more, it was a left-hand track today,” continued Campbell-James, currently wing trimmer for the Canadian SailGP team. “In the first race, Lyra executed a great start at the pin, while everyone tacked fairly early, so they did well. In the second race, we won the pin, and others went far past the lay line, meaning when we tacked back, we were reaching in, which was advantageous given our boat is longer than everyone else’s…”
Their racing experience was not without challenges. They broke their mainsheet but, with quick thinking, immediately tacked and secured the broken sheet tail around a winch. “We then had our best upwind leg!” Campbell-James joked.
Tomorrow will be a lay day for the Maxi fleets, with racing set to resume on Thursday.
Event website: www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr/en
