But we had come to Saint-Tropez for Les Voiles, and so had to
steel ourselves against such temptations (easy enough, we’d be back ashore in a
few hours!). Courtesy of Wally PR Director Monica Paolazzi, we hitched a
ride on Tiketitan, an 88-foot
Wally sporting a canting keel and hydraulic canards as part of her bag of
ultramodern tricks. Push-button sailing at its best, carbon fiber everywhere,
indeed the complete "Wally experience." With Wally’s founder and president, Luca
Bassani, at the helm and America’s Cup veteran Harold Cudmore as tactician, the
bilingual information flow was as entertaining as it was informative. A tight
mark rounding in (very) close proximity with another Wally was "discussed"
loudly in a more universal and graphic sailors’ language. Needless to say, once
back at the quai, we had to unwind with a pastis.
Top photo: The awards ceremony at La Citadelle with the
Gulf of Saint-Tropez in the background. Bottom photo: Taking care of one of the old ladies is an ongoing
process. (Click images to enlarge)
One of the challenges posed by Saint-Tropez’ winding narrow streets is
navigation. Walking around, one invariably notices tantalizing restaurants, at
street level, upstairs, in cellars, everywhere. Especially in the first few days
of the regatta, the problem arises later in the evening, and manifests itself by
the sight of groups of hungry sailors—no doubt excellent navigators all—cruising
in search of that elusive little bistro spotted earlier in the day. Our own food
experience ranged from world-class French fries at a tiny hole-in-the-wall to a
disappointing dinner at a much-touted Michelin two-star restaurant.
Moules frites and a bottle of rosé on the beach at Les
Graniers proved to be as excellent as the place was entertaining. Soupe de poissons seemed to be good everywhere, so we ranked it
by the quality of the accompanying rouille. The place to
be for afternoon cocktails or a final nightcap is unquestionably the Hotel de
Sube, overlooking the Old Port, graciously hosted by owner Jean-Louis Carré.
Fortune favored us, and we did find a gem: Le Petit Charron, a maman-et-papa 34-seat hideaway. The Benoits, its owners, are
among the organizers of the final offshore race of the season, from Saint-Tropez
to Malta. We’re so thrilled with our discovery that we won’t tell you where it
is. If you can find it, enjoy it.
Top photo: The Wally class got into some pretty tight
racing. Bottom photo: Close quarters in the Classic fleet. (Click images to enlarge)
Thursday was devoted to that unique Les Voiles de
Saint-Tropez event, the Journée des Défis (day of challenges). Any yacht may
challenge another to a match race; the winner has to agree to a rematch the
following year if requested. There were multi-boat challenges, as well, for
various prizes. Armin Fischer, captain of the classic 94-foot Fife ketch
Sumurun, offered us a spot for Friday’s race, saving us
from being too land and restaurant bound. In complete contrast to
Tiketitan, there wasn’t a powered winch to be seen, just
plenty of winch handles strategically distributed. It was a lumpy, light-air
day, not her best conditions, but Sumurun strove
mightily, sailing a course crowded by old six-meters, 30-square-meters, 150-foot
gaff schooners and everything in between, and finished a creditable ninth in
class. While the Gulf of Saint-Tropez is certainly spacious enough, 284 yachts take
up a great deal of pelagic real estate, and the sight of the various classes
simultaneously starting, rounding marks, finishing and just sailing around was,
for lack of a better word, awesome. Perhaps because it is a rarer sight, the classic
yacht fleet was particularly impressive—in number (109) and in the range of
sizes encompassed, but mainly in the quality of the boats and the obvious love
and effort their owners and crews had devoted to restoring and maintaining them.
Varnish glowed softly, brass shone, awnings were taut and all appropriate flags
and bunting were snapping in the breeze. At dockside, the juxtaposition of the
eight Wally yachts, all moored together, with three gaff-rigged schooners
exemplified as much as anything else the spirit and scope of the regatta.
Top photo: The classics, triple head rigs, club topsails
and all, are the glamor girls of the regatta. Bottom photo: 80-foot Mylne classic yawl
Mariella, the lone entry from Antigua. (Click images to enlarge)
Speaking of spirit, high spirits indeed were evident Friday,
the day of the Crews’ Carnival. With much thumping of drums, several crews
marched down the waterfront in assorted thematic fashions and proceeded to an
evening of merriment at the Place des Lices, consigning the die-hard boules
players to the few remaining gaps between the trees. The thumping, which lasted
until the wee hours, measured how efficiently Saint-Tropez accommodates all
types of activities; by eight the following morning, the justly famous open-air
market was set up and active. If you do nothing else while here, you owe it to
yourself to walk through the astounding variety of, well, everything:
vegetables, shoes, cell phones, sausages, cheeses, straw bags, linen shirts,
faux furs—everything. It is all so tempting, it will make you wish you had a
larger yacht. We spent the last day of racing, Saturday, chasing the fleet in a press boat,
trying to get in the last few perfect shots of the boats sailing in against the
backdrop of the old town, reveling once again in the beauty of the assembled
fleet. Sunday morning everyone climbed to the top of La Citadelle for the awards
ceremony, which was as smoothly executed as the entire week had been. One could
argue that with venues such as these, it’s easy to stage an impressive event,
but La Société Nautique takes the beauty of the venues as a challenge, an
inspiration for that extra effort. And, after all its achievements, it remains
refreshingly humble. This final quote from André Beaufils to the participants
says it all: "So now it is up to you—what surprises do you have for
us?"
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