This Saturday, March 21st, twelve crews took the start of the 900 Nautiques de Saint-Tropez. Threatening skies, east wind from 15 to 18 knots, strong swellâ?¦ nothing spared the participants, as they left the Port of Saint-Tropez. In view of the weather conditions, it is the course 1 which was chosen by the Race Committee for this 6 e edition.
All of them quickly reached Port Cros, which they had to sail around to port before starting the descent to go around the island of Menorca (Balearic Islands). The first one in real time is none other than SFS which even reached speeds of 18 knots at the start. Behind him, we find the Class 40, Route du Large followed by Pegasus .
After the departure, the catamaran Arcadia IV suffered a daggerboard failure, but the crew managed to right it. They were able to resume the race, but stopped at the islands of Hyères.
The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 29 and the deadline for the end of the regatta is Thursday, April 2.
Sailing boats in the running
Twelve sailboats took the start of the 900 Nautiques de Saint-Tropez:
ANSHA jPK 9.60 is skippered by Matteo Carly Roy. Two other crew members are on board. It is the first time he participates in a regatta of this magnitude.
ARCADIA IV this Catana 65 catamaran is skippered by Alain Hamel. With its 22 meters long and 9.60 m wide, it is not the fastest, but certainly the most comfortable. This race allows the crew to test the boat in racing conditions.
DONNA LEE BEEPEERS : It is a First 40.7 skippered by Patrick Bascunana, whose crew members on board have already participated in the race 3 times, on the boat Pti Micapu .
IMAGINE the IMX 45 owned by Gérard Marchetti with a crew from La Tropez and a Breton on board. Second participation for the boat which had won the race in real time in 2012, but the owner and some crew members are faithful to the event since 2010.
PATIFIFA the X412 belonging to Pierre ORTOLAN from the CNTL of Marseille who is participating for the fourth year! The crew that won the race last year in offset is composed of four people.
PEGASUS akilaria Class 950 : Superb Akilaria Class 950 with Pietro Boerio who found this year a fourth Italian crew member. For his third participation, the owner likes this event and hopes to finish on the podium in offset!
PEIPS a Elan 45 which is the most faithful of the event since it participates for the 6th time in the race. Four people on board including its owner, Christian Deschepper of the Club of Bandol who "with 71 candles on the counter" makes a full card by participating in this race which allows him to keep the tone that it imposesâeuros¦
LARGE ROAD a newcomer and a competition boat since it is a Class40 with five crew members, including the skipper Emmanuel Pironneau. On board, Rémi Beauvais who finished 8th in the Route du Rhum with this boat.
SFS II the flagship boat of the race, as it is a VOR70 (ex Puma ) which replaced the former VOR SFS which had caught fire in a construction site in Cogolin (Var). This real competition machine is led by Lionel Pean, who is also the sponsor of the event. With a total of twelve crew members on board, sailboat captains and sailors from the PACA region, the boat should easily finish first in real time. It remains to be seen whether it will beat its own 2014 record: 3 days 8 hours.
WALI LI jPK 960 : Nice JPK 960 from the Club d'Antibes which is participating for the 3rd year. He had won the 3rd place in 2013 and 2nd in 2014 in compensated time. Richard DELPEUT, who has just finished second in the Transquadra solo race from Barcelona, is looking for another podium finish with his teammate Daniel Tinmazian.
XANTUS : This X412 from the Saint-Tropez Club is participating for the first time in the race. With a mixed crew of 7 people, the owner Bastien de Brouwer mainly hopes to finish the race without any other pretensionsâeuros¦
YENAEL 3 delher 39Q which is participating for the second time in the event (won the race in 2013). Skippered by Franck Perrier with five other crew members from Hyères, this is their "big breath of fresh air for Spring". On board the youngest of the fleet who is 19 years old.
