In the wave of the Armen Festival

An intense first weekend!

On the first weekend of the ^48th ArMen 2026 in Saint-Tropez, nearly forty Osiris and IRC yachts competed off the Gulf of St. Tropez in some very sporting conditions!

The tradition of a round trip to Cavalaire on the first weekend of the regatta was not possible this year, due to works at the Port of Cavalaire. The race committee, headed by Alice Coquant, therefore concocted a longer coastal course.

On Saturday February 25, with a heavy swell and waves of almost two meters, a good 12 to 16 knot easterly wind with good gusts, and a gray winter climate, the competitors set off at eleven o’clock on a course of around 15 nautical miles round trip from Saint-Tropez to Pampelonne at the Club 55 mark. The first competitors completed the course in just two hours.

On Sunday, with slightly milder weather conditions and the appearance of the sun in the afternoon, crews once again benefited from a tailor-made course off the Gulf of Saint-Tropez of 21 nautical miles for the IRC and mauve classes (OS2) and 16 MN for the yellow class (OS1).

At the end of this first weekend, Jérémy Combe’s BIM 3 in IRC, Christian Le Floch’s MAJOLAN (OS1) and Sylvain Bretagne’s OVERDOSE NEO (OS2) are leading the provisional standings in their respective groups.

During the welcome drink on Friday March 6 at the Société Nautique de Saint Tropez, Club President Pierre Roinson thanked the competitors, the organization and the SNST’s annual partners, not forgetting Cécile de Kock, who has organized the Art Exhibition as part of the ARMEN Festival for almost forty years.

This year’s exhibition takes place at the Lavoir Vasserot from March 6 to 17 inclusive, from 10am to 7pm.

Some very fine works were produced by the competitors on the theme of “Guardians of the Sea” (real or imaginary creatures, marine heroes) and are on display at the Club.
The Jury, which includes artists, will have to decide between them.

The racers are delighted with this first weekend of racing, and some of them will meet again on Friday March 13, 2023 for the skiing event in Auron, before the second weekend on the water in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez on March 14 and 15.

Program: https: //www.societe-nautique-saint-tropez.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PROGRAMME-Livret-ARMEN2026.pdf

Race information and results: https: //www.racingrulesofsailing.org/documents/13409/event