At the start this Saturday morning, under bright sunshine and with a steady breeze, the outcome in the 20 categories was still wide open—or nearly so. For the week’s final race, the easterly breeze had cleared away the clouds, offering a beautiful summer day. And as evening fell, the tension rose another notch as the results were announced. The celebrations could begin with the Rolex Trophy and the Maxis awards ceremony, before honoring the top Modern and Tradition boats tomorrow, Sunday. But if there were only one winner to highlight, it would be this week of racing itself: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, marked by passion, the joy of being there, and yachting in all its forms—Modern, Traditional, and Maxi classes alike.
Rolex Trophy: Olympian, a decisive victory.
Without a doubt, the four P Class yachts are four true gems. The elegance of these Golden Age yachts from the U.S. East Coast and the historical significance of their participation in Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez did not go unnoticed by the Swiss watchmaker. As a major partner of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, Rolex is awarding its prestigious Trophy for the twentieth year, honoring this new class. With very close performances and highly skilled crews, the regatta has been fiercely contested all week, particularly between Olympian and Chips. The former received a penalty in the first heat, and despite his two consecutive wins, he once again had to concede the lead to his direct competitor today. “ It’s been intense with Chips, they kept feigning tacks left and right—it was truly match racing the entire race. We fought hard right to the end. It’s a great story that began fourteen years ago, and every time the competition is intense, but the team spirit is fantastic, both within the team and with the other P’s ” said Philippe Oddo upon arriving at the dock.
Standing out from the crowd this year and particularly at ease in the Saint-Tropez choppy waters stirred up by the easterly wind, Olympian—the narrowest of the P Class yachts—has thus etched her name into the Rolex Trophy’s hall of fame. Following in the footsteps of Cambriallast year, she joins the long list of sailboats that have set key milestones in the history of yachting—a history they continue to write with joy and skill.
Tradition: Highlights
In the Big class, the schooner Elena of London won in style after a hard-fought race against another schooner, Lelantina, as well as against the ketch Sumurun, which climbed to second place overall after its strong performance today. In the Grand Tradition class, Jimmy Spithill at the helm of Tuiga took two days to fully showcase the Fife design but prevailed flawlessly with two race wins over the Viveka. In the Epoques Aurique class, Kismet had a flawless performance with three race wins out of four and took the title ahead of the Herreshoff sloop Oriole and the New York 40 Marylee.
In the Marconi A class, Leonore won hands down against eighteen other contenders in this most heavily represented class. The Q Class Falcon finished second, and the 8-meter JI Carron II rounded out the podium. In the B class, Lak II had a flawless run, followed overall by Harlekin and One Wave. In the IOR class, Il Moro di Venezia relinquished its crown to the One-Tonner Resolut Salmon, closely followed by the Frers 53 Encounter and another One-Tonner, Ornella.
In the 12-meter class, Kiwi Magic made the right call by taking the time to repair its mast on Wednesday and Thursday, as it finished in style, tied on points with French Kiss but credited with two race wins.
Maxi: Jethou Wins the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy
Starting Monday, Jethou Sir Peter Ogden’s Judel Vrolijk design made a successful debut with a victory in the smaller classes, which included the 100-foot Maxi yachts, but also NorthStarIII, the series’ enfant terrible and recent world champion. All week long, the black Maxi consistently posted strong races, with his worst result being a fifth-place finish on Tuesday in light winds. Once again tied with V This morning, he won today’s final coastal race and, as a result, the championship.
This 2012 boat is a fine example of longevity: originally designed as a 72-footer, it was lengthened to 77 feet and has consistently been maintained to the highest standards, both in terms of its sail plan and the evolution of its appendages. The Wallycento V So while he didn’t achieve the double at Les Voiles, he did win the 2026 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge, which combines the results from Palmavela, the IMA Maxi European Inshore Championship in Sorrento, the Loro Piana Giraglia Inshores, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.
In Maxi 2, in her head-to-head battle with Twin Soul B, Lyra came out on top thanks to her race win today. There was also a big showdown in Maxi 3 between Why Not and Yoru, which ultimately went in favor of the Vismara 62 thanks to that final race. In Maxi 4, the crew of the Dehler 60 Blue Oyster easily clinched the title with three race wins out of four races completed.
Class J: Svea, at the pinnacle of Class J
The Class J yacht named after the Swedish goddess won the Voiles de Saint-Tropez hands down. Built in 2017 based on forgotten plans by Swedish architect Tore Holm and skippered by Niklas Zennström’s expert crew, the longest and most powerful of the Class Js won three of the six races it finished. Rainbow and Hanuman were never far behind—the latter won today’s race—and both have improved throughout the week, according to Tony Rey, Svea’s tactician: “ The races are getting closer and closer. Our challenge is to manage to maintain a small lead over Rainbow and Hanuman, and to keep improving ourselves as well, because that will determine the upcoming races and the next season. Every new upwind or downwind leg in close competition is still a chance to learn, even though we’ve been sailing together aboard Svea for years—that’s what motivated us to compete in Les Voiles! ”
Tonight, Svea was receiving the Corinthian Kings Cup. This trophy, established in 2012 by the J Class, is awarded each year to an owner-skipper in the season’s most significant regatta. And it’s no coincidence that Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez was chosen for this occasion: “ The J-Class boats were able to return to fleet racing for the first time in several years, “That’s what Louise Morton, the secretary for Class J, said tonight.” “The race organization lived up to our high expectations, and we were delighted to welcome some of the world’s best sailors aboard the J-Class boats. As always, the atmosphere ashore was unique, with the J-Class boats taking center stage.”
It’s true that the J-Class yachts thrilled the audience during this edition of Les Voiles, and their crews clearly had a blast. See you in 2026 with a fleet that could very well grow even larger.
Modern cars: The sparkling Spirit of Lorina wins the BMW Trophy
Despite a superb start for the TP 52 Nanoq this morning at 11:00 AM, it was Spirit of Lorina that won the BMW Trophy for IRC 0 classes, finishing second today behind the Wallyrocket51 Kilara 2. Spirit of Lorina , the Botin-designed TP 52, is still going strong; it’s the former Azzura 2012, and the team of Marcelo Pica and Jean-Pierre Barjon, who took over the boat this year, sailed very well, with two race wins and very few mistakes in this particularly competitive class. ” Jean-Pierre did a fantastic job with the team on the boat. We worked with great intensity and focus right to the end. We won three races, which is fantastic given the level of competition in this class here, ” said Marcello Pica at the finish.
Interlodge IV, the Botin 44 owned by American Gwen Fragomen slips in between him and Nanoq on the podium, proving that a well-prepared team can certainly do well on a smaller boat in this class, which consists mainly of TP 52s and Wallyrocket51s.
In IRC 1, the Ker 46 Lisa R emerges victorious over Nacira 47 Pretext 2, quite a bit ahead of the third-place finisher Searcher 2, another Ker 46. In IRC 2, the Ukrainian J 133 J Wow Don’t get too caught up in the details—just focus on first- or second-place finishes all week. In IRC 3, the Farr 30 Topaz held its own all week against the Swan 44’s attacks Pride that it dethrones, even though it’s another Farr 30, Letto di Pletto who rounds out the podium.
Finally, in IRC 4, the Sun Fast 3200 from the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez Overdose Neo adds his name to this 28th The Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta in front of the Swan 391 Iskareen and the First 34.7 Corto Maltese.
Focus on:
The International Mediterranean Committee presented the trophy this evening as part of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez to mark the 100th anniversary of this venerable institution. The trophy is awarded to the highest-ranked boat across five races held this season in three different countries (France, Spain, and Italy).
Hallowe’en, Eugenia V, Ojala, Rowdy, and Varuna 2 each won in their respective categories.
Three special awards were also presented to Benoit Couturier for founding Team Fife, Steve Mac Laren, former captain of Elena of London, and the boat Eileen 1938.
PARTNERS OF LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ
Major Partner
ROLEX
Premium Partners
, BMW
, EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD
Preferred Partners
, WALLY
, SUZUKI MARINE
, BRIG
Associated Partners
, VSC CORPORATE RECOVERY CONSULTING,
, PORT DES MARINES DE COGOLIN,
, NORTH SAILS
Suppliers
MERCANTOUR EVENTS
BYBLOS
PEPINIERE DU GOLFE
CHAMPAGNE BARONS DE ROTHSCHILD
CHATEAU SAINT-MAUR CRU CLASSE
MAITRES VIGNERONS DE LA PRESQU’ILE DE SAINT-TROPEZ
TIKAMOON
L’ECOLE DU LUXE
Institutional Partners of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
CITY OF SAINT-TROPEZ
PORT OF SAINT-TROPEZ
SAINT-TROPEZ TOURISM
ESPRIT VILLAGE IN SAINT-TROPEZ
FRENCH SAILING FEDERATION
YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE
INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION
INTERNATIONAL MEDITERRANEAN COMMITTEE
Organization
SociétéNautique de Saint-Tropez, President: Pierre Roinson
Chief Race Officer: Georges Korhel
Registration: Frédérique Fantino
Marine Safety: Gilles Doyen
Logistics and Procurement: Alice Coquant
Communications and External Relations: Chloé de Brouwer
Internet
www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr
www.societe-nautique-saint-tropez.fr
Instagram: les_voiles_de_saint_tropez
Facebook: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Official
X (formerly Twitter): @VoilesSTOrg
YouTube: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Official
Media Production
; Editor: Pierre-Marie Bourguinat
; Video: Guilain Grenier, Images 6 G Production/SNST
; Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
; Press Relations: Maguelonne Turcat
