One of the new additions to the 9th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth is the arrival of the OMA (Offshore Multihull Association), a class created in February 2017 for all owners of multihull sailboats.

“This class was created to better run the multihull races, but also ensure the security of the boats and their crews, while also participating in their promotion,” explains Charles Goodrich, a member of the OMA, who also points out the creation of the new MultiRule aimed to establish equitable ratings for multihull boats to race as fairly as possible in all wind conditions

“Rating the multihull class is an important subject. Until this year, Les Voiles de Saint-Barth adhered to the CSA, and we integrated the CSA Multihull class. Today, we are happy to include the MultiRule as part of the regatta,” assures Luc Poupon, the race director for Les Voiles de Saint-Barth.

A new feature for Les Voiles de Saint-Barth: the new clothing sponsor for the event, CODE-ZERO, is producing personalized polo shirts with the name of your boat.

These Crew Kits, sold in a minimum of 10 shirts, are available in six colors, with the green logo especially designed as a sign of solidarity for St Barthélemy.

With this in mind, 40% of the total cost of each order will be donation to the association, Help St Barth, certified by the St Barth Foundation, and whose goal is to finance the materials and manpower needed for the reconstruction of the island.

For all orders, contact: [email protected] | Tel: 00 31 85 27 32 375

Since the first year of the regatta, WIMCO has contributed prizes to the winners of the Les Voiles de Saint-Barth, but for the first time this year, the company has signed on to be the exclusive villa rental partner.

“We are delighted to increase our support of this important regatta,” said WIMCO CEO Tim Warburton, whose family has had a long history of supporting classic sailing boats, and the regattas they compete in. “The attention it brings to the island, and along with the captains, crew, boat owners and sponsors who travel here for the event, provides tangible value for the island and its residents...and that's especially important this year”.

Contact WIMCO to reserve villas, hotels, flights, cars and all local services at 1-401-236-9003 or at [email protected]

Built in 2009, this Multi 50 first sailed under the colors of “Prince de Bretagne,” the boat with which Lionel Lemonchois raced and finally won the Route du Rhum in 2010 in the Multi 50 class. In February 2013, Gilles Lamiré bought the boat from Prince de Bretagne and renamed it French Tech for the agglomeration of Rennes Métropole-Saint-Malo. Lamiré raced in the Route des Princes in 2013, then the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Route du Rhum in 2014, in which he won third place and a spot on the podium.

In 2016, Lamiré was victorious in the The Transat Bakerly (the English transatlantic race) in the Multi 50, and in 2017 he participated in the Transat Jacque Vabre, where he placed fourth.

"With my crew, we race in the most important events on the Multi50 Off Shore Calendar. And every year, we do one of the transatlantic races: Route du Rhum, The Transat Bakerly, Québec St Malo…,” explains Gilles Lamiré.

"This year we were aligned with the Transat Jacques Vabre between Le Havre and Salvadore de Baya. After the races, the boats mostly re-crossed the Atlantic on cargo ships to return to Bretagne to spend the winter not so “warm.” For quite some time I have dreamed of staying to navigate in the West Indies, where I lived and sailed for a decade. During that time of the year, there are no regattas in metropolitan France, but there are excellent races in the Caribbean with some of the most beautiful boats in the world. The competition is fantastic and the images make you dream.

This winter, it’s our turn to live that dream by taking part in two great races: the Caribbean 600 and Les Voiles de Saint-Barth! Rendezvous in the fabulous waters of the Caribbean!”

The multihull class is bigger than ever this year! There are already seven boats signed up from France and the United States, including newcomers such as the Mach Schnell’s 60’ catamaran, the Multi 50 French Tech Rennes St Malo, Christian Guyader’ catamaran Gastronomie, or Lloyd Thornburg’s Gunboat 66, Phaedo, not to be confused with the trimaran Phaedo3.

Among the regulars, 2017 class winner Fujin will be back, as well as R-Six, which finished in third place. Stephen Cucchiaro’s Flow will be back after taking a year off.

In the Maxi class, the top overall winner Proteus will be back and will compete against another Maxi 72, Sorcha (ex Robertissima), which will make its debut at Les Voiles de Saint-Barth. English owner Peter Harrison is very familiar with the playing field, as he has sailed in Les Voices since 2015 and has stood on the podium with his TP 52 of the same name. Another competitor used to finishing first is Rambler concurrent habitué à la première place, Rambler88, who is out for revenge, not having won for the past two years!

Windfall and Aragon will also both be back to compete against newcomer Althane and in the Volvo 70 Green Dragon and Ocean Breeze.

With five days of racing on the schedule this year, the competition promises to be even more incredible for this 9th edition of Les Voiles.

How is the port doing, six months after hurricane Irma hit?

For the past few years, our port was at its apogee, but all of that was put into question by the devastation of hurricane Irma in just a few hours. But even such a storm did not count on our determination… our force: Everyday is a challenge! Since mid-October, our infrastructure has been operational and our berth capacity will be even larger for 2018.

What has to happen before a boat arrives in the Port?

We have 60 places available at the dock for 60 yachts that are no longer than 200 feet (60 meters), with a maximum draft of five meters. We also have moorings for more than 100 boats in the outer harbor. Two hours before arrival, the boats should contact the harbor office on VHF channel 16. Once in the port, the captain of the boat should come to the office on the main dock, and present all of the registration documents for the boat and the passport for every passenger and every member of the crew.

Do you have a word for the participants of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth?

It will be a great pleasure to see our friends from Les Voiles de Saint-Barth in the Port of Gustavia once again. We are at your disposition if you need any additional information or have any questions. Here’s to good sailing and we hope you enjoy an excellent week in our port!

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." – William Arthur Ward

© Copyright 2017 Les Voiles de Saint-Barth - 9th edition - 8 - 14 April, 2018. All Rights Reserved.

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