A New Zealand yacht owner produced one of the standout results of Thursday's informal "Défis" day at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, as rain and shifting breeze failed to dampen the fleets' enthusiasm for the event's traditional challenge races.
Inigo Strez, the New Zealand captain and owner of the Fife yawl Hallowe'en, beat Mariella, the defending Club 55 Yacht Cup holder, in a challenge match between the two Tradition-class yachts that have been swapping places on the leaderboard since Tuesday. Hallowe'en turns 100 this year, making the win especially sweet.
"How better to close out the season than with Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and this Défi, which finishes with a friendly lunch at Club 55?" Strez said. He has owned Hallowe'en for 18 years and remains her skipper and helmsman, unusual for a yacht of her size.
Elsewhere on the water, 18 centenarian yachts took part in the 15th running of the Trophée des Centenaires, organised by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez with the Gstaad Yacht Club. The pursuit format sends boats off in sequence according to rating, so whoever crosses the line first wins outright.
The 11.50-metre Epoque Aurique Lulu led the fleet away in the morning. Sumurun, the 29-metre Fife design rated the fastest in the fleet by the Comité International de la Méditerranée, started 43 minutes later.
On the nine-mile out-and-back course, the gaff cutter Kismet led home ahead of fellow Fife design Tuiga, skippered by Pierre Casiraghi, vice-president of the Yacht Club de Monaco and winner of the 2025 Admiral's Cup. Kismet, owned by Sir Richard Matthews, took the win, his second Centenary Trophy after also winning in 2022. That makes Kismet the fourth yacht to claim the trophy twice, joining Olympian, Oriole and Thilly XV.
A trio of three-masted schooners also paraded through the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Atlantic sailed alongside Créole, the 1927 Charles Nicholson design, and Adix, a 1984 replica of an Arthur Holgate design, their combined sail area totalling around 4,500 square metres.
Racing for the Maxi fleets was abandoned after 2.30pm when the wind dropped away entirely. Classes 2, 3 and 4 managed short course racing earlier in the day, while the three J Class yachts raced their usual three-buoy format, the series still tight after each boat has won a race so far this week.
Stephan Kandler, head of the French America's Cup Défi Orient Express, visited the event fresh from the Naples AC40 preliminary regatta, where the French team finished third behind Luna Rossa and New Zealand. He noted his team had won three of the five races in Naples.
