Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez entered its final stretch today, with at least two more races still to sail before Saturday night, under promising skies. After yesterday's Défis day, every sailor among the 251 entered boats knew there was no room left for error as the fleet set off this morning to the sound of bagpipes aboard Elena of London.
It was a glorious sunny day, and the crowds turned out in force to enjoy it.
Nearly 200 children from three primary and nursery schools paraded along the port this morning, finishing with a tasting at the Bar des Voiles courtesy of Gourmandise, the well-known crêperie in La Ponche. The public followed close behind, packing the Môle Jean Réveille by late morning to watch the Moderns and Traditions fleets lining up, with the schooner Atlantic drawing particular applause as she skimmed past the breakwater under full sail.
Sharp-eyed observers may have spotted the red flag numbered 64 at the top of Atlantic's foremast, a nod to an old Dutch tradition dating back to the 18th century, when captains carried a visible number so owners could identify who was in command aboard each vessel. "Classic yacht training schools brought it back into fashion in the 1990s," explained Fosse Fortuin, the Dutch captain of Atlantic since 2018, who previously skippered Elena of London. "It's an honour because that number also means I'm allowed to make big crossings on the boat," he added. Fortuin has made the most of that privilege: Atlantic spent the winter in the Caribbean after her first appearance at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in 2025, before returning to the Mediterranean via Scotland for an event on the Clyde this summer.
With all classes released at 2pm in a light 8-knot easterly, the Big Boats brought up the rear with a fine display off the breakwater. An hour later, spinnakers began appearing on the horizon as the leading Moderns returned to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.
Among the Moderns, the IRC 0 battle for the BMW Trophy remains tight. Spirit of Lorina, in her first season, leads the pack, but Arkas Blue Moon, Daguet 5, Nanoq and Interlodge are separated by just two points. Daguet 5 started well back today, undermining her chances in this race, while Interlodge, the Botin 44 steered by American owner Gwen Fragonen with Charlie Enright, reigning The Ocean Race winner, on tactics, could only manage ninth in the race won by Nanoq. Spirit of Lorina's second place today was a solid result, consolidating her overall lead.
In IRC 1, Zappy's took today's win, but Pretexte 2 now leads overall by a single point over Lisa R. J Wow holds strong in IRC 2 with a third today and remains well placed to win the class overall. Pride claimed a second race win in IRC 3, keeping everything open between the Jayson-Graves family and Topas ahead of tomorrow. First Light made the most of the day in IRC 4 and could settle the class if she avoids any slip-ups tomorrow.
In the Traditions fleet, "Match racing on its own isn't much fun," needled Christian Karcher, known as Kiki, a crewman aboard French Kiss, in his usual blunt style. The return of the mythical 12-metre Kiwi Magic (KZ7), once helmed by Chris Dickson in the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup and now sailed under Danish skipper Mariane Petersen, was good news for more than just her own crew. Kiwi Magic lost out today to French Kiss, which nailed the start and controlled the race from the front, and now leads the provisional standings.
The best starts of the day went to the New York 40 Marilee and the schooner Viveka, both of which cut cleanly through their respective fleets. Marilee, currently third, is still in contention for the regatta overall and in Grand Tradition. Viveka, who had won the first two races, was beaten today by Tuiga, leaving the result to be settled tomorrow.
In the P Class, racing for the Rolex Trophy, the four-way contest continues, with Olympian taking today's win. Once her five penalty points from the first day are removed, Philippe Oddo's William Gardner design sits atop the provisional standings, but will need to repeat today's form to defend her lead and claim the Rolex Trophy.
The Maxis saw a reversal of fortunes. After only windward-leeward courses so far, the Maxi 1 fleet racing for the Trophée Edmond de Rothschild tackled a 28-mile coastal course today, while Maxi 2, 3 and 4 and the J Class raced windward-leewards. Conditions were light and patchy early on but settled into a steady 12 knots by mid-afternoon, allowing two races to be completed.
In the J Class, Svea marked her return with two race wins, including a dramatic finish in the second when Niklas Zennström's crew carried Rainbow above the layline before gybing to cross just half a boat length ahead.
In Maxi 1, racing for the Trophée Edmond de Rothschild, Magic Carpet3 claimed her first line honours win since debuting at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in 2025, though she finished fifth on corrected time. The day's big story was the win for V, the Wallycento owned by reigning champion Karel Komarek, who put solid distance into Northstar III, eighth today and clearly happier on bananas than coastal courses. V and today's runner-up Jethou are now level on points heading into the final day, with everything still to be decided.
The same tight picture applies in Maxi 3, where Why Not and Yoru continue to dominate the top two places. In Maxi 2, Twin Soul B confirmed her form and is pulling clear, as is Blue Oyster in Maxi 4, second today but with a healthy margin overall.
Among the smaller Maxis, there's a match within the match between the two Swan 65s. Saida, rigged as a sloop, won today's race, while Evrika took third. The ketch-rigged Evrika belongs to Dominique Dubois, the former head of the Multiplast yard, who sailed her in the Ocean Globe Race, the retro round-the-world event for fully crewed yachts, and who had Lionel Péan aboard lending a hand to the family crew.
A crew party is being held tonight at La Ponche from 8pm, with DJ sets and food from La Poêle à Tartif' for the thousands of sailors expected to turn up and relive the day's racing.
