44th Régates Royales – A truly exceptional vintage!

Saturday September 24, 2022 – It had to happen… the last day of the competition. After an absolutely marvelous week in terms of the weather, the rain came to the bay of Cannes, as it did to the whole country, and the crews and boats were copiously rinsed off, but were able to compete in a final race as the climax. And as the saying goes, rainy regatta, happy regatta…

“No thank you, I never take anything before lunch! »

Even if the very many British sailors present here are clearly more accustomed to this type of weather than the Mediterraneans, they have a particular affection for Cannes, and are unconditional fans of the Royal Regatta, like Sir Richard Matthews, founder of the famous cruise shipyard Oyster Yachts, but also SYS (Southampton Yacht Service), used to the waters and victories. On his 1898 Kismet Fife design, he won in the category “Gauric era under 15 meters”. With a very British humor, Sir Richard Matthews likes to recall a colorful anecdote that marked him. The “boat captain” of Britannia, then a yacht of the royal family, asks during a navigation of King George V – grandfather of Elizabeth 2 – excellent sailor, lover of the Croisette, and who loves to race there: “Majesty, would you like to take the helm?” And the king replied: “No thank you, I never take anything before lunch!” »

Lined in boxes of camembert

One thing is certain, and before eating and drinking, the 130 competitors of these 44 thRégates Royales, took on a lot of water and desalinated their oilskins during this final round, contested in an irregular northeasterly wind punctuated by squalls. Once again, the race committee wet a coastal course with small onions, launching the first start at noon sharp, with Swiss precision! In the “Epoque Aurique > 15 meters” category, the race was once again superb between the three P Class Olympian, Chips and Corinthian – all one-designs. Built in Chicago in 1913, these horn gaff cutters, admirably restored and of surreal dimensions – 16.60 meters by 3.13 meters, 12 tons and 356 square meters of sail area – have lines of absolute purity. Their architect, the American William Gardner, certainly less known in the world of “classics” than William Fife or Nathanael Herreshoff, however, also designed the schooner Atlantic, led by Charlie Barr, which broke the record for crossing the Atlantic in 12 days and 4 hours… in 1905! It is said that in the bad weather of the crossing, its formidable and dreaded skipper went so far as to have the halyards padlocked on each of the three masts, so that the watch on deck could not reduce the canvas when he was going to sleep. This phenomenal record stood for 75 years, before Eric Tabarly beat it in 1980 (10 days 5 hours), and again on a trimaran (the foiler Paul Ricard). In Cannes, however, it was Scud, a Herresshoff design skippered by the Italian Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of Prada, and helmed by five-time Olympic medalist Torben Graël, which won ahead of the American Spartan (another Herreshoff design by 22 meters). Some gossips, no doubt envious, claim that unlike the P Class, Scud is built very light “in the wood of Camembert boxes”, and manned by a 100% professional crew, notably from the America’s Cup, while tradition has it that sailors racing in classics are mostly amateurs. Nevertheless, the boat-crew duo is just phenomenal, and of a rare elegance both at sea and on land. In fact, Patrizio Bertelli and Torben Graël, logically received from the hands of Géry Trentesaux, president of the UNCL and third in Dragon, the “UNCL Jean-Pierre Champion Trophy”, the former president of the FFVoile and the Yacht Club of Cannes, who passed away last year following a long illness. Scud is built very light “in the wood of Camembert boxes”, and sailed by a 100% professional crew, notably from the America’s Cup, while tradition has it that sailors racing in classic are for the most part amateurs. Nevertheless, the boat-crew duo is just phenomenal, and of a rare elegance both at sea and on land. In fact, Patrizio Bertelli and Torben Graël, logically received from the hands of Géry Trentesaux, president of the UNCL and third in Dragon, the “UNCL Jean-Pierre Champion Trophy”, the former president of the FFVoile and the Yacht Club of Cannes, who passed away last year following a long illness. Scud is built very light “in the wood of Camembert boxes”, and sailed by a 100% professional crew, notably from the America’s Cup, while tradition has it that sailors racing in classic are for the most part amateurs. Nevertheless, the boat-crew duo is just phenomenal, and of a rare elegance both at sea and on land. In fact, Patrizio Bertelli and Torben Graël, logically received from the hands of Géry Trentesaux, president of the UNCL and third in Dragon, the “UNCL Jean-Pierre Champion Trophy”, the former president of the FFVoile and the Yacht Club of Cannes, who passed away last year following a long illness. while tradition has it that sailors racing in classic are for the most part amateurs. Nevertheless, the boat-crew duo is just phenomenal, and of a rare elegance both at sea and on land. In fact, Patrizio Bertelli and Torben Graël, logically received from the hands of Géry Trentesaux, president of the UNCL and third in Dragon, the “UNCL Jean-Pierre Champion Trophy”, the former president of the FFVoile and the Yacht Club of Cannes, who passed away last year following a long illness. while tradition has it that sailors racing in classic are for the most part amateurs. Nevertheless, the boat-crew duo is just phenomenal, and of a rare elegance both at sea and on land. In fact, Patrizio Bertelli and Torben Graël, logically received from the hands of Géry Trentesaux, president of the UNCL and third in Dragon, the “UNCL Jean-Pierre Champion Trophy”, the former president of the FFVoile and the Yacht Club of Cannes, who passed away last year following a long illness.

Jean-François Cutugno, president of the Yacht Club de Cannes, could only be overjoyed following the presentation of the trophies at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès alongside its president Jean-Michel Arnaud: “The week has been fabulous and the sporting success of the Royales not only does not decline year after year, but strengthens. Once again, the race committees have concocted magnificent and technical courses, despite two delicate days in terms of weather, and where one hell of a job was needed. The “standing ovation” addressed to Jérôme Nutte, Philippe Enel and Dider Cozic are the best example of this. I am therefore very happy for them and also for the competitors, who impressed me with the very high level of maneuvers and tactics-strategy. th edition. Finally, I am delighted with the fact that the race village is closer to downtown Cannes, with the magnificent exhibition of photos of the sea by Carlo Borlenghi, which for the past week has attracted and seduced a very large audience…”

And the winners are …

• Dragon: Powow (Michaël Zainkel/SUI)
• 5.5 MJI: Aspire (Mateusz Kusznierewicz/POL)
• 12 M JI: Kiwi Magic (Johan Petresen/NOR)
• Tofinou: Pitch (Patrice Riboud/FRA)
• Smeralda: Vamos mi amor (Charles de Bourbon/MON)
• Big boats (BB): Viveka (Gery Hatkins, GBR)
• 15 M (EAA): Scud (Patrizio Bertelli/ITA)
• Gaff era < 15 M (EAB): Kismet (Richard Matthews/GBR)
• Marconi era > 15 M (EMA): Varuna of 1939 (Jens Kellinghussen/NED)
• Marconi era < 15 M (EMB): White Wing (Michael Sparks/USA)
• Ton Cup Classic (TCC): Arcadia III (Bruno Ricciardi/FRA)
• Classic Marconi (MC): Sagitarius (Thierry Laffite/FRA)
• UNCL One Ton Classic Trophy: Clarionet (Phil Crebbin/GBR)

Complete rankings

44th Régates Royales – A little lesson in tactics in the bay of Cannes

Friday, September 23, 2022 – The “classics” were treated to another sumptuous day in the bay of Cannes, under a hot sun and in a wind blowing between 7 and 10 knots from the South-East sector. The Dragons completed their championship, with victory going to the Portuguese crew led by Michaël Zainkel, ahead of the Swiss Dirk Oldenburg and the French Géry Trentesaux, Jean Queveau, Christian Ponthieu and Sofian Bouvet. In 5.5 MJI, the double Polish Olympic medalist in Finn and world champion in Star Mateusz Kusznierewicz did not go into detail, winning by winning five of the seven rounds during this “French Open Championship”.

Competitors from all nations, as chiselled as they are happy and relaxed, have not ceased to congratulate spontaneously and in a good-natured atmosphere, both the race committees and the very many volunteers, without which the Régates Royales would not be the world’s largest gathering of “classic” boats.

After the sublime dinner offered to the owners on Thursday evening at the Ecrin Plage by Patrick Tartary, the host of the Palm Beach, the sailors found their boats and automatic systems in a lighter wind than in recent days, but just wonderful for racing, and where tactics predominate… before “doing the regatta again” on the Quai Saint-Pierre, then celebrating happily, whether with the One tonners or IGY now managing the port of Cannes. Exactly, here’s a close up leg in the regatta seen from the inside, in order to better understand what the very specific dialogue looks like between helmsman, tactician and trimmer during the race this Friday, September 23rd.

12:30 p.m. Helmsman: “The committee has just lowered the preview (*). Will soon send the departure procedure! » Tactician: « Wind at 160 (*), windward buoy at 1.8 miles. » Helmsman: « Are we going to the committee (*) or rather to the buoy? » Tactician: « Am in favor of starting under starboard tack (*) with the pin (*), then when you are clear, tack then go get some wind on the right… When it is light ponant (the wind in good weather between 160 and 180 degrees in Cannes), there are calls, but you have to stay fairly centered” Trimmer: “Yes, especially since there is this huge Norwegian cruise liner, anchored in the middle of the course. Above all, don’t stick yourself in your vent (*). 12:45 p.m. Helmsman: “I’m launching. We go to the target (*) starboard tack… then we send (*)” Tactician: “We continue. The wind seems more to the right but there is more pressure (wind) to the left. Adjuster: “Ado (*) to come! » Tactician: « The wind is very oscillating, with variations of 20 degrees on both sides ».

Helmsman: “I confirm. It’s not stable at all, but we have a good carb (*). » Tactician: « He crosses behind (his direct opponent for the victory in the general classification: editor’s note). If it’s there, that’s a pretty good sign…” Helmsman: “The buoy is in the perpendicular axis of the Barber. We edge the frame and we turn on the layline (*)? » Tactician: « No, it’s a headache! I prefer that we refocus and that we don’t go to peddle in the soft (*) near the Cap de l’Aiguille. We’re going to turn! » Helmsman: « I have a good lift (*) and teenager ». Tactician: “Those on the left are refusing (*). We’re not bad guys…” Trimmer: “Rise (*) to come! » Tactician: « We stay here. I feel that things are going wrong at the top right at the edge of the cloud…” Helmsman: “P… It’s shifty (*)” Tactician: “we calm down and we stay like that. We enter the refusal, then we turn in layline (*) to make the mark! Helmsman: “Where are they?” » Tactician: « we have uncrossed, we are good guys. Max concentration At the buoy, it will be a bear away (*). Helmsman: “And we are moving smoothly, we only have 7 knots of wind left…”

(*) For non-specialists in the regatta, small explanatory glossary:

• ​​Overview (of delay): Striped red and white flame sent by the race committee when the wind does not allow the start to be given in good conditions on time say.
• ​​160: Wind direction. A wind at 160 means that it is blowing from the South-East. A wind at 90 from the East, 270 from the West, 0 or 360 from the North…
• ​​ Committee: Boat placed to the right of the starting line facing the wind and on which the race committee officiates which directs the regatta .
• ​​Starboard tack: When the boat receives the wind from the right. In the event of crossing, it has priority over a boat on port tack, and therefore receiving the wind from the left.
• ​​Pin: Buoy on the other side and to the left of the committee boat, knowing that the starting line is between the two, and is perpendicular to the axis (direction) of the wind.
• ​​Vent: Disturbed and windless zone.
• ​​Target: Target speed to be reached, for example: wind 8 knots, speed 8.9 knots at 42 degrees from the wind, most often on a board in the cockpit and visible from all the crew.
• ​​ Send: Tacking therefore changing direction into the wind.
• ​​Ado: When the wind turns, allowing to gain in the latter compared to the next buoy.
• ​​Carb: Good speed and good heading.
• ​​Molle: Zone with less wind.
• ​​Lift: Period allowing to climb in the wind.
• ​​Rise: Rise and therefore temporary reinforcement of the wind.
• ​​Shifty: Unstable wind oscillating on either side of its nominal direction.
• ​​Layline: Virtual line on either side of the body of water, allowing you to go to the windward buoy on the same tack. In the jargon, we also speak of frame edges.
  Refusal: When the wind turns, forcing you to deviate from the course in relation to the next buoy.
• ​​Bear away: Maneuver consisting in passing the buoy to deviate from it while remaining on the same tack.

The partners of the 44thRoyal Regattas: Banque Populaire Méditerranée, Marinepoool, Département des Alpes Maritimes, and City of Cannes, as well as Lacaponton, Hôtel Martinez, Palm Beach, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, FFVoile and IGY Old Port of Cannes.

Complete rankings

44th Régates Royales: Olympic sailing comes to Cannes

Thursday, September 22 in the bay of Cannes. Once again, all the planets were aligned, and the 130 crews raced in an easterly breeze of a dozen knots, the Dragons and 5.5 MJIs even ending with a magical tour of the Lérins Islands.

It is also because the Régates Royales are the largest gathering of “classic” sailboats in the world, that many sailors with sporting records covering several A4 sheets, would not miss this major event. And owners like Patrizio Bertelli, the CEO of Prada, whose passion for sailing is well known, do not hesitate to embark to lead Scud, his sublime Herreshoff plan built in Maine (United States) in 1903 , Torben Grael. The Brazilian, nicknamed “the Turbine” in racing circles, not only competed in two America’s Cup finals, won the Volvo Ocean Race (crewed round-the-world race), but won five medals at the Olympic Games – two in gold, one in silver and two in bronze! When he’s not coaching his daughter Martine, Double Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo in 49er FX, a skiff resembling a soap bar, Torben Graël races on the best spots on the planet. He loves Cannes, because “there is play, sport and the conditions are always exceptional. On Quai Saint-Pierre, you come across Olympic medalists, those selected for the Olympic Games, European and world champions, who certainly have a little more white hair than when they shone in a dinghy, but have lost none of their touch at the helm, their tactical vision and reading of the body of water, feeling the oscillations of the wind with a formidable flair. On Jap, the Irishman Harold Cudmore, selected for the 1972 Munich Olympics in FD, the first non-American to have won the famous Congressional Cup in match racing, or the Briton Phil Crebbin at the helm of Clarionet, selected Olympic in 470 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, are the best examples. And what about the Polish Mateuz Kusznierewicz, five participations in the Olympic Games in Finn, and a gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 and a bronze in Athens in 2004! Barely arrived from a world championship in the United States, the Pole took the helm of the 5.5 MJI Aspire, and for the moment has won all the races, and the tour of the Lérins Islands today.

The Olympic hopefuls of the Yacht Club de Cannes in Tofinou

My first is called Matisse Pacaud. With Lucie de Gennes, the two young hopefuls of the Yacht Club de Cannes, this summer won the European and World Junior 470 Championships, the new mixed Olympic format for the Paris 2024 Olympics. also was junior world champion (twice). With his new teammate, Aloïse Retornaz, bronze medalist with Camille Lecointre at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and double European champion, the member of the Yacht Club de Cannes, has just finished at the foot of the podium at the European Championships in Turkey , after finishing second in the French Olympic Week in Hyères, a sort of “Roland Garros” of sailing… and after only a few days of sailing together. Between two competitions in 470 and before the world championship in Israel in October, Matisse and Hippolyte are racing in Cannes aboard Tofinou 9.5, a one-design built in La Rochelle, both elegant and efficient, and which mixes materials such as carbon or wood. Designed for day or weekend sailing, but also for classic regattas, the class rule obliges the owner to steer while racing. “It’s a very nice boat and these are my first Regatta Royales aboard this one-design,” explains Matisse Pacaud, who manages the manoeuvres, the settings and is in charge of the tactics on board. This boy of only twenty, with a well-made head, has everything of a future great. “My ambition is to compete in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, but there are those in Paris in 2024. I have no pressure and I tell myself that if the opportunity to be selected arises, I would take” he explains almost embarrassed, before adding: “but we will already have to beat Hippo (Hippolyte Machetti) and Aloïse (Retornaz), as well as Camille (Lecointre) and Jérémie (Mion)”. With his Cannes Yacht Club buddy “Olympic Ambition” and their respective teammates, they spent 200 days on the water this year, 230 of which were away from home, criss-crossing Europe from coast to coast, at the wheel of a van towing their 470. So, racing at home at the Royales is a gift!

A tour of the islands to end the day

Jérôme Nutte, the race director and who coordinates the committees, really wanted to please the riders in Dragon and 5.5 MJI, by offering them a little getaway between the Lérins Islands, but not counting for the classification. “What matters to me is that the people who come to race in Cannes are happy… and I think they are, from what I hear. On his orange semi-rigid, he made a point of going to see his “flocks” sliding under spinnaker between Saint-Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite in a delicious zephyr, greeting VIPs who were obviously over the moon and pampered on the Thelas boat by the famous Martinez hotel. , one of the event’s partners, and which, like the Régates Royales, will celebrate its centenary in 2029. Jérôme Nutte’s days are long and busy. Renowned for listening to sailors, he gets up every day at 6 a.m., then eats breakfast, deciphers the day’s weather, and prepares a document in digital form as precise as it is complete (weather maps, forecasts, timetables, endorsements, etc.), which he sends to all competitors via WhatsApp. It’s nice to race on units from another time, the traditional morning briefing and compulsory for the crews has given way to current forms of communication.

Full Rankings

44th Régates Royales: Champagne sailing in Cannes!

Tuesday, September 21, 2022 – Contested in an easterly wind blowing between 15 and 25 knots with gusts of nearly 30, the coastal course concocted by the Yacht Club de Cannes for the Classics was as muscular as it was lively, with a breathtaking spectacle . In the eastern bay, swept by a strong chop, the Dragons sailed for three races.

Jean-François Cutugno, president of the Yacht Club de Cannes, and distinguished sailor, smiles: “it’s a day like the club, where the crews had a great time. In Cannes, it’s a house tradition, even when there’s a breeze like this Wednesday, September 21, we race at the Régates Royales! Here, it’s not a parade of classic sailboats. But beware, the race committee is not oblivious and has a job. We attach great importance to the safety of the sailors, and we have a dedicated Safety PC at the club…” Apart from a few abandonments due to breakage or for fear of breaking, there is nothing to report.

When the One Ton Classics delight!

In Cannes, there are not only the sublime Fife or Herreshoff plans, but also an impressive skewer of classic sailboats measuring a little over eleven meters, and all having in common to be One Tonners. Lined up on Quai Saint-Pierre in front of the village of the 44thRégates Royales, they may be in their fifties or even older, but they are gleaming because they have been lovingly cared for. They are called Resolute Salmon, Optimist, Clarionet, Arcadia, Sandra or Maria-Giovanna… were designed by legendary architects: Stephens and Sparkman, Britton Chance, Dick Carter… and implemented by real wood artists. This is the case of Arcadia III, born in Nice in 1969. This Stephens and Sparkman plan in mahogany, was built by Félix Silvestro, considered by the sailing world as one of the geniuses of naval cabinetmaking, and whose discretion reflected his talent. Moreover, an anecdote not lacking in salt is the best example. During a trip to the United States, Jacques Médecin (father), then mayor of Nice, met his counterpart from New York, who said to him: “How is Felix? An embarrassed response from the city councilor of Nice, who has never heard of any Felix. He discreetly asks his advisers to find out about this Mr. Silvestro, held in high esteem by the mayor of New York and the naval architect Rod Stephens, who says of him that he is a true artist of wood. Arcadia III confirms this. The mahogany planked hull on stainless steel varangues (a sort of backbone) resembles marquetry, using the master’s technique, baptized “mili Silvestro”. When he talks about his boat, Bruno Ricciardi, its owner and skipper, has eyes that shine. Member of the Board of Directors of the Yacht Club de Cannes, organizer of the Régates Royales, he is in charge of the village, is therefore in the oven and in the mill, specifying: “there was no way that I was not racing at the Royales, and so I organized myself so that everything was in place before…” It must be said that this former double French 420 champion won the Voiles d’Antibes and the Imperia regattas last weekend. On this boat he dreamed of and which he ended up buying a few years ago, Bruno Ricciardi, who sails in particular with his daughter, won the first race on Tuesday, ahead of Optimist and Resolute Salmon, who had won the One Ton Cup in Marseille in 1976. Her neighbor on the pontoon is pulling on her moorings, responding to the pretty name of Clarionet. Designed in 1966, it was completely restored this winter, and fitted with an electric motor. Phil Crebbin, her British skipper, is a former 470 champion. As for Clarionet, there are countless victories in the famous Fastnet race. But to come to Cannes to compete in its first Régates Royales,

A privileged few were able to follow this crazy day aboard Thelas, a classic 67-foot motor-yacht, designed by the Englishman Norman Hart, built in 1936 in Amsterdam, and chartered by the Yacht Club de Cannes for its partners and guests. . This unique boat belongs to Corrado Lopresto, a car enthusiast, who has an extraordinary collection of cars and prototypes, the most important in Italy. It’s hard not to make the connection between this Italian architect and the owners and sailors of the Régates Royales, unearthing and restoring legendary sailboats that have marked the history of international sailing.

Complete rankings

Régates Royales: the Dragons open the ball for the 44th edition

Monday, September 19, 2022 – As usual, the Dragons are the first to start the competition each year, competing in the Coupe de France, one of the flagship events on the international circuit. And we can say that they were spoiled, thanks to exceptional weather and an easterly wind blowing between 12 and 20 knots.

At the antipodes of the all-carbon “barb dishes” and with foils, in particular those which compete in the Vendée Globe, a solo round the world trip by the three capes without assistance or stopovers, the Dragon is an “antique” figure. However, this 9-meter jewel, designed by the Norwegian Johan Anker in 1929, is pursuing an exceptional career, attracting the European elite to Cannes, starting with Nordic sailors, too happy to sail in shorts and T-shirts in a temperature summer, and still lukewarm water…

Before designing this sailboat as slender as it is narrow, Johan Anker competed in the Olympic Games of 1908 and 1912. Olympic sailboat therefore, he saw the greatest sailors on the planet pass at his helm, and even today, and in particular in Cannes, attracts crews who have won everything… but who are madly in love with this boat, which is super complicated to adjust, and which upwind (against the wind), makes a bewildering course.

The Sailboat of Kings

When the Dragon appeared at the Régates Royales, it was simply nicknamed “the kings’ sailboat”! Why ? Because many crowned heads loved coming to race in this “long keel weighted corridor”, which at the helm in the wind is just a delight, but of a rare requirement. As a former Olympic sailing champion says, and who has dabbled in everything starting with the America’s Cup, “with the Dragon, it’s a constant questioning as the level is so high and the boat difficult to operate. with its dozens of fine adjustments… That’s also why we love it…” In Cannes, 32 crews from 12 nations, mostly from Europe but also from Australia, come to battle in the harbor of Cannes. This year, they are staying at the superb Cannes Yacht Club, at the Pointe Croisette, the organizer of the Royal Regatta, where the water is as transparent as in Bora Bora, Les Saintes or the Seychelles. The French are necessarily present here, like Géry Trentesaux, president of the Union Nationale de Course au Large (UNCL), the sailor with the best track record in habitable racing in the RORC, in the world top ten in Dragon and who fell in love with this sailboat after decades in habitable offshore racing. Defending champion with Sofian Bouvet, former European 470 champion and local of the stage, Jean Queveau or Christian Ponthieu, he obviously comes back for the double, and was quick to shine in the first rounds. But Jean Breger, “the tricolor pope” of the Dragon, equipped by Christian Gout and Jean-Paul Roux, who no longer know where to store the trophies won in dinghy and habitable, is not on the Croisette to appear. Everyone will also undoubtedly have a thought for the Rochelais Michel Briand, a great precursor of yachting, selected for the Olympic Dragon in Mexico in 1968 with Bertrand Chéret and Pierre Blanchard, who recently passed away at the age of 91.

The most beautiful images of Carlo Borlenghi to discover in the Régates Royales village

He’s Italian, doesn’t look like much, just carrying two cameras with big telephoto lenses in a beach bag including a bath towel to hold the equipment during shocks in the sea. Carlo Borlenghi is without a doubt the best photographer in current sea of ​​the world. He is an artist, who has an incomparable and unparalleled eye, is always looking for a new angle, has a rare mastery of light. It is also often said that for the sea photo, the pilot of the speedboat or the helicopter who must be well placed, is for more than half of the success of the image. It’s totally true. Nevertheless, Carlo Borlenghi knows how to capture the most beautiful images, because he also knows how to demand that the drivers be at the right time and in the right place.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20, the Classics will enter the fray and in particular the gigantic Shenandoah of Sark built in 1902 and measuring 54 meters, or even Manitou (CYR), the former sailboat of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, whose legend claims that it sometimes embarked Marilyn Monroe for romantic cruises. Finally, on this day of the funeral of Queen Elisabeth 2 in London, a minute of silence was observed at 10 a.m., in particular by the British crews, many of whom attend these Royal Regattas.

Seven Days of Regattas in Cannes

The Régates Royales has now become one of the world’s leading annual classic sailing events in terms of the quality of the participants and the wide range of categories represented. All the yachtsmen and women in the world, whether simple sailors or seasoned sailors, have heard of the Régates Royales. All of them, without exception, dream at least once in their life of attending it or even better, of participating in it.

The Régates Royales – September 18 to 24, 2022 – Banque Populaire Méditerrannée – Marinepool – Cannes Town Hall – with a fleet of fifty Dragons and an armada of more than eighty classic yachts, an event not to be missed!

A week of regattas in La Côte d’Azur. A magnificent fleet divided into eight categories according to the size, age and rigging of the sailboats. An exceptional gathering of the largest and most famous yachts of the last century come to do battle such as the following vessels:

• Elena of London (55m, Nathanaël Herreshoff design built in 2009)
• Cambria (40m, William Fife design built in 1928)
• Sunshine (38m, William Fife Junior design built in 2003)
• Aschanti IV (34.67m, Henry Gruber design built in 1954)
• Moonbeam of Fife (30m, William Fife design built in 1903)
• Moonbeam IV (35m, William Fife plan built in 1914)
• Mariska (27.00m, William Fife plan built in 1908)

The Cannes Yacht Club is also one of the oldest in France since it was in the spring of 1859 that Messrs Béchard, Tripet Skrypitzone, de Colquhoum and Bucquet created the Société des Régates with, as the first meeting, a race in the bay of La Napoule where Léro, Olga, Jeannette, tourists and small local sailing or rowing boats of Cannes fishermen crossed paths.

The Regates Royales de Cannes, a true world championship of classic yachting where Classics, Metrics, Tofinou, Dragon, Star and One Tone meet.