A “Wrong Way Around” race wrapped up sailing today at the four-day St. Barths Bucket Regatta, and it was more colorful and full of goodies than a child’s Easter basket. Thirty six superyachts in four classes (Grandes Dames, Mademoiselles, Gazelles and J Boats) circumnavigated the French West Indies island of St. Barths, giving Bucket fans on shore and at sea an awe-inspiring view of some of the largest and most beautiful and technologically advanced yachts sailing in the world today.

 

The race course, which covered 21 to 26.4 nautical miles (depending on the class), reversed Friday’s “Around the Island” journey and put boat handling skills to the test right off the bat with a downwind start. All but the J Boat class adhered to a “pursuit-style” racing format, requiring each yacht to time its run to the gun for a separate pre-determined start time and hoist a spinnaker as soon as possible after crossing the starting line — the theory being that if all crews in each class sailed equally well, aboard their varied yachts of different speeds, they would meet at the finish line all together.

 

The theory worked especially well today in the 18-20 knot breezes, with yachts barreling down on the finish line, drawn again by their giant spinnakers, within minutes – sometimes seconds — of each other.

 

In the Mademoiselles class, the 55 meter schooner Adela, built by Pendennis and helmed by Dennis Conner, maintained her regatta-long position at the top of the scoreboard with a second-place finish today. Adela was presented with the St. Barth’s Bucket trophy as the regatta’s overall winner. The 45 meter Dubois designed Salperton IV, skippered by Shirley Robertson with Cameron Appleton in the afterguard, won today’s race to claim second overall, while another Dubois design, the 50 meter Zefira, took third overall.

 

In the Grandes Dames class, the 48-meter Georgia, built by Alloy Yachts, claimed overall victory by crossing the finish line first in her class today. Georgia’s Captain Brent Daw said that his yacht, conceived as the ultimate family world cruiser, has seen many ocean miles since she splashed in 2000, thus she is going into the yard for a refit after the Bucket.

 

 

“We sailed steady and cautious like the hare and the turtle, and we were the steady turtle,” said Daw, who came aboard as skipper of the yacht only three months ago. He added that the crew had to sail intuitively, since the majority of them are new to the boat. “The team is more of an organic group, a mix, nationally, of South Africans and Kiwis,” he said explaining that Chris Dickson, of America’s Cup fame, is helming. “The owner lives on board and loves a great day on the water. He is thrilled!”

Claiming second place overall in this class, with a fourth today, was the 54 meter Perini Navi Parsifal III, while the 38 meter Axia, which was presented with both the All Star Crew Award and the Wolter Huisman Memorial Spirit of the Bucket Trophy at this regatta, finished third overall after posting a third for today. The winner of the Vitters Shipyard Seamanship Trophy was also from this class: the Perini Navi Zenji.

 

One of the biggest stories on the water today was in the Gazelles class, where the 45 meter Visione, the 38 meter Perini Navi P2, and the 30 meter Cape Arrow were all tied with six points going into today’s race. Trailing only one point behind was the Royal Huisman-built Unfurled, which won today’s race to upset the apple cart and claim overall victory in the class. P2, which took home the Perini Navi Cup, took second today to claim equal points (8) with Unfurled but conceded for a second-place finish overall, after tie-breaking rules were applied. Visione and Cape Arrow finished third and fourth overall, respectively.

 

This was a historic event for the J Class, as it was the first time five of them have graced the same starting line since 1937. Hanuman, built by Royal Huisman, proved unbeatable throughout the three days, winning handily over the line and on corrected time in the first two of three races held here. Today, Lionheart edged out Hanuman by just two seconds at the line, but Hanuman still prevailed on corrected time to leave Lionheart in second overall. Velsheda, Ranger and the Holland Jachtbouw built Rainbow followed in third through fifth places, respectively.

 

Winning the King’s 100 Guinea Cup for Thursday’s “extra day” race for J Boats at the Bucket was Hanuman. The top Corinthian J with an amateur owner/helmsman to win the Corinthian King’s Cup was Lionheart.

 

“The owner was thrilled,” said Bouwwe Bekking, who called tactics on Lionheart. “This was his fourth regatta ever, and he has done remarkably well. For today’s race, it was neck-and-neck with Hanuman after 26 miles. We knew that with them that close to us they would win, but we had to get our nose out there to win line honors. We loved that we got the gun.”

 

Bekking said that having the J Boats sailing fleet-style in their own group in the same regatta as the superyachts, which were sailing pursuit-style, worked perfectly. “It was great that we had our own start procession, it wouldn’t have worked any other way. To maneuver these boats is way harder, so the emphasis on safety is good. It was really incredible, and we owe a great thanks to the Bucket Committee and the J Class organization.”

 

Every year the Bucket Organization devotes a portion of its entry fees for a worthy cause in St. Barths. This year, a donation in the amount of 18,000 euros was made to the St. Barths Yacht Club Youth Sailing Program.

 

Next year’s event is scheduled for 27 – 30, March 2014

 

Results, Photos, Barby’s Blog and more http://www.bucketregattas.com

 Media Pro International’s Barby MacGowan is reporting daily from St. Barths.

Complete results, photos, Barby’s recaps and more: bucketregattas.com/stbarths/

Special Awards 

OVERALL WINNER of the 2013 ST BARTHS BUCKET          ADELA

 

 

SKULLDUGGERY CRAVAT WILD HORSES

ALLOY YACHTS TROPHY GEORGIA

ALL STAR CREW AWARD presented by Holland Jachtbouw AXIA

WOLTER HUISMAN MEMORIAL SPIRIT OF THE BUCKET TROPHY AXIA

PERINI NAVI CUP    P2

VITTER’S SHIPYARD SEAMANSHIP TROPHY     ZENJI

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“Main-mast staysail up. Do not unfurl. Raise your hands if you hear me.” Captain Tony Brookes calmly called his instructions into a hand-held from one of his dual on-deck navigation stations near the aft quarter of Athos, the 62 meter Hoek-designed Holland Jachtbouw that he commands. His crew with headsets faithfully obeyed, shooting their hands in the air before quickly jumping into action. So went the day that started with pouring rain and segued into one of the windiest here yet, taking the wind gauge to 28 knots and Athos to speeds as high as 15.8.

 

The owner and his rep Gary Veenman from Holland alternated at the helm, giving each other much-needed breaks from the giant wheel that played tug of war with them. Three trimmers scooted among the 40-some-odd crew, working the joy sticks on their remote control “God boxes” that controlled the hydraulic operations of winches for hoisting and dropping sails as well as sheeting them in and letting them out. For someone who normally sails 40-footers, it surely would have been something strange and wonderful to behold, but for those who regularly sail in this rarified world of superyachts it was just another approach to racing one of the most magnificent sailing yachts on the oceans today.

Athos’s closest competitor today in the Mademoiselles class at the annual St. Barths Bucket was the 55 metre twin-masted Adela, the steel hulled Dykstra designed Pendennis build that represents a historically significant salvage and rebuild of the 1903 original. Adela had won this 10-boat class yesterday, the first day of racing, and won again today, crossing the finish line first, after the traditional pursuit start had the smallest and slowest boats starting first and the larger and faster boats starting at specific time intervals afterward to try and catch up. Athos, which had finished seventh yesterday, was quite pleased with a second-place finish after being fifth in the pursuit-start lineup. That moved them to fifth overall behind Zefira, Salperton, and Lady B.

 

“No one caught us from behind and we passed two others, so we must be doing something right,” said Athos’s Brookes. “It was a hard-work race today. Windy and wet, and everyone’s uncomfortable but they still have to concentrate on the job they are doing. We had some problems (with the spinnaker hoist) but we dealt with them. It was more like the North Sea instead of the Caribbean there for a while.”

 

Aboard Adela, Kim “Shags” Morten conceded that the Adela team can sail well in any direction and in any conditions because they have the choice of sails to make the right calls in any given situation. “Our biggest competition is Athos; we think it comes down to the crew performance,” said Morten, adding that he has competed in every Bucket to date, the last three on Adela. “We now have top-of-the-line sails, a carbon fiber mast and a team that has sailed together in the last three superyacht regattas.”

 

In Grand Dames class, Georgia rose to the top of the scoreboard after taking today’s race. Blue Too, which was leading going into today, retired after a crew was injured and fell to seventh with a finish score today of 13.

 

In the Gazelle class, Visione maintained its first position overall with a fifth-place finish today. However, they are tied on point score (6) with both P2 and Cape Arrow, with Unfurled only one point behind.

 

Hanuman claimed another bullet, its third, in the J Boat class today. When asked what was different about today, tactician Kevin Burnham joked, “Nothing, we won the race!” But in all honesty, the win didn’t come easy. “The biggest challenge in pushing that type of machine around the race course (in today’s conditions) is that stuff gets shocked-waved,” said Burnham. “We blew up a kite — it just exploded into a million pieces.”

 

The crews on all 36 Bucket boats are glad to be back on terra firma for tonight’s pirate-themed “Bucket Bash.” The party should do its part to prepare them for tomorrow’s Wrong-Way Around (the island) Course.

Results as of Saturday

PRELIMINARY PURSUIT as of 30 March, 2013 – UPDATED MARCH 31 0800
Race 2: Not So Wiggley Course

Saturday     30-Mar-13             PRELIMINARY

Start Sequence: B
Results: Race 2                     Results: Cumulative

GRAND DAMES     (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2     FINISH     TIME                     Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Total
Points     TIME     Delta                     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
GEORGIA                      1     2:36:58 PM     0:00:00         GEORGIA           3     1           4     1
PARSIFAL III*           2     2:39:25 PM     0:02:27         PARSIFAL III           4     2         6     2
AXIA                               3     2:46:15 PM     0:09:17         PANTHALASSA           2     8         10     3
ZENJI                            4     2:48:42 PM     0:11:44         AXIA               7     3         10     4
ANDROMEDA LA DEA     5     2:51:48 PM     0:14:50         ZENJI               8     4         12     5
PANTHALASSA* **     8     2:54:09 PM     0:17:11         SALUTE           6     7         13     6
SALUTE           7     3:13:48 PM     0:36:50         BLUE TOO           1     13         14     7
LUNA               8     3:15:05 PM     0:38:07         ANDROMEDA LA DEA     9     5         14     8
ROSEHEARTY           9     3:15:51 PM     0:38:53         SILENCIO           5     13         18     9
MALTESE FALCON     10     3:22:00 PM     0:45:02         LUNA               10     8         18     10
BLUE TOO           13     DNF     N/A         MALTESE FALCON     11     10         21     11
SILENCIO           13     DNF     N/A         ROSEHEARTY           13     9           22     12

MADEMOISELLES     (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2     FINISH     TIME                       Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Total
Points     TIME     Delta                     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
ADELA                 1     2:46:45 PM     0:00:00         ADELA                 1     1           2     1
ATHOS               2     2:51:57 PM     0:05:12         ZEFIRA               4     3         7     2
ZEFIRA               3     2:54:32 PM     0:07:47         SALPERTON           2     6         8     3
KOO               4     2:56:12 PM     0:09:27         LADY B               3     5         8     4
LADY B               5     2:57:36 PM     0:10:51         ATHOS               7     2         9     5
SALPERTON           6     3:04:39 PM     0:17:54         KOO               10     4         14     6
WILD HORSES           7     3:08:22 PM     0:21:37         SARAFIN’           6     8         14     7
SARAFIN’           8     3:08:40 PM     0:21:55         PRANA               5     10         15     8
SYMMETRY           9     3:11:55 PM     0:25:10         WILD HORSES           8     7         15     9
PRANA                 10     3:21:03 PM     0:34:18         SYMMETRY           9     9           18     10

GAZELLES         (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2     FINISH     TIME                     Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Total
Points     TIME     Delta                     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
UNFURLED           1     3:03:21 PM     0:00:00         VISIONE           1     5           6     1
REBECCA           2     3:05:24 PM     0:02:03         P2               2     4         6     2
CAPE ARROW           3     3:06:24 PM     0:03:03         CAPE ARROW           3     3         6     3
P2               4     3:07:13 PM     0:03:52         UNFURLED           6     1         7     4
VISIONE           5     3:10:12 PM     0:06:51         REBECCA           8     2         10     5
INDIO               6     3:11:44 PM     0:08:23         INDIO               4     6         10     6
LEOPARD3           7     3:16:27 PM     0:13:06         CHRISCO           5     8         13     7
CHRISCO           8     3:16:42 PM     0:13:21         LEOPARD3           7     7         14     8
BAIURDO VI           10     DNS     N/A         BAIURDO VI           9     10           19     9

* 5 MINUTE PENALTY FOR OVER THE LINE EARLY
** PANTHALASSA TOOK A 20% SCORING PENALTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH SI 18.2

Race 1: Around the Island

Friday     29-Mar-13

Start Sequence: C
Results: Race 1

GRAND DAMES     (Short Course 17.0 nm)
Race 1     FINISH     TIME
Points     TIME     Delta
BLUE TOO           1     2:06:51 PM     0:00:00
PANTHALASSA           2     2:17:46 PM     0:10:55
GEORGIA           3     2:18:20 PM     0:11:29
PARSIFAL III           4     2:22:08 PM     0:15:17
SILENCIO           5     2:22:25 PM     0:15:34
SALUTE           6     2:24:35 PM     0:17:44
AXIA               7     2:24:48 PM     0:17:57
ZENJI               8     2:31:45 PM     0:24:54
ANDROMEDA LA DEA     9     2:33:55 PM     0:27:04
LUNA               10     2:38:20 PM     0:31:29
MALTESE FALCON     11     2:42:43 PM     0:35:52
ROSEHEARTY           13     DNS     N/A

MADEMOISELLES
(Medium Course 20.8 nm)
Race 1     FINISH     TIME
Points     TIME     Delta
ADELA                 1     2:15:18 PM     0:00:00
SALPERTON           2     2:18:07 PM     0:02:49
LADY B               3     2:23:35 PM     0:08:17
ZEFIRA               4     2:27:51 PM     0:12:33
PRANA               5     2:28:10 PM     0:12:52
SARAFIN’           6     2:29:28 PM     0:14:10
ATHOS               7     2:31:01 PM     0:15:43
WILD HORSES           8     2:33:05 PM     0:17:47
SYMMETRY           9     2:35:40 PM     0:20:22
KOO                 10     2:37:35 PM     0:22:17

GAZELLES
(Medium Course 20.8 nm)
Race 1     FINISH     TIME
Points     TIME     Delta
VISIONE           1     2:29:51 PM     0:00:00
P2               2     2:31:55 PM     0:02:04
CAPE ARROW           3     2:32:04 PM     0:02:13
INDIO               4     2:34:02 PM     0:04:11
CHRISCO           5     2:34:29 PM     0:04:38
UNFURLED           6     2:36:47 PM     0:06:56
LEOPARD3           7     2:37:43 PM     0:07:52
REBECCA           8     2:39:32 PM     0:09:41
BAIURDO VI           9     2:41:04 PM     0:11:13

FOLLOW THE J CLASS ON THE WATER: tractrac.com

J Class – PROVISIONAL as of Saturday 30 March
Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Race 4     Total
Points     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
HANUMAN           1     1     1           3     1
LIONHEART     2     2     4           8     2
VELSHEDA     5     3     2           10     3
RANGER     4     5     3         12     4
RAINBOW     3     4     6           13     5

Saturday     30-Mar-13
Results: Race 3             Course Type:     CR
Wind Range:     Heavy
Start Time:     11:00:00 AM     Approx Dist:     29.4 nm

FINISH     ELAPSED     CORRECTED
Rating     TIME     TIME     TIME     Rank
HANUMAN           1.017     2:01:44 PM     3:01:44     3:04:49     1
VELSHEDA     1.013     2:05:22 PM     3:05:22     3:07:47     2
RANGER     1.018     2:04:59 PM     3:04:59     3:08:19     3
LIONHEART     1.021     2:09:03 PM     3:09:03     3:13:01     4
RAINBOW     1.018     8:00:00 PM     9:00:00     DNF     6

Friday         29-Mar-13

Results: Race 2
Course Type:     CR
FINISH     ELAPSED     CORRECTED
Rating     TIME     TIME     TIME
HANUMAN           1.018     1:31:04 PM     2:31:04     2:33:47
LIONHEART     1.020     1:31:48 PM     2:31:48     2:34:50
VELSHEDA     1.014     1:32:50 PM     2:32:50     2:34:58
RAINBOW     1.020     1:34:24 PM     2:34:24     2:37:29
RANGER     1.015     1:35:14 PM     2:35:14     2:37:34

Thursday     28-Mar-13

Results: Race 1
Course Type:     WL
Wind Range:     Light
Start Time:     12:10:00 PM     Approx Dist:     12NM
FINISH     ELAPSED     CORRECTED
Rating     TIME     TIME     TIME
HANUMAN           1.028     2:21:59 PM     2:11:59     2:15:41
LIONHEART     1.029     2:24:42 PM     2:14:42     2:18:36
RAINBOW     1.034     2:28:09 PM     2:18:09     2:22:51
RANGER     1.012     2:31:38 PM     2:21:38     2:23:20
VELSHEDA     1.018     2:31:39 PM     2:21:39     2:24:12y

 

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The 2013 St Barths Bucket Regatta action starts on March 28. This annual yachting spectacular will feature the latest in superyacht designs along with true classics. Thirty-five yachts are ready to join the festivities and racing.

Racing begins on Thursday March 28 when five J Class yachts head for the starting line. This will be the first gathering of five or more J’s since 1937!

Three more races are planned, with all yachts racing in four separate classes -Les Mademoiselles des Mers, Les Grandes Dames des Mers, Les Gazelles des Mers, and the J Class.

The largest yacht is the 88m Perini Navi built schooner Maltese Falcon. Eleven of the current entries are 50 meters or larger. Among new boats to the St Barths Bucket is the 31m Dubois Naval Architects designed Sarafin and the 31m Newport Bucket winner Indio.

The around the island courses create spectacular opportunities to view these breathtaking vessels under sail. The racing format has been modified somewhat, with the start times set so that the classes should finish together. This change is designed to make the racing both more competitive and safer.

Now in their 27th year, the Bucket regattas attract the crème de la crème of yacht builders from every sailing nation, with several builders boasting multiple entries. The “Big Five” sailing yacht builders (Perini Navi, Royal Huisman, Holland Jachtbouw, Alloy Yachts and Vitters) have for many years supported the Bucket Regattas, playing a meaningful role in growing the Bucket and helping maintain the non-commercial atmosphere, another significant hallmark of Bucket races.

One of Executive Director Tim Laughridge’s goals is to ensure that the renowned Spirit of the Bucket is retained while providing participants with great class racing. He’ll be helming Parsifal III and racing to win, but reminds everyone that the overriding theme is to sail safe and win the party!

The four class winners of the 2013 St Barths Bucket will each receive a Ship’s Bell Clock from Chelsea Clock.

J Class
Yachts (5)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Hanuman	42m	sloop	Royal Huisman	Dykstra Naval Architects
Lionheart	43m	sloop	Bloemsma/Claasen Jachtbouw	Hoek Design
Rainbow	40m	sloop	Holland Jachtbouw	Dykstra Naval Architects
Ranger	41m	sloop	Danish Yacht	Sparkman & Stephens
Velsheda	40m	sloop	Camper & Nicholson	Nicholson
les Gazelles des Mers
Yachts (9)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Baiurdo VI	35m	sloop	Abeking & Rasmussen	Gilles Vaton
Cape Arrow	30m	sloop	Southern Wind	Farr – Nauta
Chrisco	31m	sloop	CNB	Luca Brenta
Indio	30m	sloop	Wally Yachts	Frers Naval Architecture
Leopard3	30m	sloop	McConaghy	Farr Yacht Design
P2	38m	sloop	Perini Navi	Philippe Briand
Rebecca	43m	ketch	Pendennis	Frers Naval Architecture
Unfurled	34m	sloop	Royal Huisman	Frers Naval Architecture
Visione	45m	sloop	Baltic Yachts	Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
les Mademoiselles des Mers
Yachts (10)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Adela	55m	schooner	Pendennis	Dykstra Naval Architects
Athos	62m	schooner	Holland Jachtbouw	Hoek Design
Koo (non spin)	43m	sloop	Vitters Shipyard	Dubois Naval Architects
Lady B	45m	sloop	Vitters Shipyard	Dubois Naval Architects
Prana	52m	sloop	Alloy Yachts	Dubois Naval Architects
Salperton IV	45m	sloop	Fitzroy Yachts	Dubois Naval Architects
Sarafin’	31m	sloop	Oyster/RMK Marine	Dubois Naval Architects
Symmetry	29m	sloop	Yachting Developments	Frers Naval Architecture
Wild Horses	24m	sloop	Brooklin Boat Yard	Joel White
Zefira	50m	sloop	Fitzroy Yachts	Dubois Naval Architects
les Grandes Dames des Mers
Yachts (12)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Andromeda La Dea	48m	ketch	Perini Navi	Perini Navi
Axia	38m	ketch	Palmer Johnson	Sparkman & Stephens
Blue Too	34m	ketch	Alloy Yachts	Ron Holland Design
Georgia	48m	sloop	Alloy Yachts	Studio Scanu Sri Butch
Luna	52m	sloop	Perini Navi	Perini Navi
Maltese Falcon	88m	schooner	Perini Istanbul	Dykstra Naval Architects
Panthalassa	56m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Parsifal III	54m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Rosehearty	56m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Salute	56m	sloop	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Silencio	50m	ketch	Perini Navi	Perini Navi
Zenji	56m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Des

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Saturday morning saw warmth and sunshine in the Solent for the J Class Hundred Guinea Cup race; East around the Isle of Wight, based on the original America’s Cup course.

Light Easterly wind was due to give way to just a whisper of Southerly breeze in the day, and the prospect of a shortened course looked likely. Nothing could have dampened the enthusiasm of the spectator fleet though, as hundreds of them joined the Js at the start line, anticipating a race to rival the glory days of the 1930′s America’s Cups.

Rainbow sensibly withdrew from Saturday’s racing for safety reasons after a small technical issue. The remaining three, Velsheda, Ranger, and Lionheart were a fantastic spectacle as they hoisted their 16,000 square feet of mainsail and genoa, and began circling on the RYS line area, North of Cowes.

As if sensing the importance of the occasion, as the start time approached, the Easterly wind unexpectedly picked up strength. With hundreds of boats and thousands of spectators watching, the three boats crossed the line on Starboard, benefiting from the last of the flood tide. After the start, the sea erupted with the acceleration of hundreds of powerboats and RIBs following the three boat fleet.

The yachts pressed on in the light wind out to the Nab Tower. Lionheart rounded first, setting her 10,000 square foot spinnaker.

Lionheart held the lead at St Catherine’s Point with Velsheda a short distance behind, and Ranger close by. Even after three quarters of the course, only seconds split the fleet.

Lionheart held her lead and rounded the Needles first, to the delight of hundreds of spectators on beaches and headlands from Hurst Castle to Christchurch.

By the time the boats reached Fort Albert, it had become apparent that the strong adverse tide through Hurst and patchy winds up the Solent were going to make finishing the round the island almost impossible, and the Race Committee took the decision to shorten the course retrospectively, as agreed in the sailing instructions. The course was finished at the Needles, where times had been taken. The results (including Time Correction Factors) were calculated but kept a secret from the Js until the prizegiving, where all the crew and owners assembled that evening.

Lionheart’s position at The Needles won her the King’s Hundred Guinea Cup. This was a fantastic achievement for Lionheart and her owner, competing in their first J Class regatta, and well-deserved as Lionheart has performed consistently well at each regatta and taken line-honours twice, narrowly losing out on first place each race on corrected time.

Velsheda rounded about two minutes behind, and Ranger a further five minutes behind.

Because of her great results in the Solent, two wins and one second, Velsheda was awarded the Corinthian King’s Cup for the regatta’s best amateur helmsman. Originally presented by King George V, the Corinthian King’s Cup, dating from 1914, will be presented each year as a perpetual trophy “for friendly competition between J Class yachts, each sailed by an amateur owner”.

 

The Kings Hundred Guinea Cup was originally presented by King George VI at the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club in 1937. Both trophies were kindly donated by Jan Hart; associate member of the JCA, keen supporter of the fleet, and owner of the building copyright for JS1 Svea.

Saturday was a great day for those watching from the mainland, as the Js were seen by thousands of spectators around the island from every possible vantage point; from Cowes, Lee-on-Solent, Hayling Island, Bembridge, Ventnor, Christchurch Bay, and Hurst.

The Hundred Guinea Cup was another great race by the competitive J Class yachts, providing a spectacle that will live in yachting memory for a very long time.

On Saturday night, crew, owners, and organisers enjoyed a prize-giving party at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club, jointly sponsored by Pantaenius, and Dykstra and Partners Naval Architects. Everybody attended the event in great spirits, still buzzing from four days of wonderful sailing.

Lionheart and Velsheda’s prize-winning owners made speeches enthusiastically thanking the Royal Southampton Yacht Club for their excellent race-management, as they received their cups.

Both the Falmouth and Solent Regattas were the inspiration of David Pitman, who has been class secretary for more than twelve years. He worked hard, together with Mike Beggs, the class measurer, to bring these two wonderful regattas to the UK this year. He was significantly responsible for the growth of the class from the original three yachts to a fleet of seven on the water, with three more projects underway. David says “It has been my pleasure to work and sail with the J Class fleet for more than fifteen years, creating an environment where the class can grow and flourish.”

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A difficult first day began with strong winds and a fierce outgoing tide facing the four yachts at the start of the Solent regatta.

Ranger crossed the start line first, followed extremely closely by Velsheda and Lionheart, with Rainbow a few seconds behind. Lionheart and Rainbow crossed onto the North shore for the long beat into a strong 20 knot SW wind and building sea.

Ranger and Velsheda elected to work the Island shore, where the stronger outgoing tide was expected to work in their favour.

At the weather mark, now crowded with spectator boats from all around the Solent, Ranger rounded first, with Lionheart close behind, followed by Rainbow and Velsheda, who had slipped back. Ranger gybed and set onto a symmetrical kite whilst Lionheart split from her with a bearaway set onto an assymetric kite. Ranger then drew ahead, sailing the best angles into the foul tide with the symmetrical.

The gap between the yachts never opened up significantly. Ranger led 100 metres from the finish line and just squeezed across first, despite a very strong finish from Lionheart.

1st Ranger
2nd Lionheart
3rd Rainbow
4th Velsheda

 

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Fog delayed the start of the first race of the UK J Class Regatta series 2012, postponing the 1200 start, positioned one mile south of Pendennis Point, by one hour.

By twelve o clock, the sun was still struggling to break through but visibility had improved enough to get the UK regattas underway. As 1300 approached, the number of spectators on the water grew towards the hundreds. Almost all spectators kindly complied with the race officers’ request to keep the start line clear.

After the ten minute gun, the yachts started circling and manoeuvring for the best starting positions, the atmosphere getting more and more tense as the minutes ticked away. The last few minutes were thrilling for all spectators.

At the start, the boats split into two sections; Lionheart and Ranger at the end of the line, and Rainbow and Velsheda at the port end.

As they accelerated towards the windward mark at Helford River, the support ribs and spectator fleet gamely tried to keep up.

Ranger, who had sailed on the seaward side of the course, managed to pull in front by a few boat lengths and by the time she’d rounded the windward mark had stretched her lead to 200 metres,  along  the short spreader reach, turning downwind and launching her 10,000 sq. Ft. Spinnaker.

Lionheart was next around the mark, but after an early gybe she ran into a spinnaker problem and was forced to drop it on deck and launch another, smaller spinnaker. This proved costly as she slipped to last place further down the leg.

Meanwhile, Velsheda and Rainbow sailed with spinnakers offshore, picking up a fresh wind from the seaward side and by the end of the leg, with freshening wind, closing the distance on Ranger.

After around 2.5 hours of racing in various wind strengths across the bay, the race was shortened, with Ranger crossing the line first, comfortably ahead of Velsheda and Rainbow, with Lionheart some distance behind.

1 – Ranger
2 – Velsheda
3 – Rainbow
4 – Lionheart

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By Norma Trease

As The Bard said “parting is such sweet sorrow”, and that is exactly the way everyone feels at the end of another fantastic edition of the Saint Barths Bucket. With every hug, every single-double-triple goodbye kiss, every sincere “I love you” a piece of your heart leaves with each friend and sailing companion who departs for their home ports by plane, ferry – or indeed by yacht. Yet we all know that in this world, we will all meet again, whether in another country, surely another regatta, boat show, wedding, or quay encounter in another port town. ‘Tis the nature of our biz! The upshot is that we carry with us, one and all, amazing memories of another Bucket, bigger and better than ever.

Michael Bradfield, owner of the superb Dubois-designed, Royal Huisman built Twizzle, summed it up as well as I ever could. “What a superb and exciting Bucket Regatta. The sailing was varied and challenging and brilliantly planned. The four categories were spot on and the exciting and tight finishes were a testament to the superb rating by Jim Teeters. Peter Craig as PRO and the team did a superb job of promoting a rich and varied regatta with a strong emphasis on safety and good nature. It was a privilege being able to take part.”

 

With forty seven yachts of this value and calibre, all competing for prizes, glory and bragging rights, racing can sometimes get a little hairy. Yet with the intense professionalism of both permanent and racing crews, once again, Bucket racing in Saint Barths remained safe, and with other than a few protest-enducing close calls, and some gear failure, everything turned out well in the end. However, there were some incidents of the yacht air-kiss variety.

On Day Three of racing, “Round the Island the Other Way”, with the four classes separated into two parallel courses, there were less of the mega-million-dollar-baby pile ups we all gasped at on Day Two. Day Threes’ biggest heart thumping moments happened at the finish line, which went between a marker buoy, and the lovely Burger yacht committee boat, Ingot. Blue Too, who had a great race, coming in 2nd in Class and 3rd place overall, narrowly avoided becoming the filing in a Perini panini. It was an exciting race for Perinis today, as Fidelis, and Parsifal III came across the finish line within inches of each other, and Andromeda also came exceedingly close to the committee boat.

BTW, a sincere “Merci Bucket” must be given to our three graciously loaned committee boats Rena, Krisujen, and Ingot. They are an integral part of Bucket racing, providing excellent hospitality and a great environment for our hard-working Race Committee officers, while also serving as appropriately elegant foils to the superb sailing yachts who pass them twice each day. Thanks very much!

It’s virtually impossible to fairly rate a gigantic fleet of this magnitude and diversity. No one has more data available, or crunches those numbers more assiduously than our ratings guru, Jim Teeters. Yet unfortunately, despite achieving the goal of many excitingly close-to-photo finishes, you can never please everyone in this super knowledgeable and experienced crowd. Amy Laing, who has for many years managed the complexities of the very busy Whisper program, delicately explained their frustrations at the ratings they received this year (which saw them start three from last on Day Three, for instance.) “The racing format needs work!” She further explained, “the size and number of yachts has rendered the objective of an overall winner impossible to fairly determine. The committee should be applauded for running this Bucket Regatta as competitively as it did given the obsolete format. I am sure Peter Craig will solve the format issue and Jim Titters will fairly rate the fleet in the future.” Extremely constructive criticism, and it is obvious that the Bucket racings need to be as varied and flexible as are the entries themselves.

Excellent racing and cruising skipper Dean Maggio, who unfortunately was involved in one of the few protests, looked at it from a historical perspective “this used to be resolved with a case of champagne, but no more! Maybe we could go back to that!” Capt. Johnno Johnson of Antara, always the Bucket host-with-the-most, also shared his frustrations too, “not matter how well we sail- and we’ve had some cracking good sailing here, we simply can’t get ahead of all of these bigger, newer boats. Sure, the owner and guests are having the time of their lives – but we like to at least be in the middle of the fleet.” Antara was this year awarded the Skulduggery Cravat for their always-excellent good humour, and much appreciated hospitality.

The All-Star Crew went to Endeavour ­- who were so much admired as they decorated the courses daily, and also came in top in the J-Class, with a very respectable 23rd overall. The Vitters Seamanship Trophy was given to Race Committee member Don Gunning, who worked night and day to keep this race safe, and enjoyable for everyone.

Lots of awards going around: Perini Navi Barracuda, took home the always coveted Escargot Cup – whose title is self-explanatory. The Alloy Yacht Award for the top performing Alloy Yacht went to Blue Too. In a charming speech, Alice Huisman presented the Wolter Huisman Memorial Award, given to the yacht or person who best exhibits the ‘spirit of the Bucket’ to Capt. Richard Archer of the Swan Virago, well-known for their competitive spirit, and intense emphasis on safety. The Perini Navi Cup, which had a lot of potential winners in this years bumper-crop, was given to Panthalassa, who had an excellent race, coming in 2nd in Les Grandes Dames class, and 4th overall.

 

BRAVO, BRAVI, BRAVE to every one of us all lucky enough to part if this always totally awe-inspiring event – or as Don Tofias, that yacht-loving, and Bucket-loving sailorman says “the 2012 edition of the St. Barths Bucket is now complete, and as always – Yachting was the Winner.”

Blogger Norma Trease, one of the most sincere Bucket fans ever, is  celebrating her own 25th Bucket Regatta – but who’s counting?

Overall Winners

First	This Is Us
Second	Lady B
Third	Blue Too

Les Gazelles Winners

First	Mari-Cha III
Second	Firefly
Third	P2

Les Grandes Dames Winners

First	Parsifal III
Second	Panthalassa
Third	Axia

Les Elegantes Winners

First	This Is Us
Second	Blue Too
Third	Windcrest

Les Mademoiselles Winners

First	Lady B
Second	Ganesha
Third	Twizzle

J Class

Endeavour

Skullduggery Award

Antara

Escargot Cup

Barracuda

Alloy Cup

Blue Too

All Star Crew Award

Endeavour

Wolter Huisman Memorial Spirit of the Bucket Trophy

Virago

Perini Navi Cup

Panthalassa

Vitter’s Shipyard Seamanship Trophy

Don Gunning – Race Committee

Descriptions of Awards

Best Performance by an Alloy Yacht

All Star Crew Award

At each Bucket Event, every yacht is asked to cast a ballot for the yacht crew among the fleet that demonstrates the most professional service in all tasks, while maintaining the best voie de vivre, camaraderie, teamwork and respect among the crew.  This is the crew that displays the pinnacle of the profession and has the most fun at it – the yacht that everyone wants to work aboard.   Because the award is earned by peer recognition, it has earned serious stature within the marine industry.

Spirit of the Bucket Trophy

This award is presented each year by Alice Huisman, to the yacht that best exemplifies the spirit of the Bucket Regattas.  The selection is absolutely subjective, but considers sportsmanship, safe seamanship, best hospitality and overall contribution to the event.

We have created a lot of humor around the premise that “Bribes can get you anything in the Bucket” and this is where the truth comes clear.  The Bucket Regatta was really started as a Club of yacht owners who loved nothing more than sailing their yachts well, getting the best out of them, and then sharing great yarns and libation at the end of the day.  There are a group of owners who have contributed a lot to the event over the years, from tenders to parties, committee boats, etc.  It is this Spirit that sets this event apart from all others.  It is in recognition of this Spirit that the Wolter Huisman Memorial Trophy is awarded.

Perini Navi Cup

Perini-Navi Yacht with the best result.

Vitters Seamanship Trophy

Awarded to the yacht that demonstrates the best seamanship and sportsmanship in the interest of promoting safety on the race course.  All participants in the Bucket acknowledge that superyachts have serious limitations operating safely in close quarters and therefore, the RC has always valued safety well above performance.  This award will recognize the yacht that best demonstrates that understanding.  It also goes to prove that nice guys don’t always finish last!!

Skullduggery Cravat

The Skullduggery Cravat is a perfectly tied Admiralty Noose, framed, with instructions in elegant calligraphy on how to tie a proper, 13 turn noose.  This was originally awarded to the owner of SARIYAH in 2002, so his captain, Timothy Laughridge (Bucket Committee) could be hung at the pleasure of the Fleet.

The award was renamed and put forward by the Committee to reinforce the Bucket premise that we are NOT here to promulgate adult behavior.  The Cravat will be awarded to the yacht and crew who display the best bucket humor.  As a guideline, we again focus on SARIYAH, where one year they spent the evening prior to the last race, slaughtering a down feathered mattress, then they packed the feathers in with their spinnaker so when they set their ‘Chute with the Hawk logo the following day, they not only dusted the horizon with feathers, but left a rubber chicken hanging from their spinnaker pole!!!

 

 

Breathtaking photos, results and more on the web site: http://www.bucketregattas.com/stbarths/index.html

Cumlative Results

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By Norma Trease
 
My mother used to say “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The Saint Barths Bucket version of this was heard at the end of today’s very rainy race from Rebecca’s helmsman saying “well, at least we don’t have to wash down – or chamois!” The other upside of this unseasonable – even cold – rain falling in buckets all day was that it brought wind. Albeit the gusty, the fluky, variable winds we saw proved as much a challenge as an asset. So Day One of the Saint Barths Bucket proved to be very interesting indeed, a dramatic start to an always fascinating racing spectacle.
 
To begin with, this incredible fleet, featuring 47 of the worlds’ most impressive sailing yachts, hailing from every yacht building nation on earth, with a LOA of close to two kilometers in length total is mind boggling to any normal human being, even us hundreds of die-hard Bucketeers. Add in a new, fourth ratings class, and the ever-present discussions which surround the Bucket Ratings System, and the stage is set for a lot of excitement.
 
Day One as usual featured the ‘Round the Island Race’ clockwise. The races here are based on the pursuit racing theory which has yachts begin at staggered times based on predicted performance, which when figured correctly (as if this were possible with a fleet of this breathtaking diversity), and counting in slightly differing courses for some of the classes – could, or should result in all of the yachts coming across the finish line at the same time. Great concept, and there’s doubt that no one does it better that our ratings guru Jim Teeters, but can you imagine the fear factor in that amount enormous, and hugely valuable fleet of floating assets bearing on the same finish line at the same time? Needless to say, it rarely happens just that way.
 
Todays’ Bucket racing proved about as good as it gets, despite the unseasonable weather. Most of the yachts had great starts, with many of them right on the money, or bare seconds behind their allotted times. Throughout the race, which was either 20.8 or 24.5 miles depending upon your class, there was some seriously thrilling sailing. The finishes – proving that the years of data crunching behind the Bucket Ratings system actually does produce results – were in a few cases almost too close. The final mark proved a bottle neck, which saw several encounters of the heart-stopping variety, including a couple of clusters of Perini Navis coming within drink-sharing distance of each other. A definitely too intimate meeting of Whisper, Rebecca and Salperton – which came very close to producing the seriously frowned-upon protest – was averted at the last minute by the usual gentlemanly discussion. No T-bones today!
These yachts, although increasingly built to perform on the race course, are still at heart cruising vessels, and invariably, the rarely seen stresses that racing places on the yachts can – and does – cause some damage. Depending on who you spoke to, there were anything from four to eight spinnaker sails shredded, including those on Barracuda and Meteor. Most seriously damaged was the largest yacht in the fleet, the very impressive 67m Baltic Yacht Hetairos, designed by one of hottest current yacht design collaborations possible, Dysktra and Reichel/Pugh. She unfortunately hit a submerged rock and did quite a bit of damage to her keel – yet finished the race to the bitter end.
 
This was a race where experience really counted. The gorgeous classic 43m ketch Rebecca, which was designed by German Frers, and built at Pendennis Shipyard, has participated in many yacht races worldwide. Their well-rehearsed team, composed of experienced former and current yacht skippers, has brought them onto the winners’ podium at numerous Buckets. They chose the conservative route, carrying up on deck and rigging three different spinnakers, and in the end, although they could have chosen a more aggressive approach, went with a heavier sail, but at least, brought it back on deck safe and sound. From my point of view riding on board as an ‘extra’, the swath she cut through the eleven vessel Elegantes de Mer class, with a start as second-to-last place, and finishing right in the middle provided a fantastic view of the entire fleet as we chased and caught up with most of the yachts on the course today.

 
The newly formed Mademoiselles de la Mer class, dominated by no less than ten Dubois designed beauties, saw a very excited Ed Dubois chortling over his very first ever Bucket race win on Lady B, snagging both first in class and first over all. Ganesha and Salperton IV came in at 2nd and 3rd place respectively. With the vast quantity of yacht owners they make happy year after year – not to mention the aesthetic satisfaction they bring to their legion of fans worldwide – they deserve lots of prizes. Congrats to him and his great Dubois team!
 
In Les Grandes Dames, a/k/a the Perini Navi class, there was a battle of titans, as two of the Bucket founder captains, Tim Laughridge and Ian Craddock did guest helmsman duty on Parsifal III and Antara. The light variable winds did not at all favor these elegant, stately beauties, yet that did not stop them from battling mightily all throughout the race course. Capt. Timmy snagged a First in class with some quite aggressive driving. Axia, with her multi-generation family team, their dogged hard work, and long-time Bucket participation, well merited their close 2nd in class. The sleek Panthalassa rounded out 3rd place in Les Grandes.

 
Adela, another long-time favourite Bucket boat, swept to first in Les Elegantes, with Blue Too and This Is Us chasing them closely. Overall winners were Lady B, Adela, and Mari-Cha III. The newly instituted daily prize givings were well-attended by many still soggy Bucketeers.
 
The rain stopped just in time for the chamois to be wielded, the champagne popped, and hors d’oeuvres to be prepared for the Yacht Hop, which due to some serious security measures, remained very civilized. Very popular were Bliss, Barracuda and Parsifal III, but as usual – the party winner favours always go to those dancing fools on Antara. Their theme this year was Motown, and they had the sound system, the tunes, the bling and the hairdos to carry it off in style.
 
The sun is out for Day Two of the Saint Barths Bucket 2012. We’re all looking forward to enjoying another great day out on the water. See you on the race course!

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