A bit more breeze than forecast, today’s 16–17 knot trade winds under mostly blue skies set the stage for picture-perfect conditions in St. Barths, handing 33 superyachts a spectacular opening day of racing at the St. Barths Bucket. Reading the shifts counted as critical for the nine classes sailing variations of the event’s classic counterclockwise Around the Island Race.
“We had a game plan, and did exactly what we wanted to do,” said Mike Toppa, tactician aboard Rosehearty, which won the Grande Dames class today over a 16.8-nautical-mile course. “Three boats ahead of us started on starboard, but we wanted to be on port at the gun to minimize tacks. From there on, we focused on keeping the boat fast — never pinching to make a mark — and putting the emphasis on trimming, driving and calling the wind all the way to the finish.”
Toppa credited the foredeck crew with one of the day’s standout maneuvers. “We executed a simultaneous jibe and spinnaker takedown, which you don’t often see on a superyacht,” he said.
Second-place finisher Perseus 3 crossed the line four minutes and 17 seconds behind Rosehearty under the pursuit format. When the two boats reunited at the dock, the Perseus 3 crew delivered a hearty “hip hip hooray” in recognition of Rosehearty’s well-sailed race.
Tighter was the battle in the six-boat Les Gazelles des Mers class, which sailed 21.4 nautical miles and produced a thrilling finish among three ketches.
“It was an extraordinary photo finish between us, Aquarius and Hetairos… exactly what pursuit racing is supposed to be,” said Tony Rey, tactician aboard the winning yacht Maximus. Maximus crossed the line just 30 seconds ahead of Aquarius and 48 seconds ahead of third-place Hetairos.
Rey said positioning proved decisive. “We were the right-most boat when a right shift came in, which allowed us to tack and set up for a reach where we could really put our elbows out and get ahead of a very fast Aquarius.” He also praised the crew working Maximus‘s massive mizzen foresails: “The ten sailors on our mizzen bow team were the MVPs today.”
In Les Petites Dames (90-footers), Hummingbird claimed victory by just 18 seconds over Freya after a tightly fought race.
“It was really fun, close racing,” said navigator Ben Saxton. Freya started three and a half minutes ahead, but Hummingbird closed the gap on the first downwind leg. “She got close again on the back side of the island. For us it was all about planning ahead and being ready for quick sail changes.”
Elsewhere across the fleet:
Adix won Les Goelettes des Mers, the event’s first all-schooner class.
In Les Cent Pied, the Maxi 100s traded leads throughout the longest course (25 miles) of the day before V ultimately prevailed.
In Les Élégantes, Geist sailed a remarkably clean race to win by 6 minutes and 20 seconds over Linnea Aurora.
Defending class champion Whisper took top honors again in Les Mademoiselles, signaling it may once more be the boat to beat.
Inukshuk and Melek won L’Esprit-1 and L’Esprit-2, respectively, with Melek also earning the day’s best start by hitting the line with exactly zero seconds to spare. The event’s Best Overall Starter award — introduced a few years ago and increasingly coveted — will be decided at week’s end.
Forecasts call for stronger winds tomorrow and even more on Sunday, prompting organizers to consider adjusting the schedule. If they follow through, tomorrow’s traditional Not So Wiggly course will move to Sunday to offer competitors greater protection from the expected sea state and tomorrow’s racing will utilize Sunday’s clockwise Wrong Way Around course.
Tonight’s shoreside festivities began with the Bucket Marquee awards presentation, followed by a crew Happy Hour at the Bucket Bar and Dockside Crew Party featuring live music from local favorite Freedom.
Photographs by Martin Baum – Pantaenius.
