The 2025 St Barths Bucket: 13 – 16 March 2025
2024 St Barths Bucket
Preliminary 2024 Bucket Class Breaks (pdf)
Posted 5 March 2024
Comments from the Race Chairman…
I ask that participating yacht owners, captains and afterguard members assess the class breaks in the context of the facts and considerations presented in this letter. As always, we welcome your feedback and comments, but ask that only the yacht owner’s designated representative contact us with any feedback, questions, or concerns.
BACKGROUND
We recognize that getting class breaks ‘right’ can be as important to good competition as proper handicapping. These preliminary class breaks are published after considerable analysis and dialogue with our race managers, the SYRA and ORC. There are many factors considered when determining class breaks including, but not limited to, Rig Type, Ratings, Displacement/Length Ratio (DLR), Sail Area/Displacement Ratios, Furling Jibs when Tacking, etc. But there are also limiting factors from the race management standpoint, such as practical class size, the number and type of yachts entered, and rating bands.
Based on feedback from participating owners, one of our goals with superyacht racing is to group yachts with relatively similar sailing characteristics together – that is, to have yachts which perform in a similar fashion in a variety of different conditions compete in the same class. This is difficult to achieve in some instances given the composition of the fleet and how disparate superyachts are, however, does remain one of our top considerations.
Assigning classes based solely on ratings alone would be a simple task, look tidy on the scratch sheet and result in tighter rating bands, but this rarely provides the quality competition that superyacht owners desire.
2024 FACTS and CONSIDERATIONS
In any given year there are unique considerations and limitations regarding class breaks and 2024 is no exception:
- Once again, we have a large, diverse fleet of sloops, ketches and schooners, with yacht length ranging from 28-77 meters, displacement between 55-720 metric tons, and a speed differential from the fastest to slowest rated yacht in fleet of nearly 4 minutes per mile.
- There are 30 yachts divided into three ‘conventional’ cruising superyacht classes, two non-spinnaker Corinthian Spirit classes, one 90 Foot class, and one Open Performance class.
- The ‘Open Performance class’ combines the faster rated cruising superyachts from Class A with one racing superyacht, to be scored separately with their own class trophies.
- 2024 Bucket fleet classes:
A 4 yachts Les Gazelles des Mers B 5 yachts Les Elegantes des Mers C 3 yachts Les Petites Dames (90 Foot) D 6 yachts L’Esprit-1 (Corinthian Spirit-1) E 6 yachts Les Mademoiselles des Mers F 5 yachts L’Esprit-2 (Corinthian Spirit-2) O 5 yachts Les Performance Ouvertes (Open Performance) - Class A (Gazelles) Four performance oriented yachts with the fastest ratings in fleet, low DLR and LOA’s between 47-60m. All feature high upwind sail area/displacement ratios and extremely high downwind sail area/displacement ratios, with none having to furl jibs to tack.
- Class B (Elegantes) All five are sloops, not rated as fast as those in Class A. They have similar waterline lengths and upwind and downwind sail area/displacement ratios, with a reasonably tight rating band of 34 seconds/mile.
- Class C (Petites Dames) These three sloops feature the same designer and builder and an extremely tight rating band of 16 secs/mile.
- Class D (L’Esprit-1) This class features the smaller of the 11 non-spinnaker Corinthian Spirit class entries (LOA 30-33m / Displ 90-115 ton). All six are sloops. Three of the six yachts in class are racing with headsails set flying (not spinnakers). The Corinthian Spirit Class rules (NOR_Exhibit_2_Corinthian-Spirit-Class-Rules.pdf ) provide an overview of the racing philosophy and eligibility criteria.
- Class E (Les Mademoiselles) This 6-yacht class features a mix of different rigs all with high DLR and low upwind and downwind sail area/displacement ratios. The rated speeds are considerably slower than the yachts in classes A and B.
- Class F (L’Esprit-2) This is the second of the non-spinnaker Corinthian Spirit classes. All five are large superyachts (45-77m / 240-720 ton) with relatively low sail area/displacement ratios.
- Class O (Performances Ouvertes) This ‘open performance class’ is comprised of the four Class A yachts and one racing superyacht, Spirit of Malouen (racing yachts as defined by the SYRA Cruising-Superyacht-Definition.pdf ). This combined racing/cruising class will have separate trophies.
In keeping with Bucket tradition, the 2024 regatta will feature the popular pursuit racing format with a focus on class racing. Individual start times will be structured such that each yacht in class finishes together (as opposed to the entire fleet), with class finishes staggered for safe racing purposes (the class finishing gaps will depend on courses, wind strength and class composition). This practice has not only proved effective for safe racing, but also for fair racing as well, to some extent lessening interaction of yachts competing in other classes.
As stated earlier, I welcome your comments and feedback, but please respond in a timely manner. Any submissions provided just prior to racing on site are unlikely to be addressed. We ask that captains please share this letter and the accompanying class break worksheet with your yacht owners and afterguard members.
I look forward to seeing everyone soon and to the prospects of another year of competitive, enjoyable Bucket racing!
Peter Craig
Race Chairman