No
wind for the last day of the 38th Régates Royales de
Cannes, the bay of La Napoule looked almost totally flat, except for the
occasional puff of breeze here and there. The crews and the organizers
waited in vain for more than two hours for a decent wind to materialize
but finally had to give up and go back to the Vieux Port of Cannes.
Nothing,
just an ephemeral, occasional puff, anything but a breeze good enough
to launch a race. The high-pressure system hovering on the Cote d'Azur
created an area of no wind in the Bay of Cannes, leaving the crews and
the organizers empty handed on the last racing day of the 38th
Régates Royales. Some crews were hoping to race to get the necessary
points to be crowned winners of the closing event of the 2016 Panerai Classic
Yachts Challenge, but they had to do with what they already earned in four
races.
Grand
slams and hardly contested wins
The week-long series ended after four races, almost all raced in southerly breezes varying from light (8 knots) to medium (15 knots). Only Moonbeam IV in the Big Boat division and Freya of Midgard in the Spirit of Tradition class come out on top with a clear score: four wins out of four races. In the other classes, victory was more contested, as happened to Arrow that only had one point advantage on Carron II in the Vintage Marconi Arcadia beat British-flagged Ganbare in the Classics division by just one point, because the English boat could only discard a sixth while the French one could discard a tenth.
The week-long series ended after four races, almost all raced in southerly breezes varying from light (8 knots) to medium (15 knots). Only Moonbeam IV in the Big Boat division and Freya of Midgard in the Spirit of Tradition class come out on top with a clear score: four wins out of four races. In the other classes, victory was more contested, as happened to Arrow that only had one point advantage on Carron II in the Vintage Marconi Arcadia beat British-flagged Ganbare in the Classics division by just one point, because the English boat could only discard a sixth while the French one could discard a tenth.
In
other classes victory was less contested, with teams missing one or two
wins but still getting on the highest step of the podium. Among the twelves
Sovereign beat France, Italian-flagged Linnet
won in the Vintage Gaffers in front of USA's Spartan; Enterprise
got the better of Leonore in the Vintage Marconi Pitch got gold
and Team 42 silver.
Already
working for next year
The
organizers of the Régates Royales expressed their satisfaction for
the event that just ended and confirmed they are soon going to get back
to work for next year's edition.
“The
conditions have been excellent throughout the week of this 38th
edition of Régates Royales de Cannes -Trophée Panerai. Except
for some bad weather on Wednesday that did not affect racing because
the worst of it came when the boats had already docked. We had a truly
impressive line-up this year, with 80 Classics, 50 Dragons and eighteen
5.5 Metres, that came to race in Cannes for the first time. They first
competed in the Régate en Mer de la Société Nautique
de Genève and later took part to the Régates Royales with
a programme especially designed for them. And in two weeks' time we'll
start working on next year's edition!” declared Pascal Gard,
COO of the Régates Royales de Cannes
Jacques
Flori, president of the Yacht Club de Cannes, added:“It was very
close racing, in all classes, all week long. Good southerly breezes
enabled us to set excellent courses, with long, tactical and technical
upwind legs. We managed to launch ten races for the Dragons and eight for
the 5.5s in the gulf Juan. The wind made its appearance a bit late at times
but all the crews expressed their appreciation of the race area. We had
some newcomers: Linnet, Sincerity, Puritan, Sumurun and several others.
Unfortunately, for logistics reasons, we can only accommodate a limited
number of boats. We cannot say yes to everyone, but we did our best and
worked hard to the very last minute to find a good mooring for everyone.”
Top
designers
They
were the most influent designers of their time, creators of extraordinary
yachts that, over one hundred years later, still fascinate the world for
their beauty, elegance and performance.
William
Fife III is the naval architect who has the highest number of boats racing
at the 38th edition of the Régates Royales de Cannes
-Trophée Panerai, followed by the “Wizard of Bristol”
Nathanaël Herreshoff and Briton Charles Nicholson. These three designers,
who were active at the beginning of last century, before the International
Rule was adopted (1907), worked hard to find the best possible hull shapes,
used new materials (metal ribs, hollow masts etc.) to make hulls stiffer
and sails more long-lasting.
The
Fife dynasty reached its peak with William Jr's work from 1888 to the Second
World War . His designs at this year's Régates Royales include the
23 Metre Cambria (1928), the 8 Metres Eva (1906) and
Carron II (1935), Eilean (1937), the Marconi cutter Hallowe’en
(1926), Moonbeam of Fife (1903) and Moonbeam IV (1914),
Nan (1896) that inspired Pen Duick, the ketch Sumurun
(1914) and the gaff cutter Viola (1908)…
Nathanaël
Herreshoff began his career designing boats to compete in the early editions
of the America's Cup: Vigilant (1893), Defender (1895),
Columbia (1899 and 1901), Resolute (1920). The American
designer is represented in Cannes by the replica of a gaff schooner
dated 1911: Elena, the longest yacht racing at the Régates
Royales with her 60 metres of overall length. Herreshoff also designed
the New York Yacht Club 50' one design Spartan (1913), the
NY40 footers Chinook and Rowdy (1916), the NY30 footers
Linnet and Oriole (1905) that show, to this day, his
ability to design fast and modern hull lines.
Charles
Nicholson was also a naval “archistar” from the beginning of
last century, despite never succeeding in winning the America's Cup with
the boats commissioned by Sir Thomas Lipton: Shamrock V, Velsheda,
Endeavour I and Endeavour II. Moored in the Vieux Port of
Cannes are Marigold (1892), the oldest yacht racing in the event,
and Oiseau de Feu (1937). Alfred Mylne should also be included
in that age's top designer, having designed some of the most stunning boats
of the early 19th century. Kelpie (1903) is the only
Mylne design in Cannes this year.
It
was in the 1940s that a new design concept started to develop thanks to
the contribution from New York based office of Sparkman & Stephens.
Entreprise, Manitou, Skylark are all from 1937
and all racing in Cannes. Later in the century other designers came into
the international yachting spotlight with the IOR rule: Britton Chance,
Dick Carter, André Mauric, Doug Peterson, German Frers, Olin Stephens,
Ron Holland…
Different
hulls, sail plans, deck layouts... the early 19th century was
a real melting pot of brilliant ideas and innovative technologies that
we can still appreciate.
Overall
results - Régates Royales de Cannes
Big
Boats (9 boats)
1- Moonbeam IV (Mikael Créac’h) 3 points
2- Hallowe’en (Mick Cotter) 6 points
3- Moonbeam of Fife (Erwan Noblet) 9 points
1- Moonbeam IV (Mikael Créac’h) 3 points
2- Hallowe’en (Mick Cotter) 6 points
3- Moonbeam of Fife (Erwan Noblet) 9 points
12
Metre (3 boats)
1- Sovereign (Michel Nicolas) 5 points
2- France (Thierry Verneuil) 9 points
3- Chancegger (José de la Vega) 15 points
1- Sovereign (Michel Nicolas) 5 points
2- France (Thierry Verneuil) 9 points
3- Chancegger (José de la Vega) 15 points
Vintage
gaffers (16 boats)
1- Linnet (Patrizio Bertelli) 4 points
2- Spartan (Courtney Koos) 7 points
3- Chinook (Jonathan Greenwood) 14 points
1- Linnet (Patrizio Bertelli) 4 points
2- Spartan (Courtney Koos) 7 points
3- Chinook (Jonathan Greenwood) 14 points
Classics
(16 boats)
1- Arcadia (Bruno Ricciardi) 5 points
2- Ganbare (Don Wood) 6 points
3- Maria Giovanna II (Jean-Pierre Sauvan) 13 points
Vintage Marconi >15m (16 boats)
1- Enterprise (Goran Rutgersson) 4 points
2- Leonore (Mauro Piani) 8 pts
3- Skylark of 1937 (Tony Morse) 11 pts
1- Arcadia (Bruno Ricciardi) 5 points
2- Ganbare (Don Wood) 6 points
3- Maria Giovanna II (Jean-Pierre Sauvan) 13 points
Vintage Marconi >15m (16 boats)
1- Enterprise (Goran Rutgersson) 4 points
2- Leonore (Mauro Piani) 8 pts
3- Skylark of 1937 (Tony Morse) 11 pts
Vintage
Marconi
1- Arrow (Phil Plumtree) 4 points
2- Carron II (Angelo Mazzarella) 7 points
3- Jalina (Carlo-Luciano Frattimi) 8 points
1- Arrow (Phil Plumtree) 4 points
2- Carron II (Angelo Mazzarella) 7 points
3- Jalina (Carlo-Luciano Frattimi) 8 points
Spirit
of Tradition (5 boats)
1- Freya of Midgard (Philippe Fabre) 3 points
2- Fairlie (Thomas Fisher) 7 points
3- Tabasco 5 (Karl Lion) 9 points
1- Freya of Midgard (Philippe Fabre) 3 points
2- Fairlie (Thomas Fisher) 7 points
3- Tabasco 5 (Karl Lion) 9 points
Tofinou
(6 boats)
1- Pitch (Patrice Riboud) 3 points
2- Team 42 (Bernard Giroux) 5 points
3- Pippa (E. Fort) 7 points
1- Pitch (Patrice Riboud) 3 points
2- Team 42 (Bernard Giroux) 5 points
3- Pippa (E. Fort) 7 points
Dragons
(50 boats)
1- Anatoly Loginov - RUS (Annapurna) 55 points
2- Jonathan Brown - GBR (Storm) 70 points
3- Javier Scherk - ESP (Gunter) 74 points
4- Nicola Friesen - GER (Smaug) 83 points
5- Stéphane Baseden - FRA (Outlaw) 87 points
1- Anatoly Loginov - RUS (Annapurna) 55 points
2- Jonathan Brown - GBR (Storm) 70 points
3- Javier Scherk - ESP (Gunter) 74 points
4- Nicola Friesen - GER (Smaug) 83 points
5- Stéphane Baseden - FRA (Outlaw) 87 points
5.5
Metre (18 boats)
1- Arend Jan Pasman - NED (Feng Shui) 12 points
2- Hannes Waimer - GER (Atari) 17 points
3- Max Muller - GER (Prettynama) 21 points
1- Arend Jan Pasman - NED (Feng Shui) 12 points
2- Hannes Waimer - GER (Atari) 17 points
3- Max Muller - GER (Prettynama) 21 points
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento