Centenary Trophy in Saint-Tropez is cancelled

Match racing event with radio controlled models substitutes for Centenary Trophy © J'rg Kaufmann / www.go4image.com

The weather conditions, a stiff easterly of around 25 knots and choppy sea, forced the race officials to abandon racing of the 3rd Centenary Trophy, the event organized by the Gstaad Yacht Club together with the Société Nautique de Saint Tropez, gathering centenarian classic yachts, scheduled for Thursday.

The organizers decided that the wind, but especially the sea state, would have have been too rough for such beautiful and delicate old yachts and that good seamanship dictated a stop. The exclusive trophy, created by Wakely and Wheeler of London in 1911, then remains in the hands of Richard Allan, owner of the Nicholson designed gaff cutter Marigold, who won the event last year.

If the crews could not fight on the water, they had a second chance on a much smaller, and calmer race course. A "Plan B" was put in place, and a match racing event with radio controlled model yachts was organized at the Chateau Saint Tropez swimming pool. The boats, full carbon AC models, were especially delivered from Gstaad -where they are used once a year for the club's traditional ski-yachting event. The eight competing teams, Bona Fide, Kelpie, Marigold, Nan of Fife, Partridge, Phoebus and Sif, selected a skipper and a tactician among their crews who could best fight for the win. After a qualification round and the semi-finals, in a much contested final it was the young team from Bona Fide I to secure victory on fellow crew-mates of Bona Fide II.

The Centenary Trophy is organized by The Gstaad Yacht Club in co-operation with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez.