The third edition of the Voiles de Saint-Barth will take place from 2nd to 7th April 2012. With six months to go to the event, the organisers François Tolède and Luc Poupon visited Saint-Tropez last week during theVoiles to race aboard a 50-foot boat decked out in the livery of the Saint-Barth Yacht Club and on board the Maxi "SOJANA". An opportunity for them to contact owners, skippers and sailors to promote the event, which is already an integral part of the Caribbean racing calendar. The success of the previous two editions is the best ambassador for an event whose reputation has spread like wildfire to all those who love elegant yachts and fine racing in the Caribbean. François Tolède is therefore enthusiastically looking forward to the next edition.

"We shall be incorporating all the features that made our previous events so successful," explained François Tolède, "in other words, a friendly atmosphere, a warm welcome, a festive occasion, and the best race use possible of our magnificent waters." 50 yachts took part in a week of racing in the trade winds last year. "We can reasonably hope to see around 70 boats here this time,” added François Tolède, stressing that looking at the numbers, it is in fact the capacity of the harbour in Gustavia, which will determine the limits. Registrations continue to pour in with six months to go to the event and already ten new boats have signed up. "The countdown has begun," declared François Tolède. "The Voiles de Saint-Tropez enabled Luc Poupon to talk to a few maxi yacht owners, who were all very excited about the idea of sailing in the paradise waters of the Caribbean at the end of the winter." Five major classesare lined up for this year, Maxi Yachts, Racing (spinnaker and non spinnaker), Classics and Racing Multihulls. Another very spectacular series could join in with this event, the TP 52s, as five or six owners have already expressed their enthusiasm.

The format of the event will be strengthened; "The idea of a lay day, a day when people can get together and enjoy themselves with their family and friends was very popular last year," continued François Tolède, "and next year we will once again attempt to make the Thursday a day of relaxation, allowing everyone to make the most of the pleasures of the island of Saint-Barth in between racing." It will also be possible to enjoy the racing from ashore in 2012 with 3D race coverage being set up in the official Village.

Enjoyment out on the water and pleasures ashore form a winning cocktail that everyone will be able to make the most of next April. The Les Voiles de Saint-Barth has in just two editions entered the Top 5 of Caribbean regattas alongside the Caribbean 600 Race, the Heineken Regatta and Antigua.

"All of our partners support our concept more than ever," stressed François Tolède, who is looking forward to two new partners. The association of racing, a friendly atmosphere and relaxation really works well in Saint-Barth. With new series, new boats, and a programme of onshore events, which has been tried and tested and fits in perfectly with the spirit of friendly, relaxed yachting, the 2012 les Voiles de Saint-Barth will already be a well-established event by this third edition. .