With 50 boats registered for the second edition, the les Voiles de St-Barth is clearly well on its way to becoming a regular fixture in the Caribbean racing season. Ideally placed between the Heineken Regatta, the 31st edition of which has just finished in St Maarten, and Antigua Sailing Week which will be celebrating its 44th anniversary at the end of April, the les Voiles de St-Barth regatta has already achieved a lot of what it set out to do. Last year 20 yachts were tempted by the experience. This time around, the number has more than doubled and the location will once again be working its magic on the 400 or so sailors coming from around the world. With less than a month to go to the start of festivities, we look at those taking part. 50 yachts, divided up into five classes, will be competing from 4th to 9th April under the watchful eye of Luc Poupon, the Race Director, whose experience of sailing and perfect knowledge of these waters mean that the crews will be racing on a variety of windy courses with some amazing backdrops. The Maxi yacht class, with six sumptuous and fast boats competing will quite naturally be the focus of attention. A lot has already been written about the duel between the American George David’s "Rambler 100" and the British owner Mike Slade’s “Leopard 3”. The first battle between these two monsters, as the American Ken Read, skipper of Rambler referred to them, went to the latter in the Caribbean 600, an offshore race that took place in February. The les Voiles de St-Barth with its short day races offer something completely different for these ocean racers and Ken Read will have to get the most out of his talented Puma Ocean Racing crew to grab a second crown in St-Barth. One thing is certain, the start for this class, where we will see the majestic sight of "Sojana" (Farr 115-ft), "Highland Breeze" (Swan 112-ft), "SPIIP" (CNB 86) and "Genuine Risk" (Dubois 97-ft) is bound to be something well worth seeing.

Without wishing to say what the exact weather will be, Luc Poupon plans to send the Maxi yachts and multihulls off on the same race course at the start of each day of racing. There are in fact four two or three-hulled boats registered on the entrants’ list. Right at the top, we find the amazing 66-ft catamaran Phaedo, which did particularly well in her recent outing in the Caribbean 600 and last week in St Maarten, where she won the Heineken Regatta. The sight of these multihulls flying away on the crest of the waves generated by the trade winds will certainly offer another exciting moment of sailing.

The godfather of the event last year, the famous photographer from Le Havre, Patrick Demarchelier, has been a fan of St-Barth since the seventies, and is back again quite naturally this year at the helm of his elegant Swan 45 "Puffy". This time he will be up against a larger fleet of 9 yachts in the category of Racing Yachts between 34 and 50 feet. He will be doing battle with the sailor from Antigua James Dobbs, the title-holder with his J/122 "Lost Horizon. Dobbs is sailing more or less in his home waters here and has been a stand-out figure in Caribbean racing throughout the season. Swans, Grand Soleils, Santa Cruz and even a Class 40 sailed by the South African Lenjohn van de Wel will be competing in this group. The winning places will require a real effort as these boats also face competition from seven Racing Yachts measuring in at under 34 ft, Requin, Open 750 Y and Bénéteau yachts... all used to racing in local waters and particularly in close contact sailing in the powerful trade winds.

It is the category of Racing Cruisers, that we find the biggest number of entrants. 17 yachts, from the biggest, the Swan 60 "Fenix" belonging to the British owner Richard Balding and the X Yacht "Nix" owned by the Swiss sailor Nico Cortlever, down to the speedy Bénéteau boats like the 45-ft "L'espérance", winner last year with her owner Robert Velasquez at the helm, will all be there at the start. The battle between Velasquez and the local hero Raymond Magras on his "Speedy Nemo" was one of the highlights in 2010 in this lively and highly international group, with boats registered in France, Switzerland, England and the Netherlands.

The racing yachts measuring 50-ft or more will offer the best cruiser racing. Vesper-Moneypenny belonging to the American Jim Swartz expresses perfectly the quality of these boats fitted out for cruising, while rigged and equipped for racing. The battle against the Farr 60 and 65 "Venemous" and "Spirit of Juno" promises to be a close one and we will also need to keep an eye on the Frenchman, Régis Guillemot competing in this category aboard his Pogo 40.

In a completely different way, they too are a joy to behold: the Classic Yachts are an integral part of the racing as planned by the organisers. Three of them will be taking part this year in the Classic category with in particular the 12 M class "Kate" designed by Alfred Mylne in 1906, whose gaff rig on the long Caribbean swell is in itself not to be missed. The W76 class White Wings belonging to the American Donald Tofias will be racing without her sistership; last year, Tofias, whose yachts have won a huge number of trophies with wins in New England, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, won in his class at the helm of Wild Horses. This year he will be at the helm of White Wings with a truly international crew made up of fifteen sailors from the States, St-Barth, St-Martin and Antigua.

The 400 or so sailors, their friends and families will all get together ashore each morning and evening, where the atmosphere is bound to be very relaxed and friendly in the Race Village set up on Quai du Général De Gaulle in Gustavia. There will be live music each evening, special cookery events with the island’s top chefs, while film of the best races will be projected on a giant screen... Everything is being done to ensure that this week at the les Voiles de St-Barth will be a moment that will never be forgotten.

Additional information:
Jimmy Buffett as godfather

The American country /rock/pop singer Jimmy Buffett born on 25th December 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi (USA) is the godfather of this year’s Les Voiles de St-Barth. Buffett is also a songwriter, actor and producer as well as being a successsful businessman. His most famous song is Margaritaville, written in 1977. His concerts are always very popular in the U.S. Since 1970, he has recorded more than thirty albums and written four best-selling books. A keen sailor and flying enthusiast, he enjoys sailing in the Caribbean and owns a home on St-Barth.

The les Voiles de St Barth will officially begin on Monday 4th April 2011 with the traditional registration procedures and the race village opening ceremony Quai du Général De Gaulle in Gustavia.

From 1300 hrs on the following day (Tuesday 5th April), the Race Directors led by Luc Poupon as last year will start the races on a variety of courses depending on the weather conditions.

On Thursday 7th April, there will be a lay day to enable the crews to rest and enjoy themselves with the locals in St Barth, and a detailed programme of events is planned. At the final closing evening event on Saturday 9th April the prize-giving ceremony will take place. The winners in the Racing Racing/Cruising, Classic and Racing Multihulls classes will each win a week’s holiday in a luxury villa on St-Barth. The winner in the Super Maxi Yacht class will leave with a prestigious high-tech watch designed by Richard Mille. Taittinger Champagnes and Remy Cointreau rums will contribute to make a truly festive occasion of this event which brings together top class sporting performance and elegant yachts