Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique – The most important annual event

by Frette Rogerson on 7 Aug 2017 The Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique is the perfect opportunity for residents and tourists to enjoy the week-long event that is quite simply unique.

The event currently in its 33rd year brings together the sea, sport, residents and tourists, with all manner of companies, sponsors as well as island sporting associations and schools.

The Tour des Yoles, 365 days of the year

Yole or yawl sailing is practiced all year round in Martinique, however, the Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique remains the competition on the islands sports calendar. The “yawlers” battle it out on the water for a whole week for the supreme title, namely the title of winner of the Tour des Yoles which was launched in 1985.

The highly competitive crews have a championship that lead up to the annual event comprising the following:

The Championship
The Martinique Cup
The Emancipate Day Challenge
The Pagaie des Mapipis (paddle canoes)
In Martinique, the yawl draws together about 800 members from 20 associations with an average annual budget of up to 80,000 euros.

Rosette/Orange was crowned winner of the 2017 Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique last night before the thousands of fans who have been following the event closely all week.

The Yole Ronde and tradition

It’s impossible to dissociate the Martinique yole from the island's sailing and fishing heritage. The discipline originates from the traditional sailing practiced formerly on old fishing boats called “gommiers”, named after the gum tree from which they are built.

The sport has embraced 21st century technology having switched from wood to carbon for the hulls, cotton has disappeared in favour of Mylar, or rather, “Poly (ethylene terephthalate)” … anything to improve performance, wind resistance and hydro-dynamics!

One cannot underestimate the competitiveness of the fleet!

The official Yole365 app perfectly demonstrates how the sport has embraced technology. Through the app, crews and fans can follow and anticipate each move with the use of geolocation technology. The app is a perfect tool to further engage with this amazing sport and provides a useful tool to competitors when working on their tactics and strategy.

The Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique: a popular event

The Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique is the most important sporting event of the year in Martinique and as such has a massive impact on the local economy. Tens of thousands of fans descend on the towns around the island following the fleet across this amazing island.

After the carnival, the Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique is the most important event held on the island and is a golden opportunity for the local street vendors, catamaran charter companies, sail-makers, sponsors and hoteliers to boost revenue.

According to figures, the Tour des Yoles brings between 5 and 10 million euros to the local economy. Each year, the Martinique Federation of Yoles Rondes funds the event and several hundreds of thousands of euros are invested into its organisation. Many of the partners spend tens of thousands of euros to finance the various associations that manage the yoles so that they can participate in the Tour de Martinique.

Tourism, an “underexploited” asset?

The Tour des Yoles Rondes de Martinique is the perfect showcase for Martinique. For one week, the island is all about the star sailing event - a huge gathering that brings people together on a sporting and cultural level.

The event showcases the uniqueness of Martinique….by sailing around the island, the crews give the fans the opportunity to explore and discover the beautiful island. The event is showcased through stunning images and commentary live on TV, radio and the office event website.

The Tour des Yoles is an important and lucrative tourist event for the islands economy. On average, between 30,000 and 50,000 people rush to the beaches, stopover towns or nearby viewpoints to follow the progress of the yoles and their crews around the island. While on the mainland the public moves “en masse” in a carnival atmosphere with tens of thousands of viewers and listeners in Martinique following the competition in front of their televisions or on the radio.

Added to this is the opportunity to follow in real time the progress of the race on the Yole365 mobile app or on the website. Over half of the local population, that is a little more than 200,000 people follow the event.

The geographical distribution of downloads from the mobile application Yole365 in 2016, the year it was launched, is a symbol of the local fervour and the passion of the citizens of Martinique for this event. 80% of downloads came from Martinique, 11% from mainland France and 7% from Guadeloupe ... Figures that give cause for thought.

On closer observation, one can quickly understand that the magnitude of the event has potential worldwide tourist appeal that is ready to be exploited.