47th Régates Royales de Cannes - Overall

Generally, the last week of September in Cannes is favourable to sailing, and previous editions have proven it... but this year, the weather was just exceptional, with winds between 5 and 25 knots or more, from south to southwest, raising a sometimes steep sea for an XXL show.

Saturday, snack time. It is difficult to make one's way, as the crowd is so compact along the quays. Weathered, the crews have a hard time unloading the tons of sail, then embarking the deck equipment allowing them to "put on" these sublime sailboats once in port. We hear champagne corks popping, shouts of joy, applause. The atmosphere is not good-natured, it is jubilant. In any case, when you come to compete in the "Royales", you know that you're not going to make circles in the water... and with such weather, it's the "icing on the boat" as Loïck Peyron likes to remind us. And if the important thing is to participate, hats off to the five crews who have won absolutely all the heats in their category: Inigo Strez on Hallowe'en (Big Boat), Baptiste Garnier on Eugenia V (Classic Yachts Cruiser), Paul Serhal on Schanensee (Modern Classic), and finally Patrice Riboud on Pitch (Tofinou).

Finally, yesterday, Friday 26 September, in the Régates Royales village on Quai Saint-Pierre, the adventurer sailor Gérard d'Aboville, the members of the Board of Directors Pascale Bladier-Chassaigne, General Delegate, Jean-François Cutugno, President of the Yacht Club de Cannes, and Damien Giguet, President of Shift Capital, presented the PMF-Shift Capital Maritime Heritage Prize to Alain Beaume, skipper and one of the nine co-owners of Lulu, an emblematic competitor of the Royal Regattas, its emerald green submarine where the name of the boat appears. This gaff cutter designed by Thomas Rabot with the help of the painter and architect Gustave Caillebotte in 1897 near Argenteuil in the west of Paris, has been classified as a historical monument since 1993, has the BIP label (boat of heritage interest), and is based in Sanary-Sur-Mer in the Var.

When we meet Jean-François Cutugno just a stone's throw from the VIP yacht Thelas, he has stars in his eyes: "This is my fifth Royal Regattas as president of the Yacht Club de Cannes, and has undoubtedly benefited from the most extraordinary weather conditions. Apart from one day, when the wind was lacking allowing the crews to breathe a little, we have had medium to strong winds all week. As a racer, I was amazed by the quality of the crews, especially in the breeze that sometimes reached 30 knots, as well as by the impeccable organisation on the water. I would also like to take my hat off to the volunteers and permanent staff of the club, who have spared no effort, so that this 47th edition is a magnificent success. "

Tomorrow, Sunday 28 September at 11 am, the 36th Yacht Club de France Autumn Cup by Façonnable, a 25-mile rallying race to Saint-Tropez, will set sail from Cannes for the competitors competing in the Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

Full results can be found here.

Institutional partners: AFYT Association Française des Yachts de Tradition, Cannes Sports, Department 06, FFVoile, Région Sud, City of Cannes, Yacht Club de Cannes. Official partners: HighField, Hotel Carlton Cannes, IGY Marinas - Vieux Port de Cannes, Marinepool, Palais des Festivals, Champagne Taittinger. Technical partners: DAB Beverages, Palm Beach Hotel Cannes, ICOM France, Key4events, SNSM Société Nationale Sauvetage en Mer, Trans Côte d'Azur. Media partners: Cannes Radio, France TV.

www.regatesroyales.net