Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez: A Celebration on a Grand Scale

by Maguelonne Turcat 22 Aug 03:18 PDT 30 September - 4 October 2026

Long before the arrival of autumn, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is already gathering momentum. Working throughout the summer, the teams at the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez are putting the finishing touches to the organisation and the guest list that make Les Voiles such a unique event.

With more than 260 boats, including a record fleet of almost 50 Maxis, and three J Class yachts, this edition promises to be spectacular. The event also marks several anniversaries, notably including 150 years of the Gitana story of the Edmond de Rothschild family, premium partner of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

Maxis line up for the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy

Today, Ariane de Rothschild continues the line of women who have shaped the Gitana legacy. She will be in Saint-Tropez in early October to present, for the second consecutive year, the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy to the best of the Maxi 1s, the leading category in the fleet. This choice echoes the pioneering role of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the first president of ICAYA, founded in 1979 and the forerunner of today's International Maxi Association. He also played a decisive role in bringing the Maxis to Saint-Tropez, where Gitana VIII won the Nioulargue in 1984, with Harold Cudmore at the helm.

The Gitana sailing tradition began 150 years ago on the shores of Lake Geneva. In 1875 Julie de Rothschild commissioned the British Thornycroft shipyard to build a 24-metre steam yacht, launched the following year as La Gitana. Designed for speed, she reached 20.5 knots and set records on Lake Geneva. From the very beginning, she laid the foundations for a lineage defined by innovation, daring and performance.

Following the era of steam-powered vessels and then the yachting years of the 1970s and 1980s, Gitana turned to offshore racing in 1999. Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild founded the Gitana Team in 2000. Since then, the Edmond de Rothschild family has played a pioneering role in the development of offshore foiling, notably through Gitana 17 and her victories across the Atlantic and around the world.

2026 opens a new chapter with the launch of Gitana 18. A showcase of innovation, the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will compete in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe in November, where Charles Caudrelier will defend his title.

"A tradition remains alive when it nurtures ambition, innovation and the passing of knowledge," says Ariane de Rothschild, CEO of the Edmond de Rothschild Group.

J Class: Elegance at its finest

The historic chapter represented by the ten J Class yachts, built to Nathanaël Herreshoff's Universal Rule, has illuminated the world of yachting well beyond the three America's Cup editions of 1930, 1934 and 1937.

It took half a century for the rescue and exemplary restorations of Shamrock V and Endeavour I to revive interest in these extraordinary examples of elegance and technology. Several restorations, reconstructions and new builds have since followed, in keeping with the original plans, whose integrity has been overseen by the J Class Association since 2000.

Witnessing these exceptional vessels coming together on a racecourse continues to be a thrill which is why the meeting of Svea (JS1), Rainbow (JKZ1) and Hanuman (JK6), all heading to Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, will write another fine chapter in the history of the class. Seeing these 40-metre, 160-tonne giants, carrying almost 1,000m2 of sail area, crossing bows with their unmistakable sweeping lines promises moments of exceptional racing.

Based on a design drawn in 1937 by Swedish naval architect Tore Holm but never built at the time, Svea, launched in 2017, is both the newest and the most successful of the three. She is owned by a Swedish syndicate led in particular by Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and creator of the Ran Racing team, which has competed notably in Mini Maxi and TP52 and has won titles at the highest international level on several occasions. In June in Palma, Svea notably won her duel against Rainbow, a replica of the 1934 America's Cup winner. However, she will have to contend with the expert crew assembled by Rainbow's new owner, Peter Harrison. Harrison is also the owner of the Maxi Jolt, winner of the Maxi A class at Les Voiles in 2024, and he will bring all his racing expertise to the challenge, with Ed Baird on tactics.

As for Hanuman, a replica of the 1937 Endeavour II, she has recently been acquired by Italian owner Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, who put on an impressive performance in Maxi 2 last year at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez aboard his Wally Rocket 71 Django.

An exceptional trio, led by highly experienced crews, promising spectacular racing and remarkable images!

As members of the Maxi fleet, the three J Class yachts will have their own dedicated course off Pampelonne, while being berthed in the port of Saint-Tropez, where their immaculate lines can be admired in the evening.

Moderns: Quality and quantity

With more than 120 entries, the Modern fleet illustrates the event's enduring appeal to a broad range of boats and sailors. In IRC 0, whose winner will receive the prestigious BMW Trophy, at least six TP52s will battle it out against other prototypes such as Daguet 5 and Kilara II (Wally Rocket 51), which have the highest ratings in the fleet, not forgetting two particularly competitive Botin 44s, Albator 3 and Interlodge.

In IRC 2 and IRC 3, the largest and most densely populated class, with more than 35 entries, a real battle between the boatyards is taking shape, with Wally Rocket, X, J, Swan, Tofinou, Jeanneau, Dufour and other Bénéteau yachts lining up. Bénéteau will debut its new First 30 designed by Manuard.

Focus on:

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, a unique gathering of centenarian sailing yachts

In 2026, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez will once again celebrate its exceptional classic yacht fleet, with a remarkable number of centenarian sailing yachts taking part. Each autumn, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez brings together at Les Voiles some of the finest classic and historic yachts from around the world, showcasing an exceptional maritime heritage.

It is at the heart of this gathering that the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy is traditionally raced on Thursday - a pursuit race exclusively reserved for sailing yachts more than 100 years old. In 2026, this event will celebrate its 15th edition, confirming Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez as a unique gathering for centenarian sailing yachts.

The Les Voiles poster under the signature of Fulvio Corrente

Following the paintings by Jean-Claude Servoz (2024) and Jacques Cordier (2025), this year's Les Voiles poster features a photograph. Its creator, Fulvio Corrente, a shopkeeper and artist who settled in Saint-Tropez in the 1970s, has been closely involved with the event since 2001, initially through the local traders' association and, since 2016, as a press boat pilot.

This gives him an ideal vantage point from which to capture the moments of grace during the racing. The poster showcases the bowsprit of the three-masted schooner, Atlantic, with the bell tower of Saint-Tropez and La Ponche in the background.

"The elements all came together to create a strong image," explains the photographer, who asked the captain to slow down for a few moments in order to find the perfect angle. A regular helmsman aboard Bronco, an Oceanis 42, Corrente will once again be out on the water during Les Voiles, aboard a Brig RIB with his camera close at hand.

2026 Schedule:

Saturday, September 26: Registration confirmation
Sunday, September 27: Registration confirmation, Arrival of the Yacht Club de France's Coupe d'Automne (Cannes-Saint-Tropez)
Monday, September 28: Races for the Maxis and Moderns
Tuesday, September 29: Races for the Maxis, Moderns, and Classics, including the Rolex Trophy
Wednesday, September 30: Races for the Moderns and Classics, including the Rolex Trophy Day off for the Maxis, Club 55 Maxi Yachts Cup
Thursday, October 1: Club 55 Cup, Gstaad Yacht Club des Centenaires Trophy (staggered starts), Challenge Day for the Moderns and Classics, Races for the Maxis
Friday, October 2: Races for the Maxis, Moderns, and Classics, including the Rolex Trophy
Saturday, October 3: Races for the Maxis, Moderns, and Classics, including the Rolex Trophy Prize-giving for the Maxis, including the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy, Presentation of the Rolex Trophy
Sunday, October 4: Prize-giving for the Moderns and Classics, including the BMW Trophy and special trophies