The Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy is back

0

The Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy is back

by Gstaad Yacht Club Sep 19 16:37 UTC
September 29, 2022

Olympian winner of the CT 2021 © Juerg Kaufmann / GYC

Henri-Lloyd September 2022 - Sailing Sale - SW MPU
Upfront 2020 Foredeck Club SW MPU


The 11th edition of the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy is scheduled for Thursday 29 September, a day traditionally reserved for “Défis”, the challenges between boats of the Voiles de Saint Tropez.

In 2011, the Gstaad Yacht Club launched a one-of-a-kind regatta reserved for boats that are over a hundred years old. Over the years, the Centenary Trophy has brought together some of the most magnificent and successful classic yachts of the last century.

After a most successful 10th anniversary edition in 2021, the event returns this year with the usual mix of aficionados and new entrants, so to speak, as more and more yachts turn 100 years old.

Among the recruits was the tiny Marconi Sloop Dainty (1922), the first of the Sunbeam one-designs to be built at the Woodnutt & Co. shipyard on the Isle of Wight to a design by Briton Alfred Wesmacott. Hence the sail number V1. The exact number of Sunbeams produced has never been established, but many still compete today and Dainty in particular has competed in hundreds of regattas, often doing very well despite being the smallest yacht in the fleet. Her beauty and performance were also celebrated in a book “The Brilliance of Sunbeams” by Peter Nicholson.

Another new entry in this year’s Centenary Trophy is WIKI, a Marconi ketch designed in Kiel in 1920 by renowned German naval architect Harry Wustrau which has a rather distinctive history and ambitious plans for the future. She is one of the few German wooden yachts of her age and tonnage to survive World War II and still sail. She was originally commissioned for Otto Erdmann who himself was an engineer and naval architect. and built by the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel. In 1984, she was bought by her current owner Tom Woods, then a young 33-year-old American filmmaker, after discovering her languishing at the quay. For 38 years, WIKI has constantly criss-crossed the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. WIKI is about to embark on a three-year journey in support of a multi-media effort, HELP SaveThe Med, stopping in the 22 countries that border the Mediterranean as part of the WIKI Centenary Expedition which will depart in the spring of 2023.

As more and more boats take part in the 11th edition of the regatta, the final number of participants is expected to increase over the next few days. However, the Olympian (1913), winner last year, one of the three P-class yachts regularly entered on the classic Mediterranean circuit, has confirmed that he will also be on the starting line in 2022 to defend his title. , as were her sisterships Chips (1913) and Corinthian (1905). This will be Olympian’s ninth appearance at the GYC Centenary Trophy.

“We are delighted to be back in the regatta this year to defend our title. The format of the race is really nice, you know the winner as soon as you cross the line. The whole Olympian team hopes to finish first. up again.” Said Philippe Oddo, owner of the Olympian.

The Centenary Trophy takes place in a pursuit format with staggered starts, was created and organized by the Gstaad Yacht Club as an unmissable event of the world-famous Voiles de Saint Tropez. The event features a specially created and constantly refined handicap system, allowing boats of vastly different sizes and rigs to compete on an equal footing, and its format has proven extremely attractive to sailors and the public at over the years.

“The GYC is delighted to once again host the 11th Centenary Trophy in partnership with the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez during the Voiles de Saint-Tropez. We have worked very hard during the year with the SNST to create a platform for racing the 100-year-old beauties in seafaring style and in the convivial spirit of Les Voiles. The regatta will once again be run in the chase format, and we are all looking forward to a close finish as we saw the last year.” Said Daniel Heine, Sailing Officer of the Gstaad Yacht Club.

“A novelty of this year’s Centenary Trophy is that we are very grateful to the Mayor and the City of Saint-Tropez for allowing us access to the Place de Lice cinema where we are very honored to screen two short films , a short by Bruno Trouble with the Nioularge and a film directed by Shirley Robertson and Tim Butt during the Centenary Trophy last year.The presentation of the film will be followed by a Swiss aperitif for all sailors and friends of the Centenary Trophy of the Gstaad Yacht Club.” explained Heine, presenting the collateral events of this year.

The Trophy, awarded each year, is also more than a century old, having been created by Wakely and Wheeler of London in 1911, exactly 100 years before the first edition of the regatta.

More information can be found on the Centenary Trophy website, gyccentenarytrophy.com
A gallery of previous editions is at juergkaufmann.com/centenary-trophy

Selden 2020 - Electric Furlex - MPU
J Composites 2022 - J99 MPU
Share.

Comments are closed.