In the last weekend of September, around 300 yachts gather in the Golf of St Tropez for a week of competitive sailing.
We joined some lovely peeps for an incredible day aboard the 21m San Lorenzo motoryacht, Eagle III with the lovely owners Mike and Cathie to watch the sailing regatta. Their vessel is moored at Port Grimaud, which is a village on the water with colourful condos, jetties and palm trees.
The predicted lack of wind had us wondering if we’d spend the day bobbing up and down lazily in one of the bays. Which was no hardship in itself. The rosé started flowing, with delicious nibbles and the warm Mediterranean sun. Heavenly!
Until they mentioned the race was starting. Up anchor and we were soon in between a multitude of sails. The racing rules are still rather peculiar to me, especially when there are so many classifications. For your information, see the Regatta rules for Traditional vessels.
Elena of London sailed passed us. Wow! What a beauty, all 55 metres of her. Renowned in the sailing world, we were lucky enough to enjoy a glass of rosé later on her deck (see Sundowners aboard Elena).
If you love sailing, yachts and being on the water, add this to your must-do list!