A festival of sail at summer’s end
Every autumn, just as the Mediterranean shifts from languid summer breezes to the forceful mistrals of early autumn, Saint-Tropez stages one of sailing’s great spectacles. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is as much a celebration of yachting’s spirit as it is a serious regatta. This year over 240 yachts, carrying more than 4,000 sailors from across the globe, will gather in the historic fishing port for ten days of competition and festivity.
The 2025 edition, running from 27 September to 5 October, promises an exceptional line-up. More than 70 yachts over 20 metres will headline the entry, with a record-breaking 41 Maxis and nearly 125 modern IRC-rated racers joining an equally glittering fleet of classics.
Origins: from a café bet to global fame
The regatta traces its roots to a chance encounter in 1981, when a friendly wager between two boats — Pride (a Swan 44) and Ikra (a 12 Metre JI) — turned into a race finishing at the legendary Club 55. The loser bought lunch. From this spirited duel grew ‘The Nioulargue’, which blossomed into an end-of-season gathering of Maxis, classics, parades and wild parties through the 1980s and early ’90s.
The tragic collision between the schooner Mariette and the 6 MJI Taos Brett in 1995 halted the event, but the spirit endured. In 1999, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez revived the tradition under a new name: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. The exuberance of the Nioulargue was tempered by stricter rules, but the regatta has never lost its unique character — a heady blend of competition and conviviality, tradition and innovation.
Atmosphere ashore: sail hard, play hard
Saint-Tropez itself transforms during Les Voiles. The cobbled lanes of the old town spill over with music, exhibitions and wine-soaked parties. Hôtel La Ponche, Byblos, The Sube, and the Irish Pub remain the sailors’ haunts, while Club 55 marks its 70th anniversary in 2025, continuing the Club 55 Cup challenge that has become part of regatta lore.
This year’s poster and programme honour local painter Jacques Cordier, whose work captured the sea, sails and the town’s enduring charm. Onshore, the Communauté de Communes Golfe de Saint-Tropez adds an environmental theme — Leisure Boating & Marine Protection — with a public stand and conference exploring sustainable moorings and biodiversity.
Programme highlights 2025
The week at Les Voiles has its own rhythm, a mix of serious racing and time-honoured ritual.
Things kick off on Saturday 27 September with check-in for the Maxis, modern IRC racers and traditional yachts. By Sunday 28 September, the harbour fills as the YCF Coupe d’Automne fleet arrives from Cannes.
From Monday 29 September, it’s straight into the action — coastal races for the IRC classes from 11am, with the Maxis lining up off Pampelonne at midday. Tuesday 30 September is the same but adds the Rolex Trophy for the classics, before the sailors gather that night for the famous SNSM “Sardinade Party.”
The Maxis take a breather on Wednesday 1 October, but the IRC fleet continues their coastal courses at 11am. While the traditional yachts sail another coastal course while the Rolex Trophy (for the classics) fleets sets of at midday. The evening sees a pétanque showdown, staged by North Sails, under the plane trees of Place des Lices.
Thursday 2 October is one of the great Saint-Tropez days: schoolchildren parade through the vieux port in the morning, the Club 55 Cup Challenge Day (for traditional yachts), Maxi Yacht races and Centenary Trophy light up the early afternoon, and the crew parade brings everyone back into town that evening.
By Friday 3 October, it’s full-throttle racing again for all divisions, capped off with the legendary crew party at La Ponche. On Saturday 4 October, coastal races for modern and traditional yachts, and the Maxis duel in their final races, as do crews in the Rolex Trophy for the classics, before gathering that night for their prize-giving. Finally, on Sunday 5 October, the entire regatta wraps up with the overall prize-giving for both modern and traditional yachts.
Rolex and the classics
Rolex has been a partner of Les Voiles since 2006, adding its name to the Rolex Trophy — this year awarded to the Big Boat class of large classics. The 2025 line-up is led by the magnificent Atlantic, the three-masted schooner launched in 1903 and famous for her 1905 Kaiser’s Cup transatlantic record.
Other contenders include Sumurun (William Fife, 1914), Cambria (Fife, 1928), Mariella (Alfred Mylne, 1938) and Cariad (1896, the world’s largest gaff ketch). Add in Tuiga (the 15mJI and 2024 champion, now repaired after her dismasting), Black Swan (a 40 m Camper & Nicholson ketch, 1899), and Croce del Sud (a 43 m schooner), and the Rolex Trophy promises fierce duels between the century’s finest survivors.
Maxis: record fleet, fierce battles
Nowhere else gathers more Maxis. In 2025, 41 are expected, spread across four divisions, with the Rothschild Trophy awarded to the overall champion. The fleet includes the newest and most radical designs — like the Wallyrocket 71 Django 7X, weighing just 12 tons with water ballast for rating efficiency, plus V — alongside veterans like Galateia, Jethou, My Song and Leopard 3 (2024 world champion).
Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones returns with his new Magic Carpet⁴, a Verdier-designed 100-footer built by Persico. Featuring a hybrid-electric drive, cork decks half the weight of teak, and retractable appendages on titanium bearings, she is regarded as the most technologically advanced Maxi afloat.
Moderns: eclectic and cutting-edge
Alongside the Maxis, 125 modern IRC yachts will race across five divisions. This fleet embraces everything from one-designs like the Tofinou 9.50s (11 entries) to elite TP52s, who contest the BMW Trophy, awarded to the top IRC 0 yacht. Four TP52s are expected, including Nanoq, chartered by Denmark’s King Frederik X, and Kilara II, a next-gen Wally aiming to launch a new class.
Other highlights include Daguet 5 (Carkeek 60 design), Albator 3 (a 2021 Botin 44 fresh from the Admiral’s Cup), and Maxitude, a bold Lift 45 scow-hulled design by Lombard, blending performance with comfort.
The Centenary Trophy
Created in 2011 by the Gstaad Yacht Club, the Centenary Trophy is reserved for yachts over 100 years old. Run as a pursuit race — first across the line wins — it guarantees tight finishes and close duels. Past winners include Oriole (2015, 2024), Olympian (2014, 2019, 2021) and Spartan (2016, 2023).
The race is paired with Swiss Night on 1 October at Place des Lices, where crews swap sails for cow-milking contests, ski races and Alpine cuisine. It’s tradition served with humour, embodying Les Voiles’ lighter side.
Style, trends and tributes
A visual trend hard to miss: black sails. Once considered sinister, they’ve become symbols of performance. North Sails’ 3Di laminates now allow any fibre blend to be produced in black or grey, with added benefits of reduced glare and high-contrast tell-tales for trimmers.
Les Voiles 2025 will also pay tribute to Peter Nicholson, owner of Dainty, who passed away this year after competing in 19 editions. His presence symbolised the loyalty and warmth that define the regatta.
Don’t-miss boats in 2025
- Classics: Atlantic, Sumurun, Cambria, Mariella, Cariad, Tuiga, Black Swan, Croce del Sud, Invader, Marilee.
- Maxis: Magic Carpet⁴, Leopard 3, Galateia, Jethou, My Song, Tilakkhana II (ex-Magic Carpet³), Django Wallyrocket51, Wallyrocket 71 Django 7X.
- Moderns: Nanoq, Kilara II, Albator 3, Maxitude, Daguet 5, Capricorno.
A regatta like no other
What makes Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez unique is its balance. It is serious competition — Rolex-class duels, Maxi rivalries, cutting-edge design on display. But it is also theatre, played out against a Riviera backdrop of pastel houses, champagne nights, and timeless wooden decks. It will be amazing!
From the bagpipes of the schooner Elena to pétanque under the plane trees of Place des Lices, from the roar of the Mistral to the quiet clink of glasses on the quay, Les Voiles has become a living festival of sailing, heritage and style — and in 2025, it looks set to be one of its finest vintages yet.
