Ten years is something to celebrate! That’s why the organizers of the St Barth Cata Cup have pulled out all the stops to make the festivities memorable.

An invitation was sent out to winning teams from previous years to come and compete again on the waters of St-Barth, and the response has been positive! They include Emmanuel Boulogne, Tanguy Kervyn, Dalton Tebo, Enrique Figueroa, Keki Figueroa, Franck Cammas, Matthieu Vandame, Patrick Demesmaeker, Olivier Gagliani, Pierre Le Clainche and Antoine Joubert. Their boats will display the Gold Round with the year of their win.

The partners were excited at the prospect of seeing their company’s colours displayed on the sails and hulls of the winning boats and were quick to express interest in joining the project.

They include Allianz St Barth Assurances, partner in the very first St Barth Cata Cup (1992-1994) and again since 2008. They will be supporting the winning crew, Emmanuel Boulogne and Tanguy Kervyn, from that same year. Emmanuel Boulogne has not missed a single opportunity to sail in St-Barth, while his crewmate is returning for the first time since their 2008 win.

The 2010 winners’ boat, crewed by Americans Charles Tomeo (replacing John Casey) and Dalton Tebo, will be sporting the colours of MARLA Villas. This partnership speaks to the friendship between Charles Tomeo and Nadine Bayard of MARLA: “Charles approached us a few months before the event to tell us he wanted us compete under our colours, and we were delighted to accept!’ MARLA’s entire staff will be following the races, which will broadcast live, to support the crew.

Off Course Management, an artist, promotion and event agency headed by Cooper Maxwell, is a newcomer to the St Barth Cata Cup. Through an exceptional partnership with his father, Dan (Maxwell & Co.), Off Course Management’s logo will be proudly displayed by the Puerto Rican team consisting of Enrique and Kéki Figueroa, winners of the 2012 edition, who are returning to St-Barth after a five-year absence. Talk about a fine act of solidarity! Enrique and Kéki lost their boat to Hurricane Irma just weeks before the event: they will be competing with a boat that has been generously loaned to them by Dan Maxwell.

Franck Cammas and Matthieu Vandame, who sailed together in this season’s 35th America’s Cup on the Groupama Team France AC 40, are eager to compete for the sheer pleasure of it, but they would also like to score a second win, after taking home the honours in 2013 and coming close to repeating the feat the following year. The architectural firm Olivier Dain Perspectives (ODP) will be sponsoring their boat.

Belgians will be competing on the 2015 Gold Round boat displaying the colours of Perles de St Barth. Its owner, Laurence Thiry, himself a Belgian native, will be taking a keen interest in the results of his two protégés, Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani. “Olivier and Patrick have become friends and I’m proud to have my name on their Gold Round boat and support their performance,” he explained.

The final Gold Round boat will be sailed by the winners of the most recent St Barth Cata Cup, Pierre Le Clainche and Antoine Joubert. The team competed for the first time in last year’s event and had already vowed to return even before jumping into the water to celebrate their win in 2016. In addition to sponsoring the first day of racing, Design Affairs will display its logo on the young sailors’ boat.

Gold Round partners at a glance…