Press releases
Batting At Every Levele
After a very energetic first day of racing, the second day on Friday saw the 65 duos competing in the 13th edition of the St Barth Cata Cup enjoy less-challenging conditions, just perfect for the two races of the day. The first race was between the bay of Saint Jean and Ile Coco, then the second between Toc Vers and lle Boulanger. As the previous day it was a tight game between the argentinians and the Americans and as the previous day they shared the first places once Todd Ricardi and Dalton Tebo (Trade Wind Aviation - King Ocean) than Gonzalez Smith and Mariano Heuser (SBDE) both winning a leg. The Argentineans sailed more evenly than their adversaries on Friday, allowing them to not only win the “EDEN ROCK VILLA RENTAL” Prize, but also jump from sixth place to the top spot in the provisional overall rankings.
If the conditions yesterday were difficult, those of today were not necessarily easier, as explained Olivier Gagliani (Les Perles de St Barth – Bativrd): “It was not less challenging even though the seas were calmer. The wind was between 13 and 15 during the first race, and between 10 and 12 knots during the second session. It was still very technical as well as tactical, with some soft zones in terms of the wind as well as some hard hits.” In this contexte, one had to be opportunistic, and remain concentrated from the beginning to the end and not get trapped by the obstacles in the race, natural or not. “During the first race, between Pain de Sucre and Gustavia, we have to negotiate around a gigantic cruise ship anchored in the harbor. It was like a giant wall that logically altered the wind patterns and reshuffled the deck, just like the cliffs by the bay of Gouverneur. In short, there were a lot of things one had to watch out for today,” says the Belgian sailor, winner of the Cata-Cup in 2015 and 2018, and certainly one of the favorites of this 13th edition.
Gonzalez Smith– Heuser, a fast duo!
“We always tried to stay on intermediary trajectories, and avoid extreme options. In theory, that is a winning strategy,” reports Patrick Desmesmaeker’s sailing partner, currently in fourth place (provisionally), behind Cruz Gonzalez Smith and Mariano Heuser, Gurvan Bontemps et Benjamin Amiot (Stickerman), and Orion Martin and Charles Gate (Nikki Beach St Barth). “At the moment the spread is very close and we are having a great time on the water since there is a lot of competition,” explains Gonzalez Smith, the Argentinean skipper of SBDE, having had a great day with first and third place and winning the “EDEN ROCK VILLA RENTAL” Prize. We sailed the first race perfectly. We passed the first mark first, with a nice lead, which allowed us to sail serenely for the rest of the race, controlling our adversaries. The second race was a little more difficult. We passed the first mark in seventh position but were able to gain a few places little by little until we ran into some algae with the centerboard. This is the kind of thing that can happen. In any case, we were able, like yesterday, to keep up our speed. I think if we manage not to make mistakes, we can sail to victory this year, says the South American, current world vice-champion for Formule 18 and having placed second, fifth and third for the last three editions of this regatta.
No one is unbeatable
“Cruz and Mariano are hard competitors. They are hard to catch but not unbeatable,” assures Cédric Bader (Gypsea St-Barth), who wants to upset the usual suspects in the race and try to get the brass ring in spite of abandoning in the first race of the day. “We broke the halyard on our spinnaker. We managed to start in the second race and get through it but we know we already played our joker in this regatta,” notes the sailor from St Tropez, who usually sails with his brother Laurent in the F18 races that they compete in, but this time his mate is Guillaume Yvon. “This is the first time we have sailed together,” confirms Cédric, who has clearly already found his stride with his new partner as they are in fifth position, just two points from the podium. A podium that promises some serious competition right up to the finish line!
Results
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19/11/2023
While last year's winners Tim Mourniac and Pierre-Yves Durand were assured of first place even before the final day of competition, this year was the opposite, and we had to wait until the very last moment to find out the names of the winners of this 15th St.Barth Cata Cup. So much so, in fact, that victory was initially announced as going to the duo Gurvan Bontemps - Benjamin Amiot (Pixail), before finally being awarded to the duo of Ravi Parent - Nicolas Lovisa (Maxwell & Co for man and woman). At the end of the day, the Americans, who finished in eighth last year on their first appearance in the regatta, beat their rivals by one tiny point, while Argentina's Agustn Krevisky and Nicolas Aragones (Design Affairs OO1) completed the podium in third place.
18/11/2023
After two rather invigorating days of racing, the 56 crews of the St.Barth Cata Cup returned to lighter conditions on Saturday. But lighter doesn't always mean easier. All the crews had to deal with very unstable conditions, both in terms of strength and, above all, direction. In this context, consistency was certainly not easy, but the duos Gurvan Bontemps-Benjamin Amiot (Pixail) and Ravi Parent-Nick Lovisa (Maxwell & Co for man and woman) did remarkably well. The former won the "St Barth Assurances Allianz" Prize, while the latter climbed to first place in the provisional overall rankings. A ranking that continues to be turned upside down due to measurement issues. On Sunday, the final day of competition in this 15th edition, everything will be decided!
17/11/2023
After two great first legs—including the around-the-island race—on Thursday, the 56 crews taking part in the 15th St. Barth Cata Cup enjoyed even sportier conditions on Friday. The result: a few stylistic tricks, a lot of capsizing, and a bit of breakage, but above all, a great battle at every level of the fleet. At the front, however, there were no major surprises. Tim Mourniac and Pierre-Yves Durand (Segeco) won ahead of Henri Demesmaeker and Jeroen Van Leeuwen (Ohana) and then Emeric Dary and Joris Cocaud (Allianz), taking the "EDEN ROCK VILLA RENTAL" prize in the provisional rankings. However, there is a problem with the measurement conformity of the boat supplied to them especially for the regatta by the manufacturer, which led to their disqualification in races 1 and 2. Although this blow is understandably hard to take, the two men have already proved that they are resourceful and intend to continue imposing a hellish pace on their rivals, even if this obviously changes the overall picture considerably.
November,15 2023
After a day devoted to assembling the boats, confirming entries, and final training sessions, the 56 duos taking part in the 15th edition of the St.Barth Cata Cup are getting ready to hit the waves. On Thursday, starting at 9:30 am, they will start the first race of the event, which promises to be lively, with between 15 and 20 knots of east-southeasterly wind forecast for the entire weekend. This promises to be a high-flying regatta, which will certainly not displease the big guns in the series, starting with title holders Tim Mourniac and Pierre-Yves Durand (Segeco), who left nothing but crumbs for their opponents last year, but whom their rivals intend to upset this year!
24 novembre 2023
In less than a month, the 55 teams registered for the 2023 St.Barth Cata-Cup will be battling it out on the waves, with multiple contenders for the ultimate victory. Among them, Tim Mourniac and Pierre-Yves Durand who will be back to defend their title, while other big names from the F18 circuit include Mitch Booth, double Tornado Olympic medalist, as well as Swedish sailor Rasmus Rosengren, winner of the F18 world championships last July. In short, there is plenty to celebrate for the 15th anniversary of this regatta!
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