An invigorating debut!

The 13th edition of the St. Barth Cata Cup hit the ground running on Thursday, November 18. The 65 duos in the regatta set sail in invigorating conditions, featuring winds between 18 and 20 knots, with big gusts and spirited seas. The technicality of the race naturally favored the top sailors in the competition, who also changed the face of the race many times and as the fleet continually shuffled itself. As proof, at the end of the first two races of the regatta, the duo of Gurvan Bontemps – Benjamin Amiot (Stickerman) won the “Design Affairs-001” Prize, and at the same time ended up at the top of the provisional rankings, without having won either race.

“During this first day, the conditions were wonderful but a little frisky with winds between 18 and 20 knots plus gusts up to 25 knots with a bit of rain, but most importantly there were high waves. In this context, there was a lot of serious competition but also some damage,” comments Gurvan Bontemps. In fact, nine teams met their match in these challenging conditions. The duo of Nicolas Gillet and Nicolas Poix (Marfret), as well as Olivier Kardeli and Martin Johr (AMC Gustavia & AMC St-Jean), were forced to abandon after a nasty collision during which one of the Marfret team members hurt his ribs. “It was a little rough out on the water today. The top-guns of the fleet were obviously more at ease than the others. As there were high seas, it was tough going and the more experienced among us clearly sailed a notch above, but it was absolutely magical. Saint Barth is definitely a paradise for F18’s and for sailing in general!” notes Thierry Fouchier (Hélios), one of the French sailors the most seasoned in terms of the America’s Cup, having participated six times already, including a victory in 2000 with the Americans of BMW Oracle. “I am here primarily to enjoy myself and I could not have hoped for a better first day,” adds the sailor from Marseille, who teamed up this week with his childhood friend, Jean-Pierre Roman, and they placed 34th in the provisional rankings. And these rankings are very close, especially at the head of the fleet, where the first five teams are within five points of each other.

Tactical and fast!

“The day was the best of the best. There were big battles at every level. As far as we are concerned, we sailed well and we stayed on an even keel to finish fifth and third, which was not so easy as there was a lot to confront on a tactical level, especially strong gusts of wind that often shuffled the fleet again. You had to really keep your eyes open wide and carefully navigate, making your maneuvers at exactly the right time. With Charles (Gate), we were okay and realized that we were more at ease going fast,” explains Orion Antoine (Nikki Beach St Barth), second in the overall rankings at the end of this first day of competition, with the same number of points of points as the duo of Gurvan Bontemps – Benjamin Amiot (Stickerman). “During the first race, we found ourselves in a traffic jam at the first buoy, but we finally finished second. During the next race, we got off to a good start, but there was a little confusion at the first mark. We quickly remobilized and even if the winds were unpredictable, we didn’t do so badly and finished in sixth place,” points out Gurvan, who once again confirmed his ambition to sail to victory after being on the podium three times in the past, in 2015, 2016, and again in 2019.

Then there was a rock…

As can be seen on the water, the competition is once again very stiff at this year’s St. Barth Cata Cup, especially with such stars as Argentineans Cruz Gonzalez Smith and Mariano Heuser (SBDE) and Americans John Casey and Colin Page (St Barth Properties). The Argentineans, current world vice-champions for this sport, had already easily won the first race of the day and were sailing along perfectly in the second race before they hit a rock a little after passing the point of Colombier. As a result of this incident, the South Americans had to settle for 13th place, but by averaging their results, remain in sixth place in the overall provisional rankings, and they confirm that they were in great shape and extremely swift. Almost the same story for the Americans, who literally dominated the second race, maintaining a comfortable lead. In short, it is clear that the battle has just begun!

Results

Race 1

Race 2

Design Affairs OO1 Price