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The Battle Is About To Begin!
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!
Argentinians Cruz Gonzales Smith and Mariano Heuser (Woodstekke), Australians Mitch and Ruben Booth (Saint Barth Assurances), Belgians Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani (Les Perles de Saint-Barth - Bativrd), Henri Demesmaeker and Jeroen Van Leeuwen (Ohana), Sweden's Peter Busck and Rasmus Rosengren (Villa Taniko), Americans Ravi Parent and Nick Lovisa (Maxwell & Co for man and woman), Gurvan Bontemps and Benjamin Amiot (Pixail), Emmanuel Boulogne and Mathieu Marfaing (Avant Toi), and Orion Martin and Charles Gate (Helmet Plus) are all among the favorites. What do they have in common? They're all determined not to let Tim Mourniac and Pierre-Yves Durand (Segeco) dominate proceedings, as they did last year. "At the end of the day, of all of us, they're the ones with the most pressure on them!" assures Gurvan Bontemps, who is looking forward to the upcoming races. "We should enjoy great conditions all week, with between 15 and 20 knots of wind. It promises to be a great battle: while every year there's a very high level of competition in the St.Barth Cata Cup, this year's field is especially strong, with the presence of some true legends of sport catamarans," continues the Morbihan native who, with Benjamin Amiot, continues to chase victory after four second-place finishes in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Will the 2023 edition be the charm? "Every year, we fight for it, but for the moment it still eludes us, and it’s almost as if we bought our second place finishes even before the start. Finishing on the podium again this time will be a great performance, in any case", says the helmsman, who will be joined by other great regulars of the Cata Cup, as well as "newcomers" such as Henri Demesmaeker and Jeroen Van Leeuwen (Ohana).
The first test tomorrow
"We're hoping to measure ourselves against the people sailing ahead of us, and do some good moves to make sure we have nothing to regret at the end," explains Henri Demesmaeker, F16 world champion in 2012 with his acolyte . "We haven't sailed together for several years now, but we've both had a lot of experience on other types of boat, and we're delighted to be back together for this regatta. We don't know where we'll stand, or which places we'll be able to compete for. We'll know better tomorrow evening, at the end of the first day. As for me, I'm used to rubbing shoulders with Tim and especially Pierre-Yves on the ETF26 circuit. With Jeroen, we hope to give them a hard time, or at least tickle them a bit, but we know it won't be easy if they're as fit as last year!" adds Henri Demesmaeker, who will be up against his father Patrick, one of the event's loyal followers. "My dad and Olivier (Gagliani) have already taken part in the race 14 times. This experience is bound to be to their advantage", says the young Belgian, eager to get to grips with the race and discover the water, which is as magical as it is technical. "The conditions promise to be idyllic. We can't wait to surf the Caribbean waves and race between the many islets. It promises to be very tactical. So, will the defending winners be able to win again? Or will certain duos pull off a surprise? Or, as is often the case, will the match be decided on the last tack of the last race? With the competition about to kick off, all bets are off!
Thursday, November 16, schedule:
- 9:30am: Race - “DESIGN AFFAIRS-OO1” Prize
- 7pm: Opening ceremony at Gypsea Beach by invitation
- Announcement of the results for the “DESIGN AFFAIRS-OO1” Prize
- Cocktail reception
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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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