Patrick Demesmaeker And Olivier Gagliani Heading Toward A Hat-Trick?

This week, it has been impossible to predict what might happen in terms of the weather conditions in Saint Barthélemy. Actually, there was more wind than predicted on Thursday and Friday, which allowed the race committee for the St.Barth Cata Cup to validate four races, against all odds, but the reverse played out on Saturday. Even if the wind was less constant than expected, it was possible for the 53 duos in competition to sail one good race between the Bay of Saint Jean and the small islands of Pelé and Le Boulanger. A race whose results tightened the difference between the leaders in the overall standings. Case in point, in the lead, Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani (Les Perles de St. Barth – Bativrd) are now only three small points in advance of Pablo Volkër and Federico Polimeni (Saint-Barth Assurances), winners of the “ St Barth Assurances Allianz” Prize. To win their bet of being the first team to add their names to the winners list of the regatta for the third time, the Belgians do not have the slightest room for error on Sunday!

After being quite pessimistic for the past two days, the meteorologists were a bit more optimistic when it came to Saturday. While the 10-15 knots expected didn’t amount to more than light breezes, it didn’t matter as the race committee got one race completed before the wind died down out on the water completely. “The race course, almost in the shape of a long rectangle between Chevreau, Pelé, and Le Boulanger, was absolutely magnificent!,” relates Benjamin Amiot (Stickerman 2), who was clearly more at ease today than over the past two days of the regatta. “Since the debut, the conditions have not been favorable for heavier crews, but today there was a little bit more wind (between 7 and 12 knots, editor’s note) and we really enjoyed ourselves. We were even able to sail with a double trapeze a few times,” adds Amiot’s teammate, happy with their third place at the end of the race. “We were seventh or eighth at the starting buoy, but gained time under spinnaker, at the end, passing the islands. Sometimes it’s easier when you are a little behind as you can observe what is happening up ahead. That gave us the chance to weigh our options,” indicates Benjamin, having catapulted from ninth to sixth place in the overall standing at the end of this fifth race. 

The Hunters, The Hunted

“There were other years when we were in the same place right before the last day of the regatta, yet that did not prevent us from finishing on the podium, so we won’t give up,” indicates the French sailor from Vannes, who to date has not finished above third place in three editions of the regatta. This year once again, he knows there is a lot of competition vying for the victory. Starting with the current World Champions, Pablo Volkër and Federico Polimeni. Winners of Saturday’s race and by ricochet the “St Barth Assurances Allianz” Prize, the Spaniards raced well on Saturday and gained five points against Belgians Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani, who have held onto the lead in the provisional standings. “We are in an ideal spot just before the last day. We are in the position of the hunters, which is generally easy to deal with than being in the position of the hunted! We are happy about that, and also pleased that we sailed well today. The battle was intense with Gavin Colby and Kai Colman, as went back and forth with them for the lead, before winning thanks to a good move between Chevreau and the coast where we found a little extra wind,” explains Pablo, who intends to keep his rivals under pressure right to the end.

On Your Marks

“Today, we lost some points and are only three points ahead of our closest adversaries. It will all depend on if there is one or more raced on Sunday, but we might be tempted to play the marking game to control them, but of course they might decide to so the same thing,” warns Patrick, noting that among the intentions of the race committee is the legendary race around the island, whose result cannot be subtracted from the overall ratings. “If that is the case, it’s no laughing matter,” says the skipper of Les Perles de St Barth – Bativrd, who knows he doesn’t have the right to the slightest error if he wants to win and enter into the history books of the St.Barth Cata Cup. To date, he and Olivier are the only team to have already won the regatta twice: in 2015 and in 2018. “We will have to really think things through and not be as unlucky as we were today,” adds the Belgian, whose spinnaker cleat failed shortly after passing the windward marker. “That cost us a little time, and in a close race, every second counts,” he concludes.

Schedule, Sunday, November 24:

• 9:30am - Briefing “Super U St Barthélemy” Prize 
• 7:30pm – Results for “Super U St Barthélemy” Prize and St.Barth Cata Cup 2024 Award Ceremony
• 9:30pm – Closing night party “Pirates of the Caribbean” at GypSea. Open to the public. Dress code: Pirates

All photos, videos and results  : stbarthcatacup.com