Wednesday, September 24: When the planets align...

It was a phenomenal day in Cannes Bay on Wednesday, September 24, with a nice breeze blowing from the southwest to west. Apart from a tiller that broke near the wet buoy off the Lérins Islands on the P7 Joyant, and a few minor issues that are common in regattas when the wind is blowing, the 140 crews had a great time... and judging by the faces at the finish line, they were jubilant.

The weather is still not an exact science, despite the rise of AI... The models predicted strong westerly winds, especially as a strong mistral was blowing from Marseille to Saint-Tropez. Jérôme Nutte, head of the race committees, therefore decided to bring forward the starts. These sublime “classic” sailboats, with their spruce masts and ropes, may be as seaworthy as they are sturdy and beautifully maintained, but there is no question of “breaking small wood” if Aeolus gets angry. But despite the caution of the race management in adapting the courses, the somewhat temperamental wind never exceeded 25 knots, weakening and freshening, but sometimes turning the Bay of Cannes into a cauldron, with short, cross seas.

Never mind! The breeze specialists shone once again, saving their ratings (handicaps), notably Britain's Kismet (Sir Richard Matthews) in Epoque Aurique, Ireland's Hallowe'en (Inigo Strez) in Big Boat, France's Maria Giovanna II (Jean-Pierre Sauvan) in Classic Yacht, Argentina's Matrero (Martin Busch) in Classic Racer... all winners again today. And what can we say about Patrice Riboud, untouchable in Tofinou with four wins in four races! In the 12 MJI class, Denmark's Jes Gram Hansen on Kiwi Magic, former Louis Vuitton Cup finalist in the hands of New Zealand's Chris Dickson in 1987 in Perth (Australia), leads after six races, closely followed by French Kiss (Christophe Babule, Marc Pajot, Laurent Delage) and South Australia (Yann Delplace, François Pailloux, Yannick Pollet).

The Régates Royales often involve extraordinary stories, love at first sight, and dreams come true. Charlotte Rousselot is a magnificent example of this. This young woman, bursting with energy, fell in love with and bought a 50-foot (15.21 m) boat that had been rotting away from 2012 to 2023 in a shipyard in New Zealand. For eleven months, she refurbished this former racing yacht, which had competed in the Admiral's Cup and raced against Eric Tabarly's Pen Duick IV. This IOR “safe” with its original name Phantom, weighing nearly 14 tons, was designed and built by C & C (Cuthberston & Cassian) in 1971. Charlotte wants to sail her restored boat, now christened Valiant, back to France, to the south, to compete in the 47th Régates Royales. A talented sailor and captain who is not afraid of a challenge, she is now setting off on a 25,000-mile (46,400 km) journey – Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Easter Island, Panama, the Caribbean... Then, during the Atlantic crossing from the West Indies, she finished solo from the Azores on this prototype usually crewed by thirteen people before mooring in Cannes to compete in the Régates Royales. A real fairy tale!

All the results here: Manage2sail

47th Régates Royales de Cannes: Institutional partners: AFYT Association Française des Yachts de Tradition, Cannes Sports, Département 06, FFVoile, Région Sud, Ville de Cannes, Yacht Club de Cannes. Official partners: HighField, Hôtel Carlton Cannes, IGY Marinas – Vieux Port de Cannes, Marinepool, Palais des Festivals, Champagne Taittinger. Technical partners: DAB Boissons, Hôtel Palm Beach Cannes, ICOM France, Key4events, SNSM Société Nationale Sauvetage en Mer, Trans Côte d’Azur. Media partners: Cannes Radio, France TV.

Royalty-free photos for the press: Didier Ravon/YCC (credit required)

Key information:

- Dates: September 21-27, 2025

- Website: www.regatesroyales.net

- Press office: yccommunication@gmail.com