St Barths Bucket - Regatta Recaps

St Barths 2008 Bucket Recap

By all measures, the 2008 St. Barths Bucket was the best yet!  With the trade winds serving up 18-20 knot breezes each day, St. Barths serving up its many pleasures each night and the fleet of 27 superyachts delivering 600+ owners and crew who have well perfected the art of creating a good time, the stage was set for a truly magnificent regatta.  Add to the mix, a surprise concert by Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band on Saturday night, coupled with a fund raising event that raised $200,000 for the St. Barths Hospital Fund, FEMUR, and the closest racing any Bucket event has witnessed, and you’ve got the makings of the perfect storm of a party. . . And as Blackbeard was known to say, “Any Storm in a port!!!” 

This year’s St. Barths Bucket fleet represented the full spectrum of superyacht design and construction.  We had a large turnout from the Perini Navi Fleet, including  sistership 46M Ketches, ANTARA and ANDROMEDA LA DEA,  the lovely and well-sailed 52M PERSEUS and the new 45M Sloop, HELIOS.  Royal Huisman weighed in with 45M HYPERION and the rocket fast Philippe Briande design 37M, GLISS.  Holland Jachtbouw’s 45m Classic Schooner, WINDROSE won the Bucket, rated without downwind sails and the new Tripp design, Vitters 45M Sloop, MYSTERE, cut a fine figure within the fleet.  Alloy Yachts were represented by the 108’ Fontaine design, PARAISO and the 110’ DuBois, SEA QUELL.  The most difficult boat for the our rating Guru, Jim Teeters to place within the fleet was the new LEOPARD, 35M canting keel super-sled that reaches along at well over 20 knots, along with the ripping fast 45M Baltic, VISIONE. At the other end of the design spectrum was the classic 1931 William Fife 119’ Schooner, ALTAIR.  As usual, the fleet was divided into two classes; a dozen racing oriented yachts sailed as “Les Gazelles des Mers” and the 15 cruising yachts sailed as “Les Grande Dames des Mers”.

The Bucket opened with the Skipper’s meeting at Le Bistro at the head of Gustavia Harbor, for final instructions and detailing of the new safety procedures put in place with the cooperation of SNSM, the French Coast Guard.  Port Louis and Camper & Nicholson Marinas sponsored the Welcome Party at the Quay and the event was formally launched by firing the “Tommy Gun” in salute to our missing Bucket founder.  As usual, the party was a great gathering of everyone you would hope to run into at a sailing event.

Friday’s race was a great counter clockwise romp around the Island in a perfect 18-knot easterly trade wind.  GLISS ran away with the race, finishing a full 5 minutes ahead of the fleet, followed by KAORI and two minutes later, by the perfectly sailed Perini 46M, ANTARA. 

Friday night, the Open House lived up to its billing as the best night of the Bucket.  The racecourse competition spilled over into the evening as each of the yachts spoiled their visiting competitors with the best available fare and libation.  To stroll the Quay with the world’s finest superyachts  lined up and their welcome mats out for all competing crews,  was a serious indulgence in a venue of rarified atmosphere!
Saturday brought slightly more breeze at 19 Knots and great racing  on the “Wiggly Course,” around and between the Islands to the north and east of St. Barths.  The 125’
S & S design ketch, FREEDOM, owned the day, beating WINDROSE over the line by just over a minute.  KAORI again finished strongly with a third place.  Once again, this was Bucket sailing at its best!

Saturday night was a big one in town, focused around the closely guarded conspiracy between Jimmy Buffett, Melanie Smith and the Bucket Race Committee, to fly the entire Coral Reefer Band to St. Barths for a full Jimmy Buffett Concert at Saturday night’s Bucket Bash!  The quid pro quo was the fact that the concert would be centered around a fundraiser for FEMUR, the St. Barths non-profit medical foundation, to purchase a CT Scan machine for the local Hospital.  This was also the Bucket participant’s opportunity to give something meaningful back to the Island that had shared its joie de vivre and hospitality with the Bucket Regatta for 13 years.

Saturday’s Owner’s Party was sponsored by our friends at US Trust/Bank of America, elegantly catered and served at “La Marine” on Gustavia Harbor, right across from the fleet at the quay.  Midway through the evening, the Bucket Committee launched what had been billed as a “not so ordinary Auction” on behalf of FEMUR.  Without any experience at this type of fund raising, the best instruments at hand were located by reaching into our “bag of geniuses” from among the fleet!  Brian Owen, Peter DeSavary and Ernest Brin (Assistant Port Captain and FEMUR Board member), put the fundraiser into perspective, sharing their thoughts with regard to Bucket fundraising and the Island’s emergency medical needs.

The evening’s auctioneer was Northrop and Johnson’s Michael Nethersole, who with no previous experience, applied his quick wit and simply ravaged the crowd, keeping them laughing while coughing up the cash!  There were only four auction items; two sets of tickets to Jimmy Buffett’s popular Boston Concert, a beautiful Billy Black photograph of the 2007 Bucket Fleet in Gustavia, framed with the mat autographed by Jimmy, and the somewhat contentious, St. Barths Bucket “Get out of Jail Free” card, which entitled the bearer to Three Minutes off their start time in any Bucket Race of their choosing!  The final item, the very shirt of Jimmy’s back (autographed), went to the overall highest donor for the event.

Meanwhile back at the quay, the “Bucket Bash” was well underway, with 500 sailors  feasting on an elegant buffet meal and dancing to the tunes of  “Papa Gayo”, St. Barths best local band.  Just as the Owner’s Party and auction broke up, Papa Gayo took a break and Jimmy and the Coral Reefer band were spirited across the harbor to board the Perini PERSEUS, stern to at the stage, while Jimmy’s wife and friends enjoyed the hospitality aboard VISIONE for the show.  When Jimmy took the stage, the crowd was virtually blown away – somehow the secret never really got out - and the whole gang at the quay was taken for the best musical surprise ride any could have imagined, while Jimmy and the Reefers carried the night away!  This was a scene from Bucket dreamland!

In the final tally, FEMUR and the Bucket Committee were astounded by the generosity of the Bucket yacht owners and participants.  The auction raised $35,000, then the fleet donations raised another nearly $145,000 (we’d expected only $66,000)!!  The Bucket Committee donated $33,000 to cover the hard costs of transporting the band, equipment, and infrastructure, leaving the total generated by the FEMUR fundraiser, in excess of $210,000! Jimmy Buffett was the largest contributor by far, donating his time, his band, his music and literally, the shirt off his back, for this cause in which he so wholeheartedly believes.  Melanie Smith, the co-conspirator and also FEMUR Board Member, deserves huge kudos for having the brass to conceive the entire secret concert and fundraiser, then pulling off all the logistics to make it happen!

For many in the fleet, Sunday dawned groggy but with plenty of breeze to blow out the cobwebs.  The “Wrong Way Around” race was launched into a 20 knot easterly for another great romp around, that served up some powerful shifty puffs on the last leg, which blew out and reshaped a few spinnakers!  This was also the day that Chris Maybury and WINDROSE chose to cash in their Bucket “Get out of Jail Free” card that Chris had won at Auction.  This moved their start forward by 3 minutes as announced to the Fleet by the Race Committee.  WINDROSE stood in second place for the Bucket Overall, at the start of the Race.

Sunday’s finishes were the tightest ever in Bucket History, leaving the RC literally wishing for a video camera at times as yachts crossed the finish, overlapped.  First through tenth place encompassed less than two and a half minutes!  WINDROSE beat RANGER across the line by 5 seconds to claim first place, then VISIONE crossed 20 seconds later for third.  WILD HORSES crossed the line for fourth place, 11 seconds ahead of GLISS and WINDCREST which tied for fifth place in a virtual dead heat!!  REBECCA finished 4 seconds later for seventh, followed by LEOPARD 5 seconds later, followed by HYPERION 15 seconds later in ninth place and SALPERTON in tenth, by 7 seconds.  For a fleet comprised of yachts of this size with tremendous design differences, these are minuscule margins!  Hats off to Jim Teeters (the man in the Kevlar vest), our ratings guru!

The great news for the Race Committee was that WINDROSE thus won the Bucket, without actually needing the 3-minute Get out of Jail benefit!  Her 3 minutes would have moved her from 1st to 10th place on Sunday, which still would have left her a 3 point margin in fleet standings to win overall. 

In a great gesture of sportsmanship, Chris Maybury came to the Committee before the Awards Ceremony and requested that we award WINDROSE’s first place for Sunday’s race, to RANGER in recognition of their superior tactics and sail handling. In fact, at the awards meeting it had already been decided to present RANGER the Vitter’s “Polished Performance Award”, for the best consistent display of exceptional crew work and tactics in the Regatta.  Therefore, we decided that WINDROSE should maintain their first place for Sunday but we invited Chris to make the presentation of the “Polished Performance Award” on behalf of Vitters.  This was a true “Bucket Style” display of sportsmanship all around.  Second place for the Bucket Overall was presented to, and well won by REBECCA and third place by GLISS.

In the racing division, “Les Gazelles des Mers”, REBECCA was the clear winner, followed by a tie for points between GLISS and VISIONE, which resolved to awarding GLISS second place in view of her win in race one, and VISIONE, third.  In the cruising class, “Les Grandes Dames des Mers”, WINDROSE placed first, with the 108’ Alloy, PARAISO in second place and FREEDOM in third.  PARAISO was also awarded the Alloy Yachts, best performance award and ANTARA won the Perini Cup, after once again, sailing a remarkably perfect regatta for a fully cruising oriented yacht.

The Wolter Huisman Memorial, Spirit of the Bucket Award was presented this year to VISIONE, in recognition of their generous hospitality throughout the Regatta, sumptuous fare during Friday’s open house and full welcome aboard for the band’s party on Saturday night.  All this, while racing hard each day with their two golden retrievers aboard!  We understand that the dogs actually tack themselves to weather on the way upwind and sit on centerline for the downwind legs!

This year’s “All Star Crew Award”, presented by Holland Jachtbouw and The Yacht Report, was intended to re-double the focus on the value of being voted “All Stars” by your peers, the other Yacht Crews.  AVALON was the clear winner and Justin Juarez and his ‘Team Juarez” crew, well deserve the recognition as the crew that all do their jobs individually to the best potential, within the atmosphere of a supportive and cohesive family team.  Without question, the yacht is run like a Swiss Watch.  It seems something larger may be in operation as well.  This is the crew that had the entire yacht sailing in huge Mexican sombreros – even Lilly, their 3-pound canine mascot!!  The magic could stem from the fact that the owners,  Jason and Leigh Taylor, are so relaxed and focused on fun that they fit in as crew themselves!   AVALON’s racing crew has been a constant for nearly two decades, including two past captains, Mike Feirabend and Tom Miller, who collectively ran the boat for a decade, plus Jay Maher who was mate for the same tenure, plus Ethan and Trudy Bixby, John Paravano (Kiwi John), and Ron Holland, all of whom have sailed aboard for the better part of two decades!  Indeed, when the “All Stars” were called up on stage to receive their award, the entire crew shared the well-deserved round of applause,  Holland Jachtbouw Wooden Shoe award, Bucket All Star capes and a showering of champagne!

It was a huge surprise that this year’s coveted Escargot Cup (for last place) was won by the 164’ Perini Navi, PERSEUS.   This mammoth yacht has always been exceptionally well sailed, with reasonably good finish results.  In fact, PERSEUS made Bucket History this year in posting the closest start time on record, crossing the line only one second after her gun!  She was awarded RC Flag for this accomplishment. Unfortunately, this was the year that she also blew out ALL her spinnakers, which helped her to join the esteemed ranks of  Escargot winners.  We’re sure that hers will be a short visit to this end of the fleet.

The Bucket Committee was extremely pleased to have a lively candidate who not only qualified – but excelled beyond all reasonable expectations, to win the “Skullduggery Cravat”, a perfectly tied Admiralty Noose, framed, with instructions for tying the proper noose, inscribed in calligraphy.  This was originally awarded to the owner of SARIYAH in 2002, so his captain, Tim Laughridge (Bucket Committee) could be hung at the pleasure of the fleet.  The award was renamed and put forward by the Committee to reinforce the Bucket premise that we are NOT here to promulgate adult behavior!!  Sadly, this prize has gone un-awarded in St. Barths (although it was stolen last year by HIGHLAND BREEZE, which almost qualified). Imagine the Race Committee’s surprise when before Sunday’s race, REBECCA showed up on the starting line with her entire crew – 25 strong, fully suited up as Holstein Cows, all in white one-piece suits with black spots! Actually, they might have been mistaken for firehouse Dalmatians, were it not for the size of the spots and the inflated pink surgical gloves, appropriately placed.  Who thinks these things up??  Thank God they do!  Well done, Sparky and crew!

In sum, it wasn’t just another Bucket!  In 2007 everyone asked, “How can it get better than this??”  Well, in 2008, it happened.  In large part because all of the 600+ participants in the Bucket Regatta are masters of having a good time, simply messing around on boats!!!

St Barths 2007 Bucket Recap

Greetings All:

I think all involved will agree that this year’s St. Barths Bucket was over the top in all respects.

The fleet – to our knowledge the largest fleet of the largest Yachts ever to meet on a race course – was as diverse as it was elegant, from the new paradigm in yachting defined by MALTESE FALCON, to the grandeur of FELICITA WEST, the massive and efficient KOKOMO fresh in from Kiwi Land, to fast and lovely REBECCA and the thoroughbred performance of SOJANA, HIGHLAND BREEZE and VIRAGO, this was the meeting of a fleet to be long remembered.

This year, the Race Committee did a reasonably good job as usual – but they did have one stroke of genius. This has nothing to do with their focus on setting reasonably safe and good courses, or even for their perseverance on Saturday morning after they blew out the fourth printer and bruised the brain on the new computer’s hard drive to the point where one page of start times could only be regenerated by a brilliant nerd (thanks Phil Lee. . .), to be hand written and photocopied for distribution - while 700 people patiently waited for the information. Nor do they merit more than a nod for their subsequent recovery that morning - after discovering a cruise ship anchored in the middle of the starting line. Over all, they did a relatively average job of jumping through the normal hoops of Bucket Committee work.

However after the previous two years of Bucket Racing in light to zero wind, the idea of bringing forward the Navigator’s Fluid at the Skipper’s Meeting aboard MALTESE FALCON, for a toast to King Neptune in supplication for a good sailing breeze, was not only timely - but a generous sharing of a well-guarded deep secret. The Committee has sailed together a lot over the past two decades and the Navigator’s Fluid has never let us down. As all will recall, there was no wind before this year’s Bucket either – in fact, there was barely a zephyr for a practice sail. But with a full glass of fluid over the side at the Skipper’s Meeting and a boisterous salute to Neptune, the wind gods got the message and brought forward what built to a romping breeze over the next few days that left the sailors, spectators and photographers simply dazzled by the wind power harnessed by the fleet. Who ever would have guessed that Neptune has a Grappa habit???

We owe a large thank you to the owners of two of the most beautiful Committee Boats ever in Bucket History; Peter DeSavary’s 127’ Classic Camper Nicholson Motor Yacht SAAVY and Steve Grossman’s new Huisman 118’ Motor Yacht, ARCADIA. These yachts truly match the stature of the sailing fleet and we are most grateful for the opportunity to use them as targets for hit and run accidents twice a day, by a fleet of over 25 Mega Yachts in the far reaches of control. . . Seriously, many thanks Peter and Steve on behalf of the fleet.

Also on a serious note, after this weekend of good sailing in consistent breeze, we’ve seen results from the Bucket rating system that are proving to be very reliable indeed. Do check the start and finish times on the www.bucketregattas.com website – they are astoundingly close! Also, separating the fleet into classes for “Les Gazelles” and Les Grandes Dammes” des Mers also ramped up and leveled the competition.

As you should be aware, the guess-work is pretty much gone from the Bucket system and has been replaced by the Velocity Prediction Program developed by Jim Teeters of US Sailing (the man in the Kevlar vest). Given the inputs from your entry forms along with additional research on each yacht’s design, Jim builds a computer based performance model for each yacht in the fleet that reflects the yachts potential in all wind angles and velocities. Each race is then defined in terms of percentage of upwind, reaching and downwind components along with the input wind velocity.

The weakness of the pursuit race format is that we must predict the wind direction and velocity accurately, prior to the start – as the handicapping is entirely applied by your start time. If we guess the wind speed too low, the start time differences will be expanded – which will favor the slower yachts that start first. If we guess too high, the start times will be compressed, not giving the slower boats enough head start.

Friday’s race was a classic case in point, wherein we underestimated the breeze by about two knots, thus expanding the start time deltas to over 90 minutes for a 22 mile course. We owe VIRAGO a pretty big “sorry” for that one – she was still in sight sailing away from the starting line when MALTESE FALCON rounded Isle Fourche 10 minutes from the finish! These days we only do between race adjustments for “gross anomalies” and both boats certainly got one. Rather than simply throwing PHRF time at the boats however, Jim reviews the Yacht’s design inputs, making a calculated adjustment to further refine the yacht’s individual VPP.

The net result of underestimating Friday’s breeze is that the slower end of the fleet was favored. Consequently, eight of ‘Les Grandes Dammes” finished before the first place “Gazelle”, PATIENT FALCON. Even with the wind slightly under estimated, the finish times for Friday’s race were well compressed, with 23 of 27 yachts finishing within 30 minutes of each other.

After a few foibles getting the fleet underway for Saturday’s race, the sailing and the results were equally impressive. VIRAGO’s start time was adjusted to bring her into the hunt, which worked. MALTESE FALCON’s start time was also adjusted, and with regard to Saturday’s Race we can only say that . . . she’s not an easy yacht to rate! Friday she’d smoked the fleet, winning by nearly a 25 minute margin. Saturday, she got last by 5 minutes. That was some degree of progress. The rest of the results though, were by far the closest Bucket Racing ever! The first five finishes occurred within 54 seconds! The first ten finishes were in just over five minutes, half “Grand Dammes” and half “Gazelles”. In sum, 23 of 24 Yachts finished perhaps the most exciting race in Bucket History in just over 17 minutes.

On Sunday, the clockwise sail around the Island was spectacular, with moderately large seas for great visuals and interesting steering. And we finally got the starting time for MALTESE FALCON right! Jim Teeters crunched the data from Saturday’s race and Sunday, she sailed around the course within 1.5 seconds per mile of her predicted speed – meaning that for a 20 mile course, she finished within just over 30 seconds of her predicted finish time for a well sailed race!!! That was the good news. The bad news is that the lion’s share of the fleet got to experience her massive wind shadow – which is a bit like being passed by . . . Monserrat! Painful as it is, it prolongs the most impressive view this sailor’s seen on the water!

Sunday’s finish times were also well compressed by Bucket standards, with 20 of 25 yachts finishing in the same 20 minutes. But one boat did get away, to win by over 15 minutes. Having placed 13th on Friday and won on Saturday by only 20 seconds, AVALON was certainly under the radar for rating anomalies. Then on Sunday in very similar conditions, she sailed fully 45 seconds per mile faster!! Hmmm. Either they had some extremely lucky breaks, or the crew of long tooth Rock Stars that have been sailing the Yacht together for 20 years finally got the program . . . or perhaps our dear friend Tom Taylor shared that glass of Grappa with King Neptune! But whatever AVALON did to smoke us all on Sunday, was very special indeed! Well done AVALON!!!

We are very grateful to our hosts at a number of “over the top” parties; Tom Perkins, the crew of MALTESE FALCON and ShowBoats International for the Skipper’s Meeting, Peter DeSavary and Port Louis for our Welcome Party and for the use of SAAVY as Committee Boat on Friday. Thanks very much David Ray for use of his magnificent home for the Owner’ Party, and to Holland Jachtbouw and The Yacht Report for a rollicking good time at the Crew Party. Also thanks to the Boat builders; Royal Huisman Shipyard, Perini Navi, Holland Jachtbouw and Alloy Yachts, along with La Cave du Port Franc for a wonderful awards presentation and bubbly libations to match.

And speaking of the Awards Presentations, Jimmy Buffet is a hard act to follow! It would be difficult to express the fleet’s gratitude for his timely tunes – unless one had the opportunity to see collective ear to ear smile of 700+ happy sailors. Thanks Jimmy. Your tunes iced the cake!

Lastly, this year was a photographer’s playground – they were the only ones smiling larger than the crowd during Jimmy’s concert. Check any or all of the sites below for some great shots of great sailing and tomfoolery.

Fair Winds,
The Bucket Race Committee

www.billyblack.com
www.studio6X7.com (Cory Silken)
www.vanderwal.com
www.photoaction.com (Tim Wright)

St. Barths 2006 Bucket Recap

The Captain’s Meeting was hosted by John Williams aboard ALTITUDE, his chartered tender, which at 55 meters, easily entertained the crowd of 150. The Welcome Party, hosted by Peter de Savary, The Abaco Club and ShowBoats International Magazine, began an hour later at the newly reconstructed Quay and Gustavia Capitainerie, which once again had been transformed into a beautifully lighted and staged Bucket Central, by Melanie Smith and her resident magicians.

The party was launched with a somber moment, in tribute to our close friend, Tom Taylor, one of the Bucket Founders and an unflagging supporter of the event, who was tragically killed in an accident this winter. The Bucket Race Committee commissioned a gold plated Herreshoff saluting cannon in Tom’s honor, which we fired to formally open the Bucket Regatta, followed by a moment of silence for our missing friend. The ‘Tommy Gun” will travel to, and open all future Bucket events.

In a dying 8 knot breeze, the RC got half the fleet started on Friday’s Round the Island Race, before calling out the beach towels an hour later when the fleet all but lost steerage way in near zero wind. John Taylor and PARAISO got the picture early, notified the RC and headed first for the beach, with the rest of the fleet soon to follow. Shell Beach and Baie Columbier were fully assaulted for the afternoon by Mega Yachts and Mega Yacht games.

Friday night’s open house aboard the Yachts, as usual, was one of the high points of the weekend, with the fleet putting forward their finest fare to entertain their competitors. The food was as good as it gets, with fresh Nova Scotia lobster aboard DESTINATION FOX HARBOR, Chef Raffie Hurtado aboard ANTARA serving up epicurean creations, and the other yachts spoiling us with all manner of treats. ATLANTA maintained a truly festive atmosphere, rivaled only by WHISPER, with their disco music and psychedelic blinking bling pins to illuminate the guests. This was a many faceted, great party night.

The fleet started Saturday’s 18 mile “Wiggley Course” around the North and East of St. Barths in a relative gale of almost 9 knots of wind. The prospect of finishing a race looked good until intermittent squalls shut off the breeze like isolated iron curtains - wherein all available wind was simply going straight up into the convecting clouds. While the fleet was slow motion wrestling with several squalls, the RC shortened course to what looked like an easy finish with a very short last leg. Unfortunately, the mother-in-law of all squalls simply erased the breeze across the entire course. This gross miscarriage of nature snatched defeat from the very jaws of victory for the 48 Meter Perini Navi, ANTARA. Her crew had sailed a magnificent light air race by hitting the start and every shift masterfully. At the whim of the wind gods, she was forced to anchor just 200 yards from the finish for over an hour! No finish. No race. No justice!!

Several other yachts also sailed flawless light air races on Saturday. ZINGARO and WHISPER started on their numbers and walked right through the fleet. Along with AVALON, they were beginning to drift up on ANTARA when the clock ran out. REBECCA also kicked up her heels in the light conditions but also fell victim to the mother of squalls.

Ralph Lauren hosted a magnificent Cocktail Party for the Owners and their guests on Saturday night, at the home of David Ray, overlooking the fleet in Gustavia Harbor. Our friends at Moet & Chandon and Segeco Caribbean Distributors were kind enough to provide Champagne for the event, which certainly enhanced the flavor of the event. In sum, the hospitality and the fare were befitting the elegant surroundings – a good time was had by all. Concurrently, Holland Jachtbouw and The Yacht Report hosted a crew party at the quay, with a barbeque, open bar, music and dancing. As expected, the Owner’s party spilled over into the crew party, which kept the party rolling into the early wee hours.

Sunday dawned hopeful, with almost a dozen knots blowing in Gustavia – but it was a teaser that dropped off to a zephyr by the first start time. During an hour postponement, the RC designed a short, reaching course for the six knot prevailing breeze. Twenty four yachts started the race at their assigned pursuit racing times, whereupon the wind abruptly dropped yet again, leaving the fleet close reaching in a 3 knot breeze. This is not what you do for fun aboard a 300 ton Mega Yacht so yet again, once excused by our erstwhile Race Committee, the fleet adjourned to various beaches to enjoy the Caribbean afternoon.

The good news within a fleet of this stature is that when the wind dies, there are a myriad of enjoyable ways to spend the day. Tenders, rafts and water toys sprouted – blenders whizzed and the banter began anew. If this was the downside, then life was very good indeed. . .

The “no race” conundrum presented a head scratcher for the Race Committee. How do we present awards for non-races? This Zen kohn promulgated a spirited afternoon discourse. Do we keep the awards? Auction them? Award them for??? It quickly became apparent that the only measurable performance in this non-regatta would be found in the starts. Each yacht was assigned a specific starting time in each pursuit race and we had accurate data on the difference between the assigned and actual start times. The results were really shocking!

The most impressive starting time deltas for the entire fleet were the combined times for the 48 Meter Perini Navi Ketch, ANTARA. In a fleet that included two J Boats and a number of carbon fiber, scalding fast mega performers, ANTARA’s crew sailed their 300 ton yacht to start 4 seconds late on Saturday and 14 seconds late on Sunday, clearly closer than all others!

The second closest starters were also a great surprise. Within a fleet of mega yachts equipped with entirely automatic functions, the 1929 Classic William Fife 118’ Schooner, ALTAIR, sailed across the starting line within 14 seconds Saturday and 18 Seconds Sunday, of her assigned starting time, with no electric winches, in fact, few winches at all; 8 sails flying and a good head of speed! Another astounding performance!

The 155’ Custom Baltic/Judel Vrolijk Carbon Fibre Sloop, VISIONE, was third by the start measure, weighing in just behind ALTAIR. By far the fastest yacht in the fleet and among the very best sailed as well, VISIONE typically starts up to two hours after the first yachts in a short, 22 mile race, then romps through the fleet to finish with the winners.

The Sunday evening Awards Ceremony was hosted by the Superyacht Builders; Perini Navi Yachts, Holland Jachtbouw, The Royal Huisman Shipyard and Alloy Yachts. Again, our friends at Moet lubricated the affair with buckets of fine bubbly, which put a proper slant on the evening.

Ian Craddock, the Bucket’s Own Ed Sullivan, was the Master of Ceremonies for the Awards, which began with presentation of the Bucket awards and Medals of St. Barths, presented by Bruno Magras, the Mayor of St. Barths. Third place was awarded to VISIONE, Second place to ALTAIR and First Place was won by ANTARA.

This year, without a proper race completed, it was decided not to present the St. Barths Bucket Trophy. However, in remembrance of Tom Taylor, his name and AVALON will be inscribed on the Bucket Trophy for the year 2006.

The Wolter Huisman, Spirit of the Bucket Award was presented by Alice Huisman, to Grandma Betty, Matriarch of the Perini Navi, PERSIUS, for her absolute devotion to her family and grandchildren, and to the sheer fun of the event. She came with no expectation of winning anything, which in the Bucket view, makes her a clear winner!!!

The clear winner of this year’s Perini Trophy, for the best performing Perini Navi Yacht was ANTARA. Mrs. Milena Perini presented the beautifully crafted silver tray to Mr. And Mrs. Michael Gooch, the owners of ANTARA.

This year, Holland Jachtbouw presented the first St. Barths Bucket All Star Crew Award. Each yacht was asked to put forward their vote for the All Star Crew; those who work on a perfectly kept yacht, with a great team that have fun doing the best job possible. They couldn’t vote for themselves! When the tallies were in, ENDEAVOUR, Captain Sparky Beardall and crew were voted the 2006 Bucket All Stars! They were presented with a beautiful plaque crafted by Holland Jachtbouw, with half a Dutch wooden shoe and the All Star inscription. They were also presented with a cape for the Supercrew and star wands, with which they can perform their magic! Holland Jachtbouw, being mindful yacht builders not wanting to waste material, made sure to save the other half of the shoe for next year’s award!

The Churchill Corinthian/Seamanship Award, for excellence in Seamanship and/or exemplary Corinthian spirit was an easy choice this year. Without question, the Crew aboard ANTARA demonstrated extraordinary seamanship in our one, almost race by massaging every zephyr of wind with their 300 ton mega cruising yacht in Saturday’s light air race; doing full standing float drops with their acre size spinnaker and hitting each start with precision. Great job guys! That was a phenomenal bit of sailing!

Finally, the coveted Escargot Cup, for last place in the Bucket was also without a clear winner in this year’s event. Therefore, it was claimed by the Race Committee for failing to attend services on a regular enough basis to insure a proper breeze for the event. We then realized that this created the THIRD time our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Craddock, has won the Escargot prize!

In sum, once again, the Bucket was a ball. It is a true testament to all the sailors that traveled so far for the event, that in the absence of even a semblance of a sailing breeze for the Regatta, this group had a great time anyway! Bucket sailors are a remarkable group of fun loving folks and in truth, therein lies the magic of all Bucket Regattas.

Fair winds,
The Bucket Race Committee

Post Script:

Once again, our most sincere thanks to all of the Bucket Regatta Sponsors. This year we have been able to achieve our long-term goal to have the funding for the Bucket come from within the Marine Industry. At present, the Bucket is properly funded with the only out of industry sponsors being our friends at Ralph Lauren. We are constantly approached by mainstream companies wishing to brand their products with the Bucket, and we’re pleased to report that we’d rather have a well-run sailing industry event than to go for the big bucks. Your support has been a blessing with regard to our efforts toward minimizing any commercial flavor for the Bucket Events. Thanks all!

Ralph Lauren – Holland Jachtbouw – Perini Navi – Bank of America

Northrop and Johnson – Carnegie Abbey – Newport Shipyard –
Moet et Chandon

Churchill Yacht Partners – The Abaco Club - The Yacht Report – Rybovich

Showboats International - Royal Huisman Shipyard – Alloy Yachts -
North Sails

Doyle Sailmakers – Bartram & Brakenhoff – Marsh Insurance

Segeco Caribbean Distributors - The Hinckley Company –
Z Marine Insurance

2006 St. Barth's Bucket Fleet:

ALTAIR - 118’ Classic Fife
ANTARA - 151' Perini Navi
ATLANTA - 118' Alloy, DuBois
AVALON - 108' Alloy, Holland
BOO TOO - 92' Pendennis, Holland
DESTINATION FOX HARBOR - 130’ DuBois
ENDEAVOUR - 135' J Class, Camper Nicholson
FREEDOM OF FLIGHT - 124' Picchiotti, S & S
GHOST - 122' Vitters/Brenta
HELIOS - 122’ DuBois
MARIELLA - 79' W. Fife & Son
METOLIUS - 84' Huisman, Frers
OHANA - 142’ Perini Navi
PARAISO - 126' Alloy, Fontaine
PARSIFAL III - 178' Perini Navi
PERSEUS - 164’ Perini Navi
RANGER - 137' J Class, Danish Yachts
REBECCA - 141' Pendennis, Frers
RIPPLE - 101’ Brooke, R. Holland
ROGUE - 103' Trehard
SAPPHIRE - 105' Klaussen, Hoek
SOJANA - 115' Fast Cruising
SEAQUELL - 112’ Alloy, DuBois
SYMMETRY - 96’ Yachting Dev., Frers
UNFURLED - 112' Huisman, Frers
VICTORIA OF STRATHEARN - 132' Alloy, Langan
VISIONE - 148' Baltic, Reichel Pugh
WHISPER - 116' Holland Jachtbouw, Fontaine
WINDROSE - 152' Holland Jachtbouw, Dijkstra
ZINGARO - 112' Derecktor, S & S

St. Barths 2005 Bucket Recap

The 2005 St. Barths Bucket Regatta was a remarkable event, even by Bucket standards, which tend to stretch normal parameters. First, the three day format is a keeper! We trust all enjoyed the extra day on the Island. The fleet was the biggest ever by all measures; with 28 yachts registered and 25 officially sailing. With yachts ranging from 78’ to 247’, we certainly broke all tonnage records! 600 sailors participated in the event and enjoyed the hospitality put forward by the St. Barths Commune, the Capitainerie, the St. Barths Yacht Club, the Mayor’s office and the Mayor himself. The hospitality was reciprocal, with the yachts entertaining the local representatives during the open house and inviting a good number of St. Barths residents out sailing. The relationship between the Bucket participants and the St. Barths Community is healthy. Thanks all for your help in this regard.

The size of the fleet also stretched the capabilities of the Capitainerie when it came to having 24 yachts come and go within the same hour, twice a day! Although the choreography was not without foibles, the coming and going was well done on the part of the yachts and the dock personnel.

The entertainment put forward by our yacht owners was appreciated by all. The 247’ MIRABELLA V provided perhaps the most impressive location for a Skipper’s meeting in the history of yachting. The Welcome Party, sponsored by the owner of ROGUE, the Abacos Club and Spencer Rybovich Yacht Yard, was a great launching for the event.

The venue for the party reached a new pinnacle in respecting the myriad of French laws. What had been a serious construction site 24 hours before the fleet arrived, was magically transformed by Melanie Smith and associates, volunteers from St. Barths and the largesse of the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association, who donated the tents. What had been a litter of construction debris was re-created into a professionally lit stage, decorated with spinnakers, banners, two bars and a dance floor. Magic!!

Our largest fleet ever brought forward significant challenges to the Race Committee and Jim Teeters our rating Guru, because the fleet was as diverse as it was large. With 6 heavy displacement Perini Navi yachts in the same fleet as RANGER, VISIONE and the rocket ketch, SOJANA, plus the mega performance yachts, HYPERION, SCHEHERAZADE, DESTINATION and REBECCA, with a sprinkling of smaller classics, MARIELLA and WILD HORSES – and the modern classics, WHISPER, VICTORIA and the like - the rating conundrum well embodied the term. But with the application of Jim’s, increasingly accurate Bucket VPP Formula, the finishes became increasingly close as the weekend progressed, culminating Sunday when we had a large number of finishes between yachts of diverse description, with only seconds between. Jim was also able to sail aboard three, very different yachts; Perini Navi PERSEUS, the Bruce King/Hodgdon masterpiece, SCHEHERAZADE, and VICTORIA OF STRATHEARN, which gave him a first hand view of the yachts and how they are sailed relative to the overall fleet potential. Lastly, and of tremendous benefit to the Race Committee, he wore the rating target on HIS back! What a great breath of fresh air. . .

For Friday’s 24 mile course around St. Barths, the starting times varied by a full 105 minutes, with VISIONE, starting an hour and 45 minutes after the first boat with SOJANA and RANGER only slightly before. The race began with METOLIUS and FREEDOM breaking free into what appeared to be an unbreakable lead in a great light to medium air race around the Island. If there was a highlight to the day’s racing that was experienced by everyone in the fleet at one point or another, it was looking over your shoulder to see RANGER, VISIONE and SOJANA appear on the aft horizon and grow to their awesome life size – then show us their transom as they sailed through the fleet! At the end of the day they passed all but beautiful REBECCA, who dazzled us all with her remarkable speed, even without benefit of a spinnaker.

Friday night’s open house aboard the yachts, stern to at the quay was characterized by great hospitality aboard all the boats, which were open not only to the yacht’s crews – but to a number of St. Barths notables as well. The hospitality was as usual – as good as it gets, with the owner of DESTINATION FOX HARBOR importing lobster and oysters, fresh from Fox Harbor in Prince Edward Island, RANGER and ATMOSPHERE both open to all, a great party aboard FREEDOM, while VICTORIA OF STRATHEARN, WHISPER and SARIYAH and the rest of the fleet put forward their usual, magnificent hospitality. Our guests from St. Barths were particularly pleased to be included.

SATURDAY dawned with a few cloudy heads and the prospect for a true Caribbean 15 knot sou’easter. Ratings were adjusted from the results of Friday’s race, wherein although there was reasonably close racing between the boats of like description, we felt the need to bring the fastest and slowest yachts into the hunt. We were extremely successful at moving the heavy displacement yachts into fleet contention but honestly, we over corrected the fastest yachts, pushing their start times too far back to allow them a fair chance of winning. Although Saturday’s 5 minute penalty for RANGER, VISIONE, HYPERION and SOJANA put them at the back of the pack (for which we are most apologetic), they still had close racing at their end of the pack, with only 6 minutes separating the last 7 positions in the fleet. ROGUE was the big winner for Saturday’s race, beating PERSEUS, the 50 meter Perini Navi across the line by only 7 seconds! Another close finish was between SARIYAH in 4th place, followed by the Classic Fife, MARIELLA, then ANDROMEDA LA DEA in 6th, all within 40 seconds. Saturday’s race indeed provided a good mix of close racing between yachts of all descriptions. ROGUE became the first yacht in Bucket History to gift the Race Committee with 6 bottles of chilled champagne at the end of the day. It was savored.

Saturday night, the owner’s reception aboard the 90 meter Huisman, ATHENA, was as elegant as can be – what a magnificent yacht! 150 guests were swallowed up between the beautifully articulated on-deck spaces, main salon and all the cabins between. We are all very grateful for the hospitality and for the opportunity to visit aboard this masterpiece. Moet Hennessy were kind enough to extend their sponsorship of the Bucket, to supply champagne for all aboard who were thirsty.

Sunday also dawned with promise for a good breeze, which held for the third and final race, a 20 mile romp around St. Barths, clockwise. Given a solid empirical basis from Saturday’s Race, similar wind conditions and a course only .3 mile longer with similar upwind and downwind components, the RC had an excellent opportunity to level the fleet by simply adjusting the starting times, crediting every yacht with the number of seconds per mile she was out of first place, Saturday. The end result was a group of astoundingly close finishes for such a disparate fleet. The wild card here, is that each boat was not only credited for her Saturday boatspeed – but for her Saturday screw-ups as well! Aboard VICTORIA, our Saturday race was among our worst races ever, with a number of sail set foibles and a costly downwind foul by another yacht. With that extra credit, Sunday was VICTORIA’s day in the sun. When we rounded Roches Rouges and set the downwind sails for the finish – there were seemingly no boats left out front and no contenders rapidly approaching from astern! (Having had a hand in the ratings, your correspondent was less than thrilled!) As it turned out, our apparent win had been scooped by Perini GITANA, enthusiastic Bucket participants in almost every event – and the usual guardians of the back of the fleet. Sunday, her rating credits paid off and she was back at the dock before VICTORIA even finished. Congratulations GITANA!

The finishes that followed were extremely close. FREEDOM finished third, followed by the 138’ Alloy/DuBois sloop, DESTINATION. Three minutes later, SCHEHERAZADE finished fifth, followed less than a minute later by AVALON, then GITANA S&S ONE SECOND LATER! The close finishes ran through the entire fleet, with HYPERION finishing 10th, and METOLIUS only 5 seconds later. After another 3 minutes, Perini Navi NUMBERO UNO finished 12th, half a boatlength and 20 seconds ahead of ANDROMEDA LA DEA, which was ahead of the full-race SOJANA by only 13 seconds! Even at the back of the pack, the finishes between the 90’ Holland/Pendennis BOO TOO with MARIELLA 7 seconds later, followed by the 41 meter Jongert, INFATUATION 14 seconds later, VISIONE in 20th after another 6 seconds, REBECCA in 21st place 39 seconds later, then RANGER a minute later. Right through the fleet, this was good, close racing.

The Awards Cocktail Party was sponsored by Perini Navi, the Royal Huisman Shipyard, and Moet Hennessy. The fleet was split into two classes and for lack of a more definitive division the fleet was separated by the simple designation of – one mast or two. Among the Sloops, WILD HORSES placed third, DESTINATION FOX HARBOR placed second and METOLIUS was the winner. Among the ketches, S & S GITANA was third, SARIYAH placed second and FREEDOM OF FLIGHT was the winner.

In the overall results, third place was presented to SARIYAH, and second place was won by METOLIUS. Each were presented with a crystal bucket and gifted with a magnum of Moet & Chandon, by the event sponsors, Moet Hennessy.

The overall winner of this year’s St. Barths Bucket Regatta was the 38 meter S & S Ketch, FREEDOM. Sam Byrne and his erstwhile crew of 25 gave the stage a good structural test while being presented with the original St. Barths Bucket on which Freedom will be remembered, a crystal Bucket and a magnum of Moet & Chandon, which was fully utilized to soak down the entire crew, the Race Committee and all the remaining trophies. A great shower it was! In addition, Pascal Bony of Moet Hennessy presented a Special Edition magnum of Cognac to the winners.

There were a number of additional awards presented by the fleet and by our sponsors, all well deserved.

The Wolter Huisman Spirit of the Bucket Award was endowed this year by the Royal Huisman Shipyard, with “keeper” trophies for each of five years. This year it was an easy decision to present the award to Tom Taylor and AVALON, as they were among the originators of the very first Nantucket Bucket Regatta and have been enthusiastic supporters ever since.
The Perini Navi Cup was presented to ANDROMEDA LA DEA, for the best performance among the Perini Yachts in the fleet. This was a closely contested award for which the results changed right up to the finish of the last race.

Churchill Yacht Partners presented the Churchill Corinthian Cup, for outstanding boathandling and seamanship, to ZINGARO, aboard which they experienced a man overboard during Sunday’s spinnaker set, and affected a quick recovery. Churchill were also kind enough to gift the entire fleet with hats for all participants in the Bucket. Heartfelt thanks!

The UBS Trophy is an authentic (20 kilo) Swiss cow bell, presented each year to a yacht that makes an outstanding contribution to the event. This year we gratefully presented the UBS Trophy to the owner of RANGER, for his unflagging support for the event (results notwithstanding. . .).

The MAYOR’S TROPHY was presented by St. Barths Mayor, Bruno Magras, to the yacht that over the season has cultivated the best reciprocal relationship with the Capitainerie and the Island of St. Barths. This year’s inaugural award was presented to the owner of ATHENA and crew. In addition, Mayor Magras presented Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals of St. Barthelemy to the first, second and third place Bucket winners.

For the second year, the jeweler Diamond Genesis of St. Barths presented an elegant white gold St. Barths charm bracelet. This year, the obvious recipient was Alice Huisman, in recognition of Huisman’s interest and support of the Bucket, as well as for having created a number of the winners over the years.

Lastly, at the awards, the Bucket Race Committee presented a donation check to the St. Barths Yacht Club in the amount of €3,000, to be applied to their youth sailing program. The donation was gratefully received, further perpetuating the warm relationship between the Bucket Regatta participants and the community.

Other sponsors who were honored at the awards, for making the St. Barths Bucket possible were Alloy Yachts, UBS, Northrop and Johnson Yacht Brokerage, Marsh Insurance and Bartram and Brakenhoff. Without their generous support, the Race Committee would have been scratching their own wallets to make the event a reality. Thanks All!

And once again, in sum, the 2005 St. Barths Bucket Regatta passed the critical test. The Race Committee had a Ball!!

Fair Winds,
The Bucket Race Committee

Postscript:: We were fortunate to have some of the best marine photographers in the industry with us in St. Barths. So see a number of great photos, visit the following websites.

www.craigdavisphoto.com/bucket05-01
www.craigdavisphoto.com/bucket05-02
www.photoaction.com
www.billyblack.com

THE FLEET

ANDROMEDA LA DEA, 47M, Perini Navi
ATMOSPHERE, 53M Perini Navi
AVALON, 33M, Alloy Yachts BOO TOO, 28M, Holland/Pendennis
DESTINATION FOX HARBOR, 41M Alloy Yachts
FREEDOM OF FLIGHT, 38M S & S
GITANA, 36M Perini Navi
GITANA, 28M S & S, Camper Nicholson
HYPERION, 48M Royal Huisman
INFATUATION, 41M Jongert
LADY LAUREN, 40M Perini Navi
MARIELLA, 25M Classic Fife
METOLIUS, 26M Royal Huisman
MIRABELLA V, 75M Holland (unofficial)
NUMERO UNO, 39M Perini Navi
PERSEUS, 50M Perini Navi
RANGER, 42M J Class
REBECCA, 43M Frers/Pendennis
ROGUE, 31M
SARIYAH, 40M S & S/Sensation
SCHEHEREZADE, 48M Bruce King/Hodgdon
SOJANA, 38M Carbon Ketch
VICTORIA OF STRATHEARN, 36M Langan/Alloy
WHISPER, 36M Fontaine/Holland
WILD HORSES, 23M W Class Jachtbaou
VISIONE, 45M Custom Baltic
ZINGARO, 35M S & S/Derecktor