Svea are the toast of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez

As the showcase Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez concluded today in beautiful racing conditions, Svea maintained their remarkable winning record, winning the J Class to remain unbeaten at every regatta that they have raced since the powerful Tore Holm design moved to Swedish ownership in 2022.

But they had to work extra hard to retain the J Class’s premier trophy, the Corinthian King’s Cup, triumphing only on tie break against newcomers to the class this year, Peter Harrison’s Rainbow.  

In perfect conditions, 10-12 knots of breeze and a pleasant, warm Autumn sunshine, Italian Giovanni Lombardi Stronati steered his recently acquired Hanuman to win the prestigious annual regatta’s final race. 

Svea pushed hard 

Svea’s second place was enough to give them the title, but they seemed to make it hard for themselves when a spinnaker wrap at the first top mark cost them minutes. But they rallied and then did not put a foot wrong under intense pressure to keep their main title rivals Rainbow behind them. 

Both teams, Svea and Rainbow, finish on the same nine points aggregate. Svea count three firsts a second place and a DNF – Did Not Finish – from a two race day when they broke their halyard lock box and could not finish either race. Rainbow count four second places and a first. 

Hanuman took third at their first J Class event as a crew, finishing on a high note with an accomplished victory earned from a perfectly timed pin end start. They showed huge potential as befits a crew which is a mix of successful TP52, Maxi and America’s Cup sailors, some with many years of J Class experience. 

Closer still! 

The race was probably the most exciting and closest the J Class has seen for some years, hopefully a taste of what is to come next year when there are high hopes that there will be four boats competing in the Med. 

“It really went down to the last gybe!” Enthused Niklas Zennström who alternated steering races with co-owner Filip Engelbert, “This year the class has got more competitive and there was really not much in it. We are very, very pleased. We have sailed the boat longer, even if we did not race last year, we still had a very strong core crew and we know our boat very well, we sailed strongly especially in a straight line but Rainbow and Hanuman are fast boats and they are learning fast, we could see them on their learning curve, getting better all the time.” 

Svea’s long serving boat captain Paul ‘PK’ Kelly was delighted with the team’s success. 

“We had that wrap with the kite sheets, there was nothing we could do but drop it and re run the sheets and hoist it again. My heart rate was through the roof and had visions of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It is so close, so very close, as it should be. It is amazing for us. It is amazing for the class after years of not really being pushed that hard. I think the class has not been a better place for many years than it is right now. That said we have sailed better, these last two races there were some nerves, people get jittery. The pressure was on us. The boat is going really fast and we have this high mode which we have worked on for some years and that really makes the difference.” 
 
Svea have now won the trophy four times, in 2022 and 2023 in Porto Cervo, Sardinia and in 2024 in Palma

To the sound of traditional cannon salutes Rainbow’s new owner Harrison returned to the dock in Saint Tropez Vieux Port wearing a huge smile, “Overall we had a great week, we are sailing the boat much better than we did in Palma, it is only our second regatta together and so to finish equal on points with Svea who are seasoned campaigners, we are really pleased.” 

Ben Saxton, strategist on Rainbow, summed up, “We have had an amazing week. We came into the last day with a chance to win it, we were a lot closer than at The Superyacht Cup Palma Richard Mille. Svea are a nice high bar for us to aim at, they kind of opened the door for us a little bit but we just did not quite manage to get there. We have had an excellent week and really did give it our best shot. Our boat handling is good now, we have a really powerful squad on here and we are getting faster and faster, but the Svea guys sail well and so do Hanuman.” 

And Hanuman’s Vasco Vascotto remarked, “Day 7 of our process in a J Class and winning a race like that we have to be happy. It has been a great week for us, learning a little more every day. At least we are not far away. The start was good, the other guys were having a little match racing and so we tried to have a really nice, fast start at the pin and we did that.” 

It was a fitting finale and sees the J Class in a pleasingly strong position looking forward, with three boats now sailed by enthusiastic dedicated owners who have a vision for the future and solid plans for next year, aiming to grow the class again. 

Secretary of the J Class Louise Morton concluded, “Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez has been the perfect event for our three J Class teams to return to proper fleet racing for the first time for some years, especially welcoming two new teams this season on Rainbow and Hanuman.  Racing has been close all week and all the teams have enjoyed some time at the front of the fleet. It was fitting that the final today was the tightest racing of the week in some of the best conditions. Race management has been up to the high level we expect. As usual, the atmosphere on shore has been truly unique too, with the Js taking centre stage.”

Race 6 Results

1 J K-6 Hanuman

2 J S-1 Svea +13 secs

3 J H-2 Rainbow +49 secs

Final standings

1 J S-1 Svea 9pts 1, (DNF 4) DNF 4, 1,1,2

2 J H-2 Rainbow 9pts 2,1,2,2,2 (3)

3 J K-6 Hanuman 10pts (3), 2,1,3,3,1