Press releases
Consistency Always Wins
“If you listen to the weather forecast, you’ll spend your life in the bistro,” as the famous French saying goes. The organizers of the St.Barth Cata Cup once again proved that one shouldn’t depend the previsions. Cautious this morning, they sent out the first race, followed by a second identical one, and finally a third, longer course, in the afternoon, taking the best advantage of every light wind available. Like yesterday, the conditions forced the sailors to display a great deal of concentration and finesse. A little consistency as well, as the rather unstable wind dealt some interesting hands. In this context, Australians Ruben Booth and Joan Costa (Kiton) proved the most constant, taking home “EDEN ROCK VILLA RENTAL” Prize, but in the previsionary standings, Belgians Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani (Les Perles de St-Barth) have the advantage, having sailing to victory in two of the three races.
After narrowly missing the top spot in the first race yesterday, Patrick Demesmaeker et Olivier Gagliani started their day today like they finished it, with a victory,
“We are very happy. The day was really great for us. In other words, when we are ahead, it’s always great!,” exclaims the helmsman Les Perles de St-Barth who once again, like the day before, was especially at ease with gaining speed in the light wind. “We sail very well with our spinnaker but petit temps, especially downwind. We sail just as well in the light conditions, but we can never assume it will be easy. There was quite a battle on the water and the boats were well distributed” explains the Belgian, who once again did a good job juggling the small waves and light breezes, even if he made a mistake in the second race. “At the start, we sailed to the left. We never saw the cloud on the right side of the race course. As a result we passed the first buoy in 30th place. That was really dumb on our part! Then we did all we could to catch up by we only made it to 16th place by the finish,” points out Patrick, who nonetheless limited the damage before a quick rebound in the third race of the day.
A Lot Of Shuffling
“We really thought about how we wanted to execute our plan to the letter. We just had a little difficulty by Ile Chevreau, as being in front we didn’t see whether we should stay close or go father out. As we couldn’t control the fleet, one of our competitors passed us but we managed well after that, and once again took the lead,” explains the new leader in the provisional standings, just beat by the tandem of Ruben Booth – Joan Costa (Kiton) who win the Grand Prix “EDEN ROCK VILLA RENTAL.” “We eventually had the best day with 3rd, 1st, and 13th places, proving its not so easy to remain constant. The conditions were very unstable, especially during the last race as the wind had dropped. In the overall listing we paid a little for our counter-performance yesterday (22e, ndlr). We have certainly already played our joker, but we have not put in our final word. We still have more cards to play this week,” notes the young Australian who was F18 World Champion with his father Mitch in 2021, aided by one of Nacra 15, Nacra 17, and F18.
Changes On The Horizon
Same story for Matthieu Marfaing and Lena Marie Weisskichel (King Ocean), one of the only teams to finish all three races in the Top 10 on Friday. “We are satisfied as the conditions were rather difficult but also because it was only our third day of sailing together. It’s really fun to sail on a mixed team. As a result we try to do everything with a little more finesse. It’s really interesting!,” notes the Réunionnais, who earned his stripes in the 49er FX class, and is involved in the Majenta Project, an un international network striving to integrate more women into large-scale sailing projects. “We saw yesterday, and confirmed today, that the slightest error was costly in this 16th edition of the St.Barth Cata Cup, which is not surprising given the level of the competition. To be in front, you have to be 100% all the time and not get annoyed, which is not always easy in such erratic light wind. Tomorrow the competition will look different as there will be more wind. Certain competitors will disappear while others will reappear in the top positions!,” says the skipper of King Ocean. He could be right; there are big names such Gurvan Bontemps & Benjamin Amiot (Stickerman 2), Cruz Gonzales Smith & Mariano Heuser (Centre Auto), and Agustin Krevisky & Juan Martin Bentez (Design Affairs OO1) who are all waiting in the wings to upset the hierarchy established after the first two days of the regatta!
Schedule, Saturday, November 23:
- 9:30am “St Barth Assurances Allianz” Prize
- 7:30pm Results of the “St Barth Assurances Allianz” Prize
- 9:30pm Free concert open to the public with the band Youth Waves at GypSea restaurant
All results on stbarthcatacup.com
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23/11/2024
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!
22/11/2024
“If you listen to the weather forecast, you’ll spend your life in the bistro,” as the famous French saying goes. The organizers of the St.Barth Cata Cup once again proved that one shouldn’t depend the previsions. Cautious this morning, they sent out the first race, followed by a second identical one, and finally a third, longer course, in the afternoon, taking the best advantage of every light wind available. Like yesterday, the conditions forced the sailors to display a great deal of concentration and finesse. A little consistency as well, as the rather unstable wind dealt some interesting hands. In this context, Australians Ruben Booth and Joan Costa (Kiton) proved the most constant, taking home “EDEN ROCK VILLA RENTAL” Prize, but in the previsionary standings, Belgians Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani (Les Perles de St-Barth) have the advantage, having sailing to victory in two of the three races.
21/11/2024
In spite of rather pessimistic weather predictions for Thursday, November 21, the organizers of the 16th edition of the St.Barth Cata Cup did everything possible to make the best of light wind. As a result, they didn't miss the only small window of opportunity of the day, enabling the 53 crews in the competition to complete their first race between Saint Jean Bay and Roche Le Boeuf. It was a particularly tactical leg, which did not rattle the favorites. As proof, Spaniards Pablo Völker and Federico Polimeni (Saint-Barth Assurances) sailed to victory. However, these reigning Formula 18 world champions had their work cut out for them. Under pressure in the final lengths by Belgians Patrick Demesmaeker and Olivier Gagliani (Les Perles de St-Barth), they won by a nose!
20/11/2024
After the final day of training on Wednesday, the 54 duos registered for the 16th edition of the St.Barth Cata Cup are anxious to enter into the action, yet it seems as if the first races could be extremely tactical. If we are to believe the weather forecast, it is probable that the first confrontations will take place with very light wind, requiring a great deal of finesse on the part of the sailors. One hopes this does not mean that the first races must be postponed due to an insufficient amount of wind to ensure good racing conditions. It that scenario were to play out, it was be a first since the debut of the regatta in 2008. At the moment, the competitors are not too worried and are hoping for a pleasant surprise as the weather forecast has been far from reality most of the past week!
15/11/2024
In just one week, the starting signal for the 16th edition of the St. Barth Cata Cup will be given. As of now, no fewer than 54 teams are registered for the competition, including Pablo Völker and Federico Polimeni, the Spanish sailors who won gold at the Formula 18 World Championships last July. Participating together in the event for the very first time, they will face the top specialists of the class, most of whom are seasoned veterans of the event. In this context, will they manage to display the same dominance on the Caribbean waters from November 21 to 24 as they did on the Costa Brava last summer? That remains to be seen. Firstly, because the race format—characterized by long-distance courses—is quite unique; secondly, because the sailing area around Saint-Barthélemy is extremely technical and full of pitfalls; and finally, because there are many competitors aiming to succeed the Americans Ravi Parent and Nicholas Lovisa, starting with Parent and Lovisa themselves!
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