Taking on Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez: A sailing novice’s view from the start line

From the start line to Saint-Tropez’s late-night haunts, Holly Margerrison joins the crew of a Wally sailing yacht to discover how Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez has evolved into as much a social gathering for the superyacht world as it is a serious sailing competition... 

Learning the ropes

It is the final day of racing at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, and I am sitting on the rails of the 30.6-metre Wally Vantanera, waiting for the start.

It has already been a busy week. This morning, we've been put through a brief training session to learn our roles on board. Everyone has a job. There is the crew working the winches and sails, with willing guests responding to clipped commands of “TRIM” and “HOLD” on the push-button winches; for others, it means running from one side of the boat to the other during a tack or gybe, ducking beneath lines and getting legs over the railings as the yacht changes direction. 

The more experienced sailors have rather more consequential jobs, from helming and trimming sails to managing and pulling the kite as the boat accelerates. You have to learn quickly where to stand, when to move and, most importantly, when not to get in the way. 

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Vantanera

Credit: Studio Borlenghi

We have not even started racing and Vantanera is already alive beneath us. The yacht heels as the sails take the breeze, while the winches creak under the strain. The wind is hovering around the 10 knots we have seen for much of the week, but there is more swell today. Each wave sends a thrum through the hull, adding a final-day adrenaline rush to the anticipation.

Above us, helicopters circle the start area, their blades beating the air. Press boats and spectator RIBs thread between the yachts, engines adding another layer to the noise. There is also the slightly less serious business of looking good for the cameras: are we all sitting the right way? Does everyone have their legs crossed in the same direction? Does the race kit look presentable?

Then the three J Class yachts begin circling the start line. With only a handful of J Class yachts actively racing, seeing three together at close quarters is an unusual spectacle. Vitters ' 43.6-metre Svea,  Holland Jachtbouw's 40-metre Rainbow and the 42.1-metre Royal Huisman Hanuman are enormous, unmistakable presences even among a fleet of Maxis, their long hulls and towering rigs making the start line feel suddenly smaller. There is something particularly striking about seeing these yachts – built around designs from another era but raced with all the intensity of modern competition – fighting for position before the gun.

The sight is all the more remarkable because these yachts are rarely gathered in such numbers. A fourth J Class, the 36.4-metre Camper & Nicholsons Shamrock V from the 1930s, is anchored in Saint-Tropez, adding another layer to an unusually strong gathering of the class. The boats may be historic in origin, but the appetite to race them is anything but nostalgic: a newer generation of owners is increasingly drawn to the J Class as sailing machines rather than simply pieces of maritime heritage.

On Vantanera, meanwhile, the group around me is a mixture of experienced sailing enthusiasts and guests who, like me, are learning on the job. There is little reason to feel nervous. At the helm is Captain Oliver Kobale, who has logged more than 150,000 offshore miles, competed in two Ocean Race campaigns and crossed the Atlantic 12 times. First mate William Turner has represented Bermuda at the Youth America's Cup and continues to race professionally. In other words, if something goes wrong, I am very much in safe hands.

As we wait for our start time, the scale of the event begins to sink in. From the deck, Saint-Tropez is almost incidental. The harbour, hills and waterfront are the backdrop to a race involving some of the world's most sophisticated sailing yachts.

There is no doubt that the racing is still at the heart of Les Voiles. The 2026 edition brought together more than 260 boats, including almost 50 Maxis, while the aforementioned J Class added another layer to an already extraordinary fleet. But the start line only tells part of the story.

Beyond the start line

Spend a week in Saint-Tropez during the regatta, and another picture emerges: of owners, racing crew, charter guests, brokers and general yacht enthusiasts gathering around the event whether or not they have a place on the start line.

That social side is in evidence from the very first evening, when BOAT International's Owners' Club welcomes around 50 guests to its annual Saint-Tropez Sundowners event on board the historic 59-metre Marala. Originally launched in 1931 by Camper & Nicholsons, the classic yacht provides an appropriately storied setting for a gathering that brings together owners both racing and cruising, as well as those simply in town to soak up the atmosphere.

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The Owners’ Club Saint-Tropez Sundowners 2026 on board Marala

Jacques Heymann, rotational captain on a 90-metre Oceanco, is one of the guests taking part in the racing. More accustomed to the motor yacht world, his yacht is currently undergoing maintenance work at a nearby yard. He tells me the close-up experience of the racing is a different proposition.

“On a motor yacht, I would usually be anchored on the periphery of the regatta and have limited exposure to the action,” he says. “But being able to experience the thrill of racing large, high-performance sailing yachts in close proximity, and being thrust into the action and adrenaline on deck during the manoeuvres, really highlights how special this event is.”

For Heymann, the opportunity to share the experience with industry colleagues, meet new people and see professional race crews tackle technically challenging manoeuvres is a particular highlight. He is already planning to return next year.

That wider superyacht scene is also impossible to miss. At anchor throughout the week is an ever-changing collection of motor yachts: one minute the new 25.5-metre Sanlorenzo Heritage SHE, fresh from her Cannes Yachting Festival debut, the next the 32-metre Jemison Marine converted fishing trawler Pink Shrimp or the 58.8-metre J&K Smit yacht Seawolf.

A different kind of charter

For charter guests, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez offers several different options: a charter around Les Voiles offers a front-row seat to the racing alongside the wider Saint-Tropez experience. Guests can follow the fleet from the water, join the shore-side events or even take part in the competition themselves.

“At almost every regatta, we meet people who are surprised that a yacht like Vantanera is actually available for charter,” says Konstantin Kobale, CEO of Kora Yachts and the yacht's owner. “Our offering is quite unique, and we’ve developed a programme that allows guests of all sailing experience levels to become an integral part of the racing crew. It’s about experiencing the incredible performance of these yachts firsthand and gaining a real insight into professional sailing.

“Watching and participating are two completely different things – it’s like stepping into a Formula 1 car rather than simply watching it race around the track.”

Kora's programme takes Vantanera to major regattas including the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Antigua Superyacht Challenge and the St Barths Bucket, as well as Les Voiles. The idea is to offer more than a ringside view: guests can become part of the crew, learning how a racing yacht operates while experiencing the competition from the deck. 

I also got talking to Tatiana Luna, charter broker at  Bernard Gallay Yacht Brokerage (BGYB), during the regatta. Her perspective brought the wider appeal of sailing events into focus, particularly the opportunity to bring together experienced racers and guests who are new to the sport.

“At BGYB, we specialise in sailing events. Most of our team comes from a racing background and, although we have all types of charter boats, we hold a special passion for taking part in regattas,” she says. 

“Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in particular is a favourite, bringing the classic yachts and the modern fleet together. Being able to offer this experience to clients who are either seasoned sailors or just want a first experience as a spectator is a privilege.”

It is an interesting blurring of the lines between racing yacht and hospitality platform. A yacht can be competing one day, carrying guests the next and serving as a base from which to experience the social side of the event throughout the week. The idea also helps explain why an event that began with sailing at its core has developed such a broad orbit.

When the racing stops... and the night begins

That is perhaps most obvious as the week progresses, where days dominated by racing and crews focused on starts, tactics and conditions shift to an altogether different pace ashore. The midweek lay day provides breathing space – or, more likely, an opportunity to blow off some steam in a buzzy Saint-Tropez – before crews lock back in for the final days of competition.

Naturally, the day does not end when the last yacht crosses the finish line. On land, the Saint-Tropez social scene is a sailor's dream. If you lean into it, the night might just let you in on its secrets; the unassuming – albeit beautifully tiled – entrance to the fish market could easily be missed, but by nightfall it becomes a gateway to oyster counters, high tables and buckets of cold, crisp rosé.

It is easy to walk straight past. One evening, a guest from the Owners' Club reception links my arm and guides me away from the group. I feel like Harry Potter the first time Hagrid taps his umbrella against the brick wall and Diagon Alley unfolds before him. Here, salty sailors mingle with the Saint-Tropez set: crew still in team kit, owners, brokers and the wider coterie that descends on the town for the week.

And should freshly shucked oysters not quite satisfy the salty sailor's cravings, crew can often be found lining the streets – Guinness-in-hand – outside Kelly's Irish pub, with a döner kebab shack conveniently next-door for end-of-the-night recovery. Owners and those looking for a more polished evening have the usual Saint-Tropez repertoire, from beach clubs to an immersive, dance-on-the-tables dinner at L'Opera or the failsafe Café de Paris for a cocktail (or three).

Then there is the onshore hospitality that springs up specifically for Les Voiles: the official crew party and the fancy-dress parade, Wally's "Crazy Wally" takeover at Italian restaurant Crazy Pizza and the various brands' gatherings that fill the diary between races. It is a world away from the concentration of the start line, but it is no less important to the experience.

The result is a curious duality; Les Voiles is a serious sailing competition populated by highly experienced sailors, but it is also serves as an event that brings together industry figures who make up this particular corner of the superyacht world. 

At the end of each day, I ask how we performed and where we ranked. Unsurprisingly, we are not among the winning yachts, but that is hardly the point on a yacht operating as a charter platform with guests of mixed abilities. We are, of course, competitive as a team, but the leaderboard feels secondary to the experience itself: learning the ropes, being part of the race and, ultimately, having a lot of fun along the way.

I like to think I straddle that space somewhere in the middle: immersed in the superyacht world, while learning my way around the sailing industry – at least I can now trim, hold, run and pull the spinnaker without too much prompting. I am certainly familiar with the social side of the equation. It might just take a few more regattas before I can keep up with the Guinness consumption.