Saint-Tropez tome

“This is a strange sporting contest, having its own rules that are only known to us, but which are shared by all who understand that sailing is an adventure, a game, and, above all, a pleasure,” states Patrice de Colmont, founder of the Nioulargue, in the book’s foreword.

For centuries, the Mediterranean’s glistening surface has been a watery wonderland where teams compete in epic battles for glory and honour. Indeed, regattas are more than just a sporting contest; they celebrate maritime passion and a venerable heritage.

It is not so much about winning as defending honour: an honour born of making decisions on the high seas, of facing up to the whims of the often-unpredictable Mediterranean.

Dick and Celia Jayson, an American couple, arrived in Saint-Tropez in September 1981 aboard Pride, their 13.41-metre Swan 44. They went to the already famous Club 55 for lunch, where they immediately hit it off with the owner, Patrice de Colmont.

After the two of them met with skipper Jean Laurain, the trio imagined a route on a road map; the race would start from the Portalet tower and finish up at Club 55 via the Nioulargue, from the Provençal word for “nest of the open sea”, and whoever was fastest would take home the trophy.

The next day’s headline in the newspaper Var Matin proclaimed: “A new America’s Cup is born!” The Nioulargue was born.

Renamed the Voiles de Saint-Tropez in 1999, it is now the first sailing event on the Mediterranean coast, in which more than 250 boats participate each year. The annual event brings together on the same stretch of water classic boats, some of which are over a hundred years old, and modern boats among the most beautiful in the world, anchoring along the way the quaint town of Saint-Tropez as the region’s premier sailing destination.

The first in-depth volume to celebrate the race, this book has been developed in close partnership with Patrice de Colmont.

In a thoughtful foreword, he shares some of his most precious memories from the past decades, taking readers on a unique journey to the South of France. With unique photography by maritime photographer Guillaume Plisson and exclusive testimonies from international figures of the yachting industry such as Luca Bassani, Éric Tabarly, and Bruno Troublé, Saint-Tropez Yachting is the ultimate celebration of the French Riviera yachting scene.

The 328-page book contains more than 200 illustrations. RRP US$120 – €120 – £100.

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