This year, 35 yachts will be racing, and 2010 is going to be an «Annus Mirabilis»(wonderful year) for the Régates Impériales by Schweppes.

Among the newcomers, 'Samarkand' and 'Giraglia' are, for the first time, joining the fleet. 'Moonbeam of Fife', 'Moonbeam IV', 'Lulu', 'Vistona', are participating in the Epoch class. Other outstanding guests could be the beautiful 15 Metre's 'Mariska' and 'Tuiga'.
Among the Marconi there will be 'The Blue Peter', 'Havsörnen', 'Oiseau de feu', 'Nagaina', 'Irina VII', 'Eilidh', 'Rowdy', 'Hallowe'en', who will enjoy competitive racing to win the awards. Many Classic Marconi yachts are also joining: 'Yen Li', 'Jericho', 'Cervantes','White Dolphin' are among them. Last but not least, in the Spirit of Tradition class, the Regates Imperiales fleet is greeting the 'Tofinou'; 6 of them will race in a promising challenge from the May 24th to the May 30th.

Entry List

Epoque Aurique (Epoch Class): Moonbeam IV (33m), Moonbeam Of Fife (27m), Mariska (26m), Tuiga (26m),Vistona (17m), Lulu (14m) .

Epoque Marconi (Marconi Epoch class): Oiseau de Feu (22m), The Blue Peter (20m), Rowdy (20m), Nagaina (17m), Havsornen (16m), Sonda*(14m), Irina VII (17m), Hygie*(23m), Eilidh* (20m), Hallowe'en (25m).

Classique Marconi (Classic Marconi Class): White Dolphin (21m), Jericho (16m), Cervantes (14m), Yen Li (11m), Swanee (11m), Timia* (11m), Samarkand (20m), Giraglia (11m), Trumpeter* (15m)...

Esprit de tradition (Spirit of Tradition Class): Vortex (20m), Serena (14m), Paihere (13m), Blue Of Methylène (11m)

Tofinou : Hounbonne II, Bambou + 4

*Boats who have not confirmed their registration by April 29th, 2010.

Caribbean

21st – 24th January St. Maarten-St. Martin Classic Yacht Regatta
www.classicregatta.com

15th – 20th April Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
www.antiguaclassics.com



Mediterranean



14th-18th April Hublot PalmaVela – Palma, Mallorca
www.palmavela.es

24th-29th May Regates Imperiales, Ajaccio, Corsica
www.regates-imperiales.com

30th May – 1st June Coupe de Printemps du Yacht Club de France – Ajaccio-Antibes www.ycf-club.fr

2nd-6th June Les Voiles D’Antibes, France
www.voilesdantibes.com

11th-13th June Porquerolles Classique, Porquerolles
yachtclub-porquerolles@wanadoo.fr

17th-20th June Les Voiles Du Vieux Port, Marseille
www.lesvoilesduvieuxport.com

26th June-8th July Trophee Bailli De Suffren, St Tropez – Italy – Malta
www.tropheebaillidesuffren.com / www.snst.org

25th-29th August Copa Del Rey, Mahon

8th-12th September Vele d'Epoca di Imperia, Italy

20th-25th September Regates Royales, Cannes
www.regatesroyales.com

26th September Coupe D’Automne Du Yacht Club De France, Cannes-St Tropez www.ycf-club.fr

26th September-3rd October Les Voiles De St. Tropez
www.snst.org

14th-17th October Vele Storiche Viareggio, Italy
www.velestoricheviareggio.org

For any further information , please contact;

Laurence Polli
F/6, Teviotdale
3 Kirkvale Court,
Newton Mearns,
Glasgow G77 5HL
0141 639 2917

One felt the classic fleet at the fifth edition of the HUBLOT Palma Vela was a little low in attendance but the fluky breeze and competitive racing, in addition to the shore-side entertainment, made the first major Mediterranean regatta of the year a success.

---Moonbeam IV(above) powered up at the head of the fleet---
In the Vintage class the 105’(32m) Moonbeam IV sailed down from France and joined two other beautiful gaff cutters, Marigan and Ilex. The Bermudan ketch, Enterprise and the schooner, Freda, completed the class.

Argos, Snipe IV, Merengue IV and the ‘King’s yacht’, Giraldilla, made up the Classic division and all sat beautifully stern-to the Real Club Nautico terrace.

Racing on the Friday started in about 12 knots of breeze with Enterprise rounding the windward mark first due to her superior pointing ability. Marigan didn’t have the best start but found a convenient wind shift up the right hand side of the course enabling her to round the mark shortly after Moonbeam IV (Moonbeam IV sporting a tiny jib inappropriate for the conditions). Ilex and Freda followed. With the wind so fickle the downwind leg became a light upwind parade of sail to the southwest corner of the bay followed by a close-hauled sail back to the finish. ---On board Marigan(above)--- ---Ilex and Marigan battle it out(below)---

Saturday brought light airs again in a course that stretched out to the east of the bay with a gate enabling the results to be divided into two races. There was some great sailing on a close reach between Ilex and Marigan. Ilex was happily pulling away under main, topsail and headsails until the decision was made to hoist the gennaker. Marigan closed the gap keeping high, and over a mile or so gradually sailed above the frustrated Ilex crew. Their subsequent gennaker tack-line failure at the next mark increased the gap irreparably.


During the evening there was a chance to ‘taste’ Mahou beer, Codorniu Cava (with clever plastic funnels that allowed crew to drink straight from the bottles) and local wine from the José Luís Ferrer Bodegas of Binissalem. There were incredible giant sized paella-looking dishes, advertised as a ‘Mallorcan style dinner’ that, depending on which one you were served, had chicken or meatballs……and a lot of potatoes! A local band, ‘Funky Time’ provided the music and ambiance for the night’s antics.


Sunday’s hangovers brought further fickle breeze with a course similar to that of Friday and having Nespresso as a sponsor proved beneficial for many of the crew. Moonbeam and Freda had dropped out, Moonbeam having to return to France before the mistral set in and perhaps had to search for their missing jib! The three forecasts in Real Club Nautico all displayed conflicting wind directions and speeds, and those who didn’t look ahead on the racecourse were going to lose out. The downwind leg turned into a beat and the final mile to the finish had the over-canvassed rigs straining against a fresh 15-kn land breeze. Enterprise, Ilex, Argos and Giraldilla all had excellent sails.
---Giradilla taking it easy(below)---

Prize giving rounded the regatta up perfectly with further complementary drinks and eats. Hublot watches were presented to those who came first and maybe appropriately Nespresso machines for second place.

For final results see below:


HUBLOT PALMAVELA 2009 - CLASSIC
Pos Yacht Year Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Total Points
1 Argos 1964 1 1 1 1 4
2 Giraldilla 1962 3 3 2 2 10
3 Merengue IV 1964 2 2 3 3 10
4 Snipe IV 1952 4 4 4 4 16



HUBLOT PALMA VELA 2009 - VINTAGE
Pos Yacht Year Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Total Points
1 Marigan 1898 1 1 1 3 6
2 Enterprise 1939 2 2 2 1 7
3 Ilex 1899 3 3 3 2 11
4 Moonbeam IV 1914 4 4 4 6 18
5 Freda 1978 5 6 6 6 23
---The beautiful Livingstone design, Marigan---

Mediterranean Regatta Dates - 2009

The 2009 Mediterranean season is around the corner and despite the credit crunch the classic regatta circuit continuies to pull in our favourite classics. Below is a list of the main events.

(To be listed please e-mail details to regatta@classicyacht.info)


15th – 19th April PalmaVela www.palmavela.es

7th – 10th May Voile Latines (Saint Tropez) www.snst.org

25th – 31st May Ajaccio, Corsica www.regates-imperiales.com

3rd – 7th June Les Voiles D’Antibes www.voilesdantibes.com

12th – 14th June Porquerolles’ Classic
E-mail: yachtclub-porquerolles@wanadoo.fr

Mid June Argentario Sailing Week www.ycss.it/argentariosailingweek.htm

18th – 21st June Les Voiles Du Vieux Port, Marseille www.lanautique.com

27th June – 9th July Trophee du Bailli de Suffren(St Tropez – Malta) www.snst.org / www.tropheebaillidesuffren.com

July Barcelona Classic Week

Mid-late August Mahon www.clubmaritimomahon.com

17th – 23rd August XXV Almirante Conde De Barcelona Trophy, Palma, Mallorca www.fundacionhispania.org

Early September Porto Rotondo, Sardinia www.ycpr.it

16th – 20th September Monaco Classic Week www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

21st – 26th September Regates Royales – Cannes www.regatesroyales.com

27th September Cannes – St Tropez feeder race www.ycf-club.fr

27th September – 4th October Les Voiles de Saint Tropez www.snst.org

15th – 19th April PalmaVela www.palmavela.es

7th – 10th May Voile Latines (Saint Tropez) www.snst.org

25th – 31st May Ajaccio, Corsica www.regates-imperiales.com

3rd – 7th June Les Voiles D’Antibes www.voilesdantibes.com

12th – 14th June Porquerolles’ Classic
E-mail: yachtclub-porquerolles@wanadoo.fr

Mid June Argentario Sailing Week www.ycss.it/argentariosailingweek.htm

18th – 21st June Les Voiles Du Vieux Port, Marseille www.lanautique.com

27th June – 9th July Trophee du Bailli de Suffren(St Tropez – Malta) www.snst.org / www.tropheebaillidesuffren.com

July Barcelon Classic Week

Mid-late August Mahon www.clubmaritimomahon.com

17th – 23rd August XXV Almirante Conde De Barcelona Trophy, Palma, Mallorca www.fundacionhispania.org


Early September Porto Rotondo, Sardinia www.ycpr.it

16th – 20th September Monaco Classic Week www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

21st – 26th September Regates Royales – Cannes www.regatesroyales.com

27th September Cannes – St Tropez feeder race www.ycf-club.fr

27th September – 4th October Les Voiles de Saint Tropez www.snst.org