The St. Barts Bucket Race
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One of the most popular and prestigious invitational sailing yacht races is St. Barts Bucket race in the Caribbean, generally held in March. During this event, you will see a variety of beautiful sailboat brands, luxury yachts and superyachts – all in one place, which makes quite a spectacle. Perini Navi, Pendennis, Fitzroy, Dubois, Alloy Yachts, Holland Jachtbouw, Baltic, Palmer Johnson, Farr, Vitters, J Boat, Royal Denship, Royal Huisman – you name it, classic and contemporary, all the yacht designs and builds can be seen at the race. The invitational regatta is held along the island of St. Barthelemy or St. Barth in French or St. Barts in English for short. Marine Photography by Tim Wright.
What Is St. Barts bucket Race?
St. Barts Bucket Race is an invitational regatta and is especially known for the spirit and demeanor the racers almost automatically take on during the race: they race merely for the love of sailing yachts.
St. Barts Bucket Race usually limits its participants to a maximum of 30 yachts and each one must have a length over all (LOA) of a hundred or more feet. But being a bucket regatta, whose foremost concern is fun, authorities usually forego the fastidiousness of formal LOA measurements and often make allowances for the inputs in the Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) of participants. This is a truly fun and carefree yacht race where yacht owners and crews can experiment on the capabilities of their yacht without worries.
For this event, you can charter yachts or bring your own. The entire event is chiefly 3 full days of sailing where the starting point is usually held at Port Gustavia, which at the time of the event will be exclusively reserved for the yachts to dock on.
Interesting Rules:
• Essentially, this regatta is a pursuit race so some slower yachts may start first. Of course, the first yacht to cross the finish line is the winner.
• In starting, all yachts will have to rely on sail power only (except when power is needed to steer clear of other yachts).
• If any yachts start ahead of time, 5 minutes will simply be added to their elapsed time because recalls are not allowed.
• Those who maneuver and handle their yachts out of the congenial spirit, meaning they are being too competitive and aggressive, will be excluded from the race.
• Teams and crews can make protests especially as long as it will come with champagne!
This year’s bucket race ended with three yachts finishing almost at the same time. Just like in the race conclusions of the past three years, it ended with party, party, party while giving charity concert and a large donation to the island’s hospital.
Where Is St. Barts?
St. Barts Island is located located approximately 250 km east of Puerto Rico and is one of the Leeward Islands, a part of the West Indies, in the Caribbean. It holds 20 sparkling beaches, most of which are breathtakingly beautiful white sand coves where most of the luxurious island resorts are nestled.
Being famous for each beaches and great cruising areas, you can find many yacht rental establishments; you can charter yachts, or get a first-hand inspection on many yachts for sale if you plan to purchase one at St. Barts.
St. Barts has been visited regularly by many people not only because of its white sand beaches but also because of its fine dining experiences, chic shopping areas, and of course, its yacht racing events. One particularly prominent yacht racing event is the invitational regatta, the St. Barts bucket race.
List of yachts which have performed include:
Altair 125' Fife
Andromeda La Dea 154' Perini Navi
Antara 154' Perini Navi
Avalon 108' Southern Pacific Yachts
Axia 124' S & S
Cyclos III 139' Royal Huisman
Freedom 124' Picciotti
Gliss 105' Royal Huisman
Helios 148' Perini Navi
Hyperion 156' Royal Huisman
Kaori 118' Palmer Johnson
Leopard 3 100' Farr Design
Mystere 145' Vitters Shipyard
Paraiso 108' Alloy Yachts
Patient Falcon 93' Able Marine
Perseus 163' Perini Navi
Ranger 137' J Boat
Rebecca 141' Pendennis
Salperton 144' Dubois/Fitzroy Yachts
Sea Quell 112' Alloy Yachts
Sojana 115' Custom Farr Ketch
Symmetry 96' Yachting Development
Tenacious 115' Trident Shipworks
Visione 148' Baltic
Whitehawk 105' O. Lie Nielson
Wild Horses 76' Brooklin Boat Yard
Windcrest 98' Hodgdon Yachts
Windrose 152' Holland Jachtbouw
Zanzibar 103' Treahard
