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The Best Really Big Boat Racing

Remember when an 80-ft boat was a ‘maxi’? These days the likes of the spectacular Frers/Vitters 151 Unfurled is what passes for a mid-size big boat. 

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©2017Latitude 38 Media, LLC

The 30th St. Barth Bucket, an invitational regatta for 38 boats between 100 and 289 feet, was about as fine as it could be. The fleets, the sailing conditions and the social activities were all superb. And just about everybody who is anybody in the world of sailing had been flown in from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, the Northeast, California — wherever.

Six of the 38 yachts were super-competitive J Class yachts between 135 and 143 feet, the largest collection of J Class boats in history. The always-competitive Velsheda did well in the windward-leeward races, and only had to keep Jim Clark’s Hanuman from winning the final two ‘coastal races’ to take honors. But with Ken Read driving and the Bay Area’s all-world navigator Stan Honey calling the shots, Hanuman pulled off the needed two bullets to win the tie-breaker.

Many of the spectators on ‘ti Profligate thought the 180-ft schooner Elena of London was the most beautiful in the 38-boat fleet. 

latitude/Richard
©2017Latitude 38 Media, LLC

The rest of the fleet was broken up into five divisions, depending on the size and type of boat. You’re probably not familiar with any of them, as they mostly sail between the Med and the Caribbean, but they were all spectacular. Some are more racy, such as the Farr 100 Leopard of London and the Baltic 145 Visione. But even the bigger and more lumbering Perini-Navis went at it with a will. One of them, Perseus 3, flew the biggest spinnaker in the world, well over half an acre! That’s 37 times the size of a spinnaker on an Olson 30.

The 289-ft Maltese Falcon, built for the late Tom Perkins of Belvedere, looked impressive on a reach. 

latitude/Richard
©2017Latitude 38 Media, LLC

If the truth be told, we think the Bucket is one of the rare occasions when we’d rather spectate than sail. The boats and sails are just that fantastic. And they were all very well sailed. As Mike and Robin Stout of the Redondo Beach-based Aleutian 51 Mermaid said, "You just can’t appreciate how huge these boats are until you see them in person." They meant to stay for one day, but stayed for the entire event. They are now thinking of moving up to a 185-footer and competing in next year’s Bucket. (Just kidding.)

No matter what kind of rig is your favorite, there was a great yacht in the Bucket for you. The schooner at left is the 180-ft Adela, driven by the one and only Shag Morton. The boat in the center is the 150-ft Hoek/Huisman Elfje, which was our favorite boat in the regatta. Her crew picked up a crew member who’d fallen overboard from the 150-ft Ganesha, a boat that, unlike the J Class yachts, had lifelines. 

latitude/Richard
©2017Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Also enjoying the event from the Wanderer’s 45-ft catamaran, ‘ti Profligate, was Jim ‘Twinger’ Tantillo and extended family and friends. Twinger, who had done the 1999 Ha-Ha aboard Profligate, and who is as healthy and agile an 84-year-old as you can find, had long had the Bucket on his ‘Bucket List’ and had a great time. Twinger and friends had chartered a boat in St. Martin and come over for the Bucket. That’s something you might think about doing next year. 

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