Sausalito’s ‘Freda’ Versus Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez

We received an entry list from the renowned Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta held annually in France. It’s one of the most elegant and popular of the European regattas, attracting classics such as 12-meters, modern racers, TP52s, IOR boats and some ancient wooden boats. When we looked at the list we saw that the oldest boat racing was Sky, built in 1890. It struck us that, despite Europe’s famously beautiful and well-kept traditional yachts, none of the boats sailing in this year’s event are as old as Spaulding Marine Center’s restored gaff-rigged cutter Freda, which was built in Belvedere in 1885!

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez has an impressive lineup of 253 boats signed up in a multitude of classes, but the oldest boat participating in the ancient Mediterranean Sea where the Odyssey took place is still younger than our local Freda.

See the Les Voiles entry list here.