The 10th edition of the Dames de Saint-Tropez ended in a very friendly atmosphere on Sunday 30th April 2023 at the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez! The weekend started beautifully with a training day on Friday followed by a welcome drink at the Club for more than 250 crew members.
Divided into two groups – less than 13m and more than 13m – the 19 Traditional yachts then sailed a nice 15 nautical mile course in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez on Saturday 29th April with sunshine and a good 8 to 10 knot easterly wind. It was in disguise and in a very festive atmosphere that the ladies met again that evening for the famous crew party at the Bouillabaisse restaurant.
Sunday’s weather was flat and rainy and although the Race Director, Georges Korhel, tried to start the race for the classic yachts out at sea, the severe lack of wind forced the cancellation of the race at around 1pm.
During the prize-giving ceremony, in the presence of Michel Perrault, deputy mayor of Saint-Tropez, the President of the SNST, Pierre Roinson, thanked the ever-increasing number of women sailors (with a 90% female participation rate this year), his entire team, the volunteers (men to serve these ladies) as well as the partners who spoiled the women sailors, including 727 SailBags, which gave each of them a magnificent bag for the closing ceremony.
Invited by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, Aloise Retornaz, Olympic medallist, crew member on Sail GP… was the godmother of this edition.
Aloise who was invited by the SNST and welcomed on board the 15mJI Tuiga on Sunday expressed her gratitude “I have never sailed on such a magnificent yacht, a great honour! I didn’t realise there were so many of us sailing and I’m very happy to share this moment with you.
The Ladies of Saint-Tropez 2023 Ranking:
In the GR1 group (over 13m):
- TUIGA – Anne Rodelato
- ST CHRISTOPHER – Daria Cabai
- EVA – Charlotte Franquet
- EILEEN de 1938 – Laetitia Morand Monteil
- NAGAINA barré par Nathalie Berthoz,
- EUGENIA V – Diane ROBIANO
- NIN – Christine Fabrigoule
- BELLE AVENTURE – Ulrike Grundt
- DENEBOLA – Mario Gornet
In the GR2 group (under 13m):
- MARIA GIOVANNA – Sylvie Godquin
- PALYNODIE – Laurence Desmasures
- ONE WAVE – Alexia Barrier
- RATAFIA – Nathalie Mouret
- LULU – Catherine Euillet
- ESPAR II – Géraldine Lemaire
- ARGYNNE – Manon Anais Tondu
- RUT barré – Emely Hagen de Wit
- SAGITTARIUS – Florence Urrutti
- SERENA – Claire Moreau.
EUGENIA V, 3 generations of women sailors
On board the 1968 Bermuda Ketch EUGENIA V, a family crew including the grandparents aged 90 and 86, their five daughters and two granddaughters. For the Dames de Saint-Tropez, the grandson, Baptiste Garnier left the helm to Diane De Robiano. “There could even have been four generations, but the great-grandchildren are not on board,” say Amélie Garnier and her mother.
Article and photos courtesy of SNST.
