Les voiles de Saint-Tropez

It all began in September 1981 with a friendly challenge between two sailboats: Ikra (12m JI) and Pride (Swan 44). The course resembled a picture-perfect postcard of Saint-Tropez: starting in front of the Portalet tower, passing the Nioulargue shoal, and finishing on the Pampelonne side, at Club 55.
Patrice de Colmont gave the event its founding spirit: he welcomed the crews, turned the challenge into a gathering, and awarded the winner an improvised trophy, which went down in history as the “Club 55 Cup.”

After the founding challenge of 1981, the event quickly took on its own identity under the name La Nioulargue. The idea remained the same: to sail in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez on locally rooted courses, with the port as the hub of activity and Pampelonne as the backdrop.

Above all, La Nioulargue established a spirit that would become the hallmark of Les Voiles: a demanding regatta at sea, and a distinctly “Saint-Tropez” atmosphere on land. It brought together a rare mix of boats and generations, from classic vessels to more modern yachts, all sharing the same waters and the same maritime culture. This era set the tone: a spectacle visible from the shore, a lively port, and a week when sailing becomes a must-attend destination event.

In 1999, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez revived the event and launched the first edition under the name Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. The gathering continued directly in the spirit of La Nioulargue: a week of regattas in the Gulf, with Saint-Tropez as the home port and a unique blend of boats that defines its character.

The signature of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez lies in a rare alchemy: bringing together, on the same stretch of water, the finest classic yachts and the latest high-tech sailboats. In Saint-Tropez, a single week can see historically pedigreed classic vessels alongside modern performance-optimized yachts, and a fleet of Maxis that adds a spectacular dimension to the event.

This diversity is also reflected in the organization of the fleets, often grouped into three main families: Classics, Moderns, and Maxis. These categories allow spectators to appreciate the evolution of yachting throughout the regattas—from the lines of yesterday, to today’s innovations, to the large vessels designed for both speed and elegance.

At Les Voiles, the story is first written in the port of Saint-Tropez, the true lifeblood of the event: the quays turn into an open-air showcase, with crew arrivals, race preparations, and a lively village atmosphere. Then come the landmarks of the founding tale: the Portalet tower, symbolic starting point of the original challenge, and the Nioulargue shoal, a course marker that has become almost a character in its own right in the regatta’s collective memory.

The course naturally extends toward the Bay of Pampelonne, with the “mythical” finish in front of Club 55—a place inseparable from Patrice de Colmont and the birth of the Club 55 Cup. On land, Saint-Tropez also sets the scene: the Place des Lices is among the iconic images tied to the spirit of the event, blending local traditions with the reunion of sailors.