ST. BARTHS --There is now less than a month to go until the kick-off of the eighth edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth. To date, 66 teams have signed up for the event, which bodes well for an exceptional vintage, made more special by the fact that Lionel Péan has agreed to be the official Godfather of the race, an honorary position held by several famous international yachtsmen in the past, including USA’s Ken Read (2016), Jim Swartz (2013), and Jimmy Buffett (2011).
Péan is one of only two French sailors (Franck Cammas is the other) to have won the famous Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as Whitbread Round the World Race.
Péan will be casting an expert eye over the event April 10 to 15. A seasoned and talented sailor, he boasts one of the most prestigious track records in French sailing, with victories logged in the Solitaire du Figaro in 1983, then the Whitbread (a crewed around-the-world race with stopovers) in 1986. He also won a World Championship title in the 12 JI in 2001, and has a string of records (North Atlantic in crewed configuration on Mari Cha III in 1998 and the Tour de la Corse in 2014) as well as podium places in the major international races (Sydney Hobart Race, third in 1993 and second in 1994; Route du Rhum, third in 1986).
“To be Godfather of this edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth is a wonderful honour for me,” Péan said, reminiscing about the history of friendship that binds him to the organisers of the race and stretches back some 20 years. “When Luc Poupon and François Tolède began to think about and then dream up Les Voiles de St. Barth, I was among those who said to them: ‘Really go for it guys!’ They had all the necessary ingredients to make this a great event and they’ve pulled it off. I’m happy to see what they’ve managed to create and delighted to have the chance to take part.”
Péan also explained that he competed in the first two editions of Les Voiles in 2010 and 2011, aboard Sojana, alongside Sir Peter Harrison, then again at the helm of SFS, ex VOR 70 Green Dragon, in the Maxi 2 category last year. And again this year he will compete, skippering the Volvo 70 SFS II. “A great many VOR 60s and VOR 70s will be competing this year. It's going to be really nice to rediscover so many collector boats on the same start line. These oceanic yachts have coloured the history of crewed ’round the world races and it will add a little something special to what is already a top-quality line-up at Les Voiles,” said Péan assuredly. He will head to Gustavia on April 7 for his first on-location training sessions.
