Doyle-powered Gelliceaux reigns supreme at the St Barths Bucket Regatta. The newly launched Southern Wind 108 claimed victory in the L’Esprit 1 Class as well as the prestigious St Barth’s Bucket Trophy after being crowned the overall winner in her maiden event. The overall trophy is awarded to the yacht that prevails in the class with the closest, most competitive racing, and has celebrated some of the most distinguished superyachts since the event’s inception in 1986.
It was a racing debut for both the yacht and the owner only months after the vessel was launched in Cape Town showcasing what has been dubbed as the ultimate balance between customization, innovation, reliability, sustainability and efficiency.
Andrea Micheli, Southern Wind CCO, sums up the significance of this monumental victory: “It showed the owner’s trust in our team and his dreams coming alive after two years of building and designing. All the parts came together”.
Doye Sails Italy’s, Mario Giattino has worked closely with the yacht from inception to delivery and is thrilled with the performance of the team this week while showcasing this spectacular yacht and the vision of the owner. “The regatta was everything we expected,” said Gelliceaux’s Captain Clive Walker, explaining that it was the boat’s first regatta ever. “We sailed well on day one to win, while things didn’t work out as well on day two. Today, we spotted a squall coming over the island, tacked and sailed toward it, and got a big shift that paid off big.”
Doyle Sails also powered the mighty 218ft Dykstra/Reichel Pugh ketch Hetairos to their overall win in Class A Les Gazelles. In fact, all yachts in the Les Gazelles division choose Doyle Sails, Hetairos and Aquarius alternating days at the top of the scoreboard with the other trailing in second place, so the final and deciding race was a close battle with Hetairos taking second to Aquarius’s third, giving the former team the class victory. While Nilaya won the final race.
Hetairos‘ Simon Hill says “We are very proud to win our highly competitive class again this year. The boat was in New Zealand 10 weeks ago so to have a boat in St Barths, sailing at such a high level is such a testament to our whole team from the permanent crew, race crew and our whole support team. Today’s race was another amazing day sailing in St Barths so to finish in the top is something we are all very happy about.” Doyle Sails experts Luke Molloy and Matt Bridge were both onboard.
Hetairos also took first place in the Performance Ouveurts class after dual scoring was applied.
Doyle- powered Nakupenda, which won the overall Bucket Trophy in 2023, sailed fiercely and flawlessly to fend off five others in her Les Mademoiselles class, winning all three races for the event.
“Today, to sail to our rating it would have taken us two hours and 32 minutes to round the island, but we sailed the course in 2:17,” said tactician David Duff, Managing Director of Doyle Sails International, supporting owner/driver Steve Rowland’s thought that, performance-wise, this was the team’s best day yet.
“We’ve had to get used to a new rudder,” said Rowland. “It makes it easier for me to drive, but I must say that crew work is the bigger factor; we’ve had the same people aboard for this regatta the last three years.” The crew delights in having won its last nine Superyacht races in a row, counting 2023 Bucket, the 2023 Safe Harbor Race Weekend in Newport (which it won in the Superyacht class), and this Bucket.
Doyle-powered Melek had its sister ship Rosehearty always nipping at its heels in the five-boat L’Esprit 2 class but ultimately prevailed with three points overall to Rosehearty’s six on the merit of three second-place finishes.
Doyle Sails are thrilled to be a Friend of the Bucket to continue this legacy of Super Yacht Racing and continue to support this event. This marked the 30th edition of the annual St. Barths Bucket regatta, which first came to these waters in 1995. For a week every March, the tiny idyllic island of Saint Barthélemy turns itself inside out to welcome Superyacht owners, captains and crews from around the world, not to mention sponsors, volunteers and guests who collectively add over 1,000 people to the population of just over 9,000.
Doyle Powered Results:
Results for CLASS A: Les Gazelles
1st Hetairos
2nd Aquarius
3rd Nilaya
4th Maximus
Results for CLASS B: Les Elegantes
5th Aurelius
Results for CLASS D: L’ Esprit 1
1st Gelliceaux
2nd Vijonara
Results for CLASS E: Les Mademoiselles
1st Nakupenda
3rd Whisper
Results for CLASS F: L’Esprit 2
1st Melek
2nd Rosehearty
4th M5
5th Ningaloo
Results for CLASS O: Performance Ouveurts
1st Hetairos
2nd Aquarius
3rd Nilaya
4th Maximus
5th Spirit of Malouen
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS // Doyle Sails strives to deliver success through high-performance, high-quality, custom sails that continue to redefine the boundaries of sailmaking technology and innovation; whilst connecting sailors to inspire, support and encourage sailing.
Our obsession with sailing takes us to every corner of the world and onboard every yacht. We become part of teams, share in the adventures of friends and families, sharing our knowledge and experience with those with the same passion. Sailing is in our DNA, and we are the custodians of a legacy that has been supporting sailors for four decades and counting.