Charter Yachts Prepare for St Barths Bucket Regatta 2017

By Rebecca Bradbury 10 March 2017

The 2017 St Barths Bucket Regatta, taking place next week from 16^th to 19^th March, will welcome an impressive fleet of charter yachts to the unspoilt waters of St Barths, including the 88m/289ft sailing yacht ‘Maltese Falcon’.

Celebrating its 30^th edition, St Barths Bucket Regatta will host some of the world’s most magnificent sailing yachts for three days of incomparable racing. Half of the competing yachts are part of the global charter fleet and are already making their way to St Barths’ Gustavia Harbour.

As well as hosting 30 yachts in the main event, the anniversary edition is also presenting a fantastic J Class as well as the debut of the Corinthian Spirit Class for those owners preferring to compete without spinnakers.

There is no doubt the most impressive yacht in attendance will be Maltese Falcon from Perini Navi. One of the most iconic yachts available for charter, she is sure to stand out in the Caribbean sunshine thanks to her sheer scale and revolutionary DynaRig design.

She will be joined by fellow Perini Navi builds, the 56m/184ft charter yacht ROSEHEARTY and the 38m/125ft charter yacht P2. Both these yachts will aim to defend their titles after winning their respective classes in 2016 – Les Grandes Dames des Mers and Les Elegantes des Mers.

sailing yacht ‘Maltese Falcon’ competes at the St Barths Bucket Regatta 2017

sailing yacht ROSEHEARTY competes in the 2017 St Barths Bucket Regatta

sailing yacht P2 prepares for the the 2017 St Barths Bucket Regatta

crew get to work on sailing yacht GANESHA, lined up for the 2017 St Barths Bucket Regatta

P2’s competition will come in the form of Vitter’s 46m/151ft charter yacht GANESHA. A successful regatta racer, the Vitters-build was in second place behind P2 last year and will be looking to do one better when racing gets underway next week.

Another offering from the Dutch shipyard preparing to compete is the 45m/147ft charter yacht NINGALOO. Designed by Dubois, she boasts many features to boost her performance, including a high aspect ratio rig with carbon mast and furling boom, and PBO standing rigging.

The fiercest contender, however, will be the 34m/112ft charter yacht SPIIP from Royal Huisman. She has a stellar racing performance record since her launch in 2000, winning numerous regattas under her old name UNFURLED, including Class A of last year’s St Barths Bucket.

Among the other charter yachts on the line-up are the 55m/180ft sailing yacht ELENA from Marin LuxurYachts, the 52m/170ft sailing yacht Q from Alloy Yachts, the 52m/170ft sailing yacht METEOR and the 60m/197ft sailing yacht PERSEUS^3.