SUPERSAIL WORLD 29 APRIL-JUNE 2018
resident told me, it lifted the island. “The recovery was
nothing short of remarkable really and a testament to the
resilience of the people of St Barth,” said event director and
race chairman Peter Craig.
The competing yachts and their crews were rewarded with
blue skies and tradewind 10-15 knot easterlies for the three-
day regatta.
Though the damage to the island was still very obvious- the Eden Rock hotel was still being rebuilt, and the Nikki
Beach club next door had yet to open – the most unnerving
sight for visiting sailors was the dozens of dismasted yachts
still at anchor, as if a giant scythe had lopped their rigs off like
brittle reeds.
A dredging barge worked throughout February to remove
enough of the swell-shifted sand from Gustavia to allow the
Bucket fleet to dock. As if the island hadn’t suffered enough
though, just as it prepared to host one of the biggest events
of the year, a 3.5m high surge struck, wiping out the island’s
telecommunications the week before the Bucket.
There was relief all round when the fibre optics were
reconnected, but the surge prevented cargo ships from
unloading – including the race equipment container belonging
to the J Class Svea. Skipper Paul Kelly followed the ship to
St Martin where her full crew had to unload the sails and
equipment from the container onto Svea’s deck and motor it
back to St Barth the day before the start of the regatta. This
impacted on Svea’s practice time and she only squeezed in
three hours before the first race. However, together with her
two rivals, To p a z and Velsheda, she went on to enjoy four days
of racing, winning both the opening windward/leeward races
and the Class trophy with a day to spare.
Last year I sailed with Svea during early trials and reported
on how impressive the deck and systems set-up was and
how she was sailed more like a modern maxi. Since the
J Class Worlds last summer, she has had an intensive period
of optimisation in Newport. The result is that she looked
seriously fast in St Barth.
Meanwhile, aboard Velsheda the reliably slick crew
work and experienced owner-driver may have helped them
beat Svea three times on the water, but Velsheda was
time-corrected to second in one race and missed a mark
amendment in another. A return match between these two
Js, launched 80 years apart, is due at the Superyacht Cup in
Palma. Will Svea’s speed and rating be too hot to handle?
‘ To have such a fl eet
racing around its
shores was just what
the island needed’
LEFT: THE J CLASS
SVEA THUNDERS
ALONG ON HER WAY
TO A CONVINCING
BUCKET VICTORY
INSET: THE BOWS OF
THE PIRATE
CRUISER-RACER
DANNEKSJOLDClaire MatchesCory Silken