The fascination of sailing yachts

Best Of | Issue 05 | Spring/Summer 2026

From 26th September until 04th October 2026, the bay of Saint-Tropez will once again metamorphose to a stage for the most beautiful sailing yachts in the world, as well as for everybody who loves what is extraordinary. Whoever has been there once already knows: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is far more than an event, it is an invitation to savour life in its most beautiful form.

It all began with a bet. In 1981, Patrice de Colmont issued a challenge to two boats, Pride and Ikra, to race from the Tour du Portalet to Pampelonne and back – as a wager. The ”Nioulargue“ was born. What at the time was just a sportive competition between two friends, transmogrified over the following decades into the most important sailing spectacle in the Mediterranean Sea. Since 1999 it bears its present name: Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, organised by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, a yachting club that has been at home in these waters since 1862.

What has placed its indelible stamp on this event until today is its eclectic, multi-faceted character, making it far more than a competitive event. Sport, technical precision, respect for maritime traditions and a truly festive spirit that converges seamlessly at the quay of the harbour in the evening. At Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, it is all part of one and the same celebration.

Where tradition meets modernity

More than 300 yachts come together here to sail in the legendary bay. Traditional sailboats with mahogany decks and starched sails, hyper-modern maxi-yachts with carbonite structures that look like they have the future of sailboat racing already behind them. On the water, they weave and glide like ballet dancers – every move watched rapturously by the crowds from the quay of the harbour and the citadel. And yet, this is more than a competition. It is an homage to the art of sailing, to the handcraftsmanship of the shipbuilders and the passion of all those who love the sea. About 4000 crew members of all nationalities are to be found on board (private persons also have the possibility to become part of a crew). Impassioned amateurs sail adjacent to professional regatta skippers. The owners are frequently at the head of the crew on their boats, personally facing the challenges which the sea presents, ranging from a summer breeze suddenly whipping into an autumnal mistral or changing to the infamous “flip-flop weather” where winds reach 50 knots velocity. That is the soul of this event: you never know what will happen.

Where life is a celebration

Following the regatta, life on land awakens: boats come to port, the evening gets underway. In the village of the Voiles – open every day, freely accessible to everyone, swinging with live music, vibrating with exhibitions, the tang of saltwater and barbecued fish in your nostrils – sailors meet visitors. Bar des Voiles is the universal meeting place. On Wednesday, competition for the big maxis takes a break, makes a pause, but not the swinging, throbbing life in the harbour: La Pétanque des Voiles, sponsored by North Sail, invites one and all to the Place des Lices where boules which have defined the soul of the town for generations roll over the self-same ground. On Tuesday evening the Sardinade of the SNSM, the emergency rescue workers of those who need help at sea, leads the way to the lighthouse for dinner beneath an open sky that makes you think you are in a different world. On Thursday the evening belongs to the crews: costumed squadrons parade through the harbour, accompanied by music, all manner of masks, plus endless fun and laughter.

Whether exclusive dinner by starlight, art exhibitions in historic villas or live music on the quay – the programme is as wildly varied as the guests themselves. There are few spots on earth where sports, culture and love-of-life meld so perfectly as here. Because the people are not merely onlookers, they are part of a community. And because Saint-Tropez in autumn has its own magical aura, far removed from the hurly-burly of high season, yet bursting with real life and inspiration.

And whoever strolls in early morning along the Quai Jean-Jaurès, before the first crews awaken and set sail from the docks will understand why this spot has never lost its enchantment. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is the promise to live, experience, feel precisely that. Not once. But again and again.

Programme details: https://www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr/en/presentation/program