And so the 2013 season comes to a close with that spectacle of spectacles, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez. On the back of the Regates Royales, Mariquita jumped right into Les Voiles with some fine work at the mark roundings, always a potential disaster zone. Always flirting with the possibility of a Mistral, this year saw strong winds move in from the east, making Challenge Day particularly wet for Altair and Moonbeam III, who decided to tie up again in the port before heading over to Club 55. The crew of Mariquita spent Thursday evening aboard La Masquerade, as guests of Stephen and his family as we toasted to an eventful first season. Winds howled outside as we sipped drinks and reminisced. The breeze carried into Friday, which resulted in a day’s racing canceled. Our crew made good use of the time and headed over to Marines de Cogolin to start prepping our winter container for the months of maintenance ahead.
As Saturday rolled in, we saw the wind drop out completely mid-morning, which meant a Jackyard hoist. As the breeze freshened throughout the day, the water started creeping further and further up the side deck. Approaching the Seche and the narrow gate the committee had set, we greased up the freeboard and squeezed through alongside Moonbeam IV, herself nearly able to touch the Cardinal. Once rounding the last mark, we pointed for the finish and pulled out every last bit of speed as we charged in alongside Cambria and Moonbeam IV. Finer photos were never seen as all three beautiful classics swept across the line one after the other, and Mariquita’s performance meant that we had chalked up a third place for the regatta, behind Moonbeam IV and III.
