Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, c’est magnifique
Whew…back in Maine for a couple of days before NMEA conference. France is sort of a daze, but the pictures suggest I wasn’t just dreaming. The St. Tropez regatta of classic and modern sail boats (official site here) was phenomenal to behold. That’s Mari-Cha headed for “first to finish”. Note the size of the mast instruments, almost readable from where I was standing (on a tour boat handled by a very skillful and brave skipper) with my midsize telephoto (bigger image here). Below is one of the Wally fleet, crew relaxing after the race (bigger here ). I’m not sure what they all do as those sleek button pods at the helm run all sorts of hydraulic sail handling gear. If you want to see some of the classics—why not?—check out Philip Plisson’s images here.
