4th Edition of the Trophée Bailly de Suffren from St. Tropez to Valetta · June 25th – July 6th, 2005

.....Just to recap. Frans made us quite a gift in entrusting Zwerver to our care for THE premier event classic yachting event in the Med and the zwervers had some great fun in the sun.
 
Speaking of which: a dismal 17th overall place in the 1st leg, an encouraging 7th in the 2nd, and a rewarding 1st in our Class on the 3rd – to finish 3rd Overall in a fleet of 20 boats – is indeed something to write home about. A nice progression and an impressive performance, considering we were, by and large, up against professional crews who had sailed this race at least 3 times before.

Frans’ “go ahead, round up the usual suspects and have some fun on Zwerver”, finding Zwerver ship-shape and gorgeous in Cannes after all these months thanks to Arjen and Tjerk’s ministrations; the first crew mixer on the way to St. Tropez; parking in front of the Papagayo at 11 pm (I think it’s old French for “Come to the Temple of Techno and feel your eardrums explode” or something); Cees’ smooth and slick start in St. Tropez; Philippe eyeing the tuna following the boat (perfect fishing time is 7am and 7pm local) with sushi on his mind; bobbing along in front of Bonifacio for twelve hours; Vicky and Steve’s uncanny ability to coax even the smallest hundredth of a knot out of no wind into the chute; Rudy’s magic at the mainsail AND in the galley; the anticlimatic finish in Porto Rotondo with everybody out to lunch; the wonderful evening with Giorgio and Francesca and their friends at that hilltop restaurant; playing Pinball Sailing at the start in Porto Rotondo –– followed by a slick and honorable 360 to compensate and still coming up ahead of the fleet!; thinking up old and new Sardinian and Sicilian proverbs; watching Kevin, Bernard and Philippe tow (TOW!) Zwerver for a mile or two (chasing around the deck mop in hand to keep them from getting aboard was fun, too) somewhere around waypoint Papa Tango (Pétole Totale) -- nothing in the SI’s against that; the 0 to 30 kts and back again within seconds winds on the approach to Palermo, pondering a self-tacking jib for Zwerver at the finish in Palermo; 3 hours of resort life at the Circolo Vela Sicilia, Eveline playing Super Sega Classic Yacht Rally at the start in Palermo; Sailing Tactics 401 with visiting Professor Hein Nanninga and outsailing the fleet for the first 20 hours or so on the way to Valetta; the horrible jokes that got funnier as the wind got weaker; going crazy with that chute wrapped around the stay off Trapani in the middle of the night; the dolphins; the fantastic run in the sun to Valetta in flat seas with Eleonora The Ghost Ship passing on the horizon (with every single sail up on that huge rig); The Secret Ceremony orchestrated by Bernard; the approach to the finish line at two in the morning in no wind, wicked current and shallow waters with Arend holding the tiller with two fingers; the heartache on the last stretch of 100 yards or so – and cheeky Havsörnen turning their nav lights on at the last minute to really rub it in as they crawled in just ahead of us; surviving Marino’s 200-proof “Brain Cell & Garden Weed Obliterator” rum punch (emphasis on “punch”); the epic France-USA 78m Freestyle between Marino and Kevin in Grand Harbor; trying to stay dignified and holding back the tears at the Prizegiving at the Royal Malta Yacht Club...yes, all these and many other fine moments shall forever remain etched on the hard disk. Thanks to you, Arend, Bernard, Cees, Eveline, Francesca, Giorgio, Hein, Kevin, Marino, Philippe, Rudy, Steve and Vicky, for putting them there.