One Mediterranean title and four podium finishes: that is the tally for Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) members racing in the Modern division at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2026. Runner-up in Maxi 1, Karel Komárek’s V won the Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge, the season-long Maxi ranking. In the J Class, Rainbow and Hanuman both made the podium, as did Wallyño in Maxi 3.
Saint-Tropez was the final stage of the Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge, the International Maxi Association circuit that brings together the Mediterranean’s major inshore regattas each season. Karel Komárek arrived with an already impressive season behind him on V, his 30-metre Wallycento: European champion in Sorrento at the end of May, victory at the Giraglia, then second at the World Championship in Porto Cervo. Second place in Maxi 1 secured him the 2026 title. “The best year since we launched this team,” said the owner.
On the water, V set the pace for much of the week. The Wallycento led round the windward mark in the opening race, then reeled off two consecutive wins: the first in 10 to 15 knots and a choppy sea on a windward-leeward course, the second at the end of a 28-mile coastal race to Cavalaire. It took the final race to separate her from Jethou: Sir Peter Ogden’s 77-footer won it to claim the Edmond de Rothschild Trophy, with V second in a fleet that also included the reigning world champion, Joost Schuijff’s Leopard 3.
Aboard Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s ClubSwan 80 My Song, shorter than the Maxi 100s, tactics were entrusted to Paul Cayard, winner of the 1997-98 Whitbread, the fully crewed round-the-world race. The boat finished 8th in a thirteen-strong fleet.
A three-time winner of the Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge with his Wally 60 Wallyño, former International Maxi Association president Benoît de Froidmont was once again among the front-runners. Victorious on Friday, he placed second in the final race to take third on the Maxi 3 podium.
Descended from the America’s Cup yachts of the 1930s, the J Class boats are among the most spectacular sailing yachts in the world, with hulls over 40 metres long. Of the three entered at Saint-Tropez, two belonged to Club members.
New to the class this season, Rainbow was helmed by her owner Peter Harrison, with Ed Baird on tactics. After an opening second place, the crew won a tight match race against Hanuman on Tuesday, tacking some twenty times on a three-mile beat, and moved to the top of the leaderboard. She stayed in contention with Svea until the final race and finished second.
Giovanni Lombardi Stronati was also making his J Class debut. Hanuman’s crew, led by Vasco Vascotto, had won the Maxi Grand Prix at Les Voiles 2025 aboard Django 7X. This year they took two race wins, including the last on Saturday thanks to a perfect start, to complete the podium.
Maxi 1 (13 boats): 2nd V (Karel Komárek), 8th My Song (Pier Luigi Loro Piana), 13th Leopard 3 (Joost Schuijff)
Maxi 3 (10 boats): 3rd Wallyño (Benoît de Froidmont)
J Class (3 boats): 2nd Rainbow (Peter Harrison), 3rd Hanuman (Giovanni Lombardi Stronati)
Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge 2026: 1st V (Karel Komárek)
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