One of the most unique races in the world has wrapped up this week on the tiny island of St Barths, called the St Barths Bucket Regatta.

What makes it unique is the extreme juxtaposition of super yachts in a non-serious race! The bucket is all about ‘winning the party’ according to the event organisers, and with only 30 yachts allowed to enter each year, it’s quite the prestigious party to attend.

Imagine the kind of crowd an island like St Barths attracts, (hint: it’s pretty fancy) and then cast your eyes over the marina. Super Yachts of both the motor and wind powered variety fill the berths, and luxury cars of all makes fill the carpark.

So racing multi-million dollar yachts for the grand prize of a bucket and a pineapple seems a little bit strange compared to the IRC style battles that wage across the globe for the racing purists. In fact if you rewind a few years, the St Barths Bucket Regatta featured a Le Mans style start, involving drinking a cocktail (a daiquiri to be exact), racing the yachts tender to the boat, pulling up anchor and then getting on with the race. Informal? Entirely.

Now it’s a little more civilized with some special ‘super yacht’ rules to go along with it. For instance there is a minimum distance of 40m required between all boats while racing. This includes when crossing during a tacking dual, on the start line and mark roundings to keep the obscenely expensive craft in one piece. They also stagger the starts now on a handicap system, which this year was changed to provide a more even playing field for the competitors who do wish to race hard.

But what we love most about the St Barths Bucket Regatta every year, is the stunning pictures of these enormous yachts and the many many crew it takes to sail them.

Check out the gallery of the 2015 event on the St Barths Bucket Website.

 

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