10 YEARS OF THE CENTENARY TROPHY
The Gstaad Yacht Club celebrated 10 years of its spectacular Centenary Trophy with a titanic battle on the water between two former America’s Cup sailors, Bruno Troublé and Peter Isler.
The two were at the helms respectively of the P-Class Olympian (William Gardner, 1913) and New York 50 Spartan (Herresho,
1915), taking part in the 10th anniversary Centenary Trophy race at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in late September 2021.
The two boats were locked together until the final moments of the race, with Olympian just taking the win. Troublé was helmsman on the French America’s Cup entry in 1980 and 1983, while Isler was winning navigator with Stars & Stripes in 1987 and 1988.
It was the second victory in a row for Olympian, whose restoration Troublé oversaw. Third on the podium was another Troublé find, the fellow P-Class, Chips.
“An unforgettable regatta!” exclaimed Troublé afterwards. “We had a lot of fun. It reminded me of the America’s Cup.”
It was a fitting way to mark the anniversary of the Gstaad Yacht Club event, which has become one of the centrepieces of the spectacular Saint-Tropez regatta.
Twenty three yachts took part in the 10th anniversary race, among them the Bar Harbor Scud (Herresho,
1903), Marga (Liljegren, 1914), the P-Class Corinthian (Herresho, 1911), Eva (Fife, 1906), the New York 30 Oriole (Herresho 1905) and Lulu (Rabot Caillebotte, 1897).
The Centenary Trophy is raced as a pursuit, the competitors crossing the start line according to their handicap, meaning the first boat to cross the finish line is the winner.
The prize-giving saw Troublé and Olympian’s crew presented with the perpetual trophy created by Wakely and Wheeler in London in 1911. A miniature Martelé silver bowl by Robbe &
Berking was given to commemorate the victory, as well as an Imperial bottle of fine rosé Whispering Angel.
Manrico Iachia, Commodore of the Gstaad Yacht Club, said: “This anniversary edition was memorable, with a historic finale. A race that undoubtedly will remain engraved in our memory. We look forward to seeing you next year for another edition of the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy.”
Alongside the Centenary Trophy, the Gstaad Yacht Club is also behind the Centanarian of the Year trophy, presented at our Classic Boat Awards every April. The 2022 trophy was won by Firefly, an Albert Strange design owned by the Clay family, on the east coast of England, since the 1930s. gyccentenarytrophy.com