Long Live the St. Barths Bucket

The legendary superyacht celebration in super chic St. Barths is still magical after all these years.

This article was written by Jill Bobrow. Photography by Cory Silken and Royal Huisman.

“St. Barths is a bit like stepping out of the world to a place of forgetting–where everything is of the moment and sailing is the most important thing–so clearly unreal and joyous,” said naval architect and yacht designer, William “Bill” Tripp III. “Where else can you be racing a 5-star hotel and choosing between the 12,000-square-foot and the 15,000-square-foot spinnaker for the run to the finish on the last day of the race–with 15 yachts arriving together–looking for that little bit of advantage to win, in a weaving choreography impossible to describe.”

Tripp, along with many fellow yacht designers and yacht builders, get a particular thrill out of seeing a sailing yacht doing what it is meant to do–i.e. sail. Owners of sailing yachts, whether competitive by nature or not, get drawn into the friendly spirit of the St. Barths Bucket. Unlike professional yacht races with professional crew and hard-core racing boats, the Bucket regatta is geared to a mixed bag of large cruising and/or performance sailing yachts that are not built exclusively to race. By and large, the Bucket is all about owners and their families and guests participating in an approachable regatta with other like-minded owners whose primary ethic is to have fun–or in Bucket vernacular: to “win the party”. Still…vive la compétition! It’s always gratifying when you win or place in your class.

The original Nantucket Bucket (circa 1987) was a casual affair which was initiated when a few yacht owners decided to have a sociable race out to a Nantucket buoy marker and back, simply for bragging rights. That Bucket escalated and carried on for 15 years before the organizers decided to quit while ahead. Others took up the torch and for a number of years there was a Newport Bucket in Newport, Rhode Island in the summers and a St. Barths Bucket in the late winter. The Newport Bucket also ran its course.

Why the name Bucket? There are a few theories. One is that an affectionately disparaging term for a boat is “a bucket”–as in “why that old bucket is going to sink at the first tack”. Another possibility is that the race name derived from a celebratory champagne bucket filled with bubbly. And finally, perhaps bucket simply rhymed well with Nantucket.  

The first version of the St. Barths Bucket occurred in 1995. It gathered steam and prestige and now this singular Bucket event reigns as the queen of all super sailing yacht regattas. Frankly, it has everything going for it. It rivals Christmas and New Years in St. Barths for the sheer number of visitors and yachts on hand. Taking place in late March in and around Saint Barthélemy, a small French island in the Leeward chain of the Caribbean, the Bucket is exciting for participants and spectators alike.

St. Barths–as the island is affectionately called–is a unique gem in the Caribbean, well-loved by old guard cruising sailors, cognoscenti who have been going there for years, and arrivistes who have caught wind of the island’s charms. Today, the island, with its Prada, Hermes, and Dolce & Gabbana boutiques, gourmet French restaurants with breathtaking prices, and rosé all day, is the unequivocal playground for celebrities and the ultra-wealthy–but it is also more than that. This perky, volcanic island with its perfect horseshoe harbor town of Gustavia, surrounding translucent cerulean and turquoise water, and multiple white-sand beaches, is–simply put–a drop-dead beautiful place. Whether you want to dance on table tops, see and be seen at any one of the luncheon establishments on St. Jean Beach–take your pick: Eden Roc, Nikki Beach, Nao Beach, Gyp Sea, La Guerite–or get lost on an unfettered sauvage beach such at Saline or Gouvernour, St. Barths can accommodate you.

Despite erroneous rumors that not many boats were going to make it to the 2024 Bucket, there were at least 30 entries–which is a handsome showing. When you think about the effort it takes to get your yacht to the island and to make arrangements for your additional racing crew and for extra guests who are not staying onboard, it is a bit of an ordeal. But ultimately worth it.

This year, there were schooners, ketches, and sloops from 28 to 77 meters in length. The race committee–with its director, Peter Craig, at the helm–has the challenging job of determining class breaks decided by rig types, displacement/length ratio, sail area, and the like. The starts of each race are staggered with the slowest boat starting first and the fastest starting last. This year, there were seven classes of racers.

Three days of racing culminate in winners for each day and, in the end, all is tabulated, culminating in an awards night. But every night of the Bucket–and even before the Bucket officially starts–there are fun events and festivities. At the final awards ceremony, the president of St. Barths, Xavier Lédée, welcomed the owners and crews and friends of the Bucket. The two “stewards” of the Bucket are Vitters Shipyard and Royal Huisman and there are many “Industry friends” of the Bucket, who are sponsors. Still, the idea is to keep the event noncommercial and  relaxed. There are numerous awards handed out. The Wolter Huisman Memorial Award is bequeathed to the yacht and crew that has competed in the “true spirit of the Bucket”. This year, it went to Sunleigh–a long-time Bucket player. The Vitters award for “best starter” was presented to the J-Class yacht Hanuman. The Overall 2024 Bucket Winner, which is determined by quantitative, objective criteria, was awarded to Gelliceaux. The winner takes home a unique Bucket trophy and gets its name inscribed on a beautiful perpetual Hermès Bucket trophy. Win or lose, the St. Barths Bucket is perpetually magical. The 2025 Bucket will take place March 13-16^th.

Request a Copy