Jens Kellinghusen’s Varuna took the lead at the Voiles de St. Tropez from the beginning and stayed on top to the end.

Varuna scored four first places in four races in her group. With light winds and sunshine, the weather conditions were ideal.

The crew recruited itself for the most part from NRV members and “Oberpiraten” from Alster Piraten Club in Hamburg. They included the newly-crowned Star World Champions Max Kohlhoff and Ole Burzinski, who came on board with their trophy directly after the World Championships, plus Julius Plass, Günter Alajmo, Hans Cornehl, Hendrik Heerma, as well as Andreas and Moritz Christiansen, who traveled to St. Tropez with their 5.5 meter yacht directly from the World Championships in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy.

Additionally, this 80-year old classic yacht won the Rolex Cup, which was sailed by the Yawl Bermudian class.
Jens Kellinghusen, owner-skipper of Varuna and winner of the Rolex Trophy, said, “It is a great pleasure to win here because Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is an inevitable event of our season. I have owned Varuna for six years and sail her accompanied by friends, all amateurs. It is incredible to have won all the heats because the competition was really tough. The “Rolex Trophy” group of contestants was very homogeneous, and it was magical to sail against 11 magnificent yawls. The waters here are magnificent and the evenings in St. Tropez are very nice. This Rolex Trophy means a lot to us.”