The Mediterranean’s most beautiful yacht race is also its longest race for classic yachts. Now in its 12th edition, the Trophée Bailli du Suffren is run over three legs:
Saint-Tropez – Porto Rotondo (Sardinia) – Trapani (Sicily) – Malta
The event takes its name as well as its start and finish locations from the 18th century French admiral, Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez, who spent his early career in Malta where he received the title of "Bailli de Suffren" from the Knights of St John.
Known among his sailors and his enemies (most notably the British) as "Admiral Satan", this formidable seafarer enjoys a reputation in his native France that is comparable to Horatio Nelson's in Britain. His statue stands on the quay in Saint-Tropez.
