Our heartiest congratulations to Captain Russell Potter and the crew of SHENANDOAH OF SARK, for sale and charter with Burgess. The 54.4m three-masted topsail gaff schooner rolled back the years – all 120 of them – at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2022 to win the 17th edition of the Rolex Trophy on the waters of this famous gulf.
Powered up and pushing on
Photo: Sharon Green
After narrowly losing out in Race 1 to the slippy, well-sailed 23.8m Fred Paine-designed vintage Marconi schooner VIVEKA, a relative whippersnapper at just 92 years old, SHENANDOAH OF SARK roared back to take the final race and with it the coveted Rolex Trophy.
SHENANDOAH OF SARK sailing higher and faster than the 39m NAEMA, delivered in 2013 and 111 years younger than the blue-hulled rocket
Captain Russell Potter has been with the yacht for over a decade and knows her inside and out. He and his slick, professional crew used a steady breeze to sail a perfect race to prevail over the seven-yacht fleet. Fascinatingly, she even outpaced the 55m ELENA OF LONDON, a modern classic gaff topsail schooner delivered in 2009.
Victorious Captain Russell Potter celebrates winning the Rolex Trophy with his crew
Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
Well done Captain Russell and the crew of SHENANDOAH OF SARK, a Native American expression appropriately meaning ‘the daughter of the stars.’