Bol d'Or (sailing regatta)
The Bol d'Or ( French for "golden bowl") is the most important sailing regatta on Lake Geneva and one of the most important inland sea regattas in Europe.
The regatta has been organized every year since 1939 by the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG). The race goes from the west end of the lake near Geneva to the east end of the lake near Le Bouveret and back over a distance of about 125 km. Over 500 boats divided into several classes take part. Around two thirds of them finish the regatta in the prescribed maximum time of 31 hours.
The start takes place on a Saturday morning below Cologny . The finish line is at Port Noir , the port of the Société Nautique de Genève. Depending on the wind conditions, the fastest multihulls return after 7-13 hours, the fastest monohulls after 9-17 hours. Slower boats take up to 30 hours. The previous best time was set in 1994 by Leuenberger, Gautier and Kessi on the Trimaran Triga 4 with 5:01:51.
The winner (the fastest boat in real time) receives the Bol d'Or, a golden cup, for one year. If a competitor or a sailing team wins three times within five years, they get to keep the Bol d'Or permanently. So far only three sailors have succeeded: Horace Juliard with Marie-José II (1961, 1962 and 1963), Philippe Stern with Altaïr IX, X and XI (1980, 1982 and 1984) and Ernesto Bertarelli and P.-Y. Jorand with Alinghi (1997, 2000, 2001).
Since the 1980s, multihulls have always won. A Bol de Vermeil (reddish gold-plated silver cup) has been awarded to the fastest monohull since 1996 . In addition, each boat class is rated separately.
Since 2004 the regatta has had a main sponsor who is also the namesake. Until 2006, this was the Geneva watch manufacturer Rolex . Since 2007 it has been the Geneva-based private bank Mirabaud & Cie .
Web links
- Official homepage of the regatta (French / English)
- Homepage of the Société Nautique de Genève (French)
