Paprec 600 Saint-Tropez

600 miles, two crew, the Mediterranean as sole judge

Setting off as a pair on a Class40 to complete 600 miles between Saint-Tropez, Corsica, the Tuscan archipelago and back: that's the challenge of the Paprec 600 Saint-Tropez 2026, starting on 20 April off the legendary Gulf town. In barely fifteen years, this race has risen to become one of the most demanding offshore fixtures in the Mediterranean.

From local regatta to Class40 reference

The story begins in 2010, driven by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez. The original course exceeded 900 miles—an overly ambitious format, quickly revised downward. The event searched for its identity: first open to crews, then to solo sailors from 2015, and finally to double-handed from 2016 onwards. It changed names, became "Au large de Saint-Tropez," and tested distances of 400 or 600 miles.

The decisive turning point came in 2023 with Paprec as title sponsor. The identity crystallised around a unique 600-nautical-mile course, visibility exploded, and fleets gained depth. Today, the Paprec 600 is a must for anyone preparing a Vendée Globe, a Route du Rhum, or a Transat Jacques Vabre.

A course carved from rock and wind

The course is a 600-nautical-mile loop (approximately 1,111 km) linking legendary waypoints:

• Start off Saint-Tropez
• Île du Levant to port
• Crossing to the Bouches de Bonifacio
• Rounding Isola di Giannutri
• Passing Isola d'Elbe
• Up to Isola Gallinara
• Return via Île du Levant (to starboard this time)
• Finish at Saint-Tropez

Technically, it's a concentrate of everything the Mediterranean can throw at you: maddening calms in the lee of the Italian islands, brutal accelerations through the Bouches de Bonifacio, violent weather transitions between thermal regimes and Mistral. Vigilance never relents.

Double-handed—and that's where it all happens

The 2026 edition confirms the double-handed format. Two sailors, one boat, three to four days at sea without stopover. Sleep management becomes a racing parameter in its own right. Every manoeuvre must be designed to be executed by one person while the other rests.

The fleet isn't limited to Class40s. Several classes are admitted at the start:

• Class40—the event's flagship class
• IRC (minimum TCC 0.940)
• Multi2000
• Figaro
• SunFast 30 OD

On the sporting front, the race counts towards the Championnat Méditerranée Offshore IRC, although the Class40 coefficient is set at 0 for this edition. IRC boats therefore have every reason to chase the standings to bank valuable points in the regional championship.

Centrakor's record in the crosshairs

The benchmark time belongs to Mikael Mergui and Richard Robini on Centrakor: 3 days, 14 hours, 11 minutes and 49 seconds. A time no one has yet managed to beat.

In 2023, Kito de Pavant and Sandrine Revil on HBF - Reforest'action crossed the line in 3 days and 17 hours—just three hours off the record. The 2025 edition saw victory for G. Pirouelle and C. Chateau on Sogestran - Seafrigo, confirming the rising standard of the fleet.

2025 Podium

With the new generation of scow-bow Class40s, Centrakor's record is in sight. Provided the weather cooperates.

The Mediterranean shows no mercy

The race history shows a significant retirement rate. In 2023, several boats—Rêve à perte de vue, Phare 40, Sotraplant / TRS—were forced to DNF. The Mediterranean in April remains an unpredictable theatre: a high pressure system stuck over the basin can turn the race into a test of patience, while a Mistral descent brutally resets the clock.

For crews, equipment preparation is as important as routing. Light sails, gennakers, headsails for breeze: you need everything on board and know how to fly it all—as a pair.

A springboard to bigger oceans

What sets the Paprec 600 apart from other Mediterranean races is its status as a test bed for offshore professionals. Three to four days without stopover, variable conditions, a demanding offshore course: the format reproduces in concentrated form the constraints of a transatlantic.

Skippers preparing for late-2026 objectives validate winter modifications to their boats, test new sail configurations, fine-tune communication with their co-skipper. It's the chance—or never—to discover a structural weakness before finding yourself mid-Atlantic.

Find the complete offshore season calendar at spencer.club.

Saint-Tropez race week

The event runs from 18 to 25 April 2026. The opening days are devoted to safety checks and briefings, under Race Director Georges Korhel. The 20 April start transforms the Gulf of Saint-Tropez into a natural amphitheatre—one of the rare moments when you can watch offshore-racing Class40s manoeuvring just cables from shore.

For the town, it's a pre-season accelerator: technical teams, sailors' families, enthusiasts and media descend on the docks well before the usual summer influx.

What you need to know

The Paprec 600 Saint-Tropez 2026 ticks all the boxes of a major race: a 600-mile course threading the Mediterranean's most beautiful islands, a double-handed format that pushes crews to their limits, a record still standing at 3 days 14 hours, and a field growing denser each year.

On 20 April, when the starting line disappears in the wake of the Class40s, every mile gained will be the fruit of constant trade-offs between speed and equipment preservation, boldness and clear-headedness. That's exactly what makes this race unique.

Compare the entered boats and follow Paprec 600 news on spencer.club.