Porquerolle's Cup

The DNA of a race like no other

Picture 500 sailors sitting on a beach, eyeing their boats at anchor. A cannon fires. And it's mayhem: a sprint across the sand, a dive into turquoise water, a swim to the boat, anchor up, sails hoisted. Welcome to the Porquerolle's Cup, a Whitsun fixture that has no equivalent in the Mediterranean.

On 23 and 24 May 2026, the Yacht Club de Porquerolles will host a new edition of this event born in 1956. Between 80 and 100 boats are expected for a full lap of the island under IRC handicap, in a format where tactics matter as much the evening before as they do on the water the next day.

The legacy of Boris Vian

The oldest race organized by the Yacht Club de Porquerolles, the regatta went through a long hiatus before being relaunched in 1981 by brothers Éric and Martin Diéterle. Their stroke of genius: drafting an offbeat set of rules, placed under the amused patronage of writer and musician Boris Vian.

That spiritual sponsorship still runs through every edition. The Porquerolle's Cup pulls off a rare feat: bringing together big names from the Mediterranean IRC circuit and family crews on the same race course, all drawn by this blend of technical performance and toes-in-the-sand conviviality.

The beach start: the race's absolute signature

Forget traditional start lines between race committee boat and buoy. Here, everything begins ashore — usually from Plage d'Argent or Plage de la Courtade.

The sequence, unchanged for decades:

• Boats anchor a few hundred metres from shore
• Crews wait sitting on the sand
• At the cannon, sailors charge into the water, swim to their boats, weigh anchor and hoist sails

The scene is as spectacular as it is physical. Winning those opening minutes — managing the anchoring, coordinating a drenched crew, cleanly hoisting the mainsail — can swing the final results.

An island lap in either direction

The course is crystal clear on paper: a complete lap of the island of Porquerolles and its outliers. The subtlety, however, is brutal.

Each skipper must declare the evening before their direction of rotation — clockwise or anti-clockwise. No changes allowed on Sunday morning. This decision forces tacticians to dissect weather forecasts, coastal currents and local wind effects to determine the faster option.

The result: two separate fleets set off in opposite directions and cross paths during the lap. The suspense lasts until the final crossing, when you finally discover who made the right call.

2026 weekend schedule

Entry conditions

The race is open to all IRC-rated monohulls (sportboats excluded), raced in real time. Entry fees include berth for Saturday and Sunday nights:

• Boats < 9.99 m: €100
• Boats 10 to 12.99 m: €120
• Boats ≥ 13 m: €140
• Crew fee: €15 per person

A valid FFV licence is mandatory for every participant.

Find the full Mediterranean race calendar on spencer.club.

A motley fleet, a unique challenge

With 500 to 600 sailors expected on the water, the start line brings together an unlikely cast:

• High-performance boats from the Mediterranean IRC circuit
• Classic yachts and family cruisers
• International crews, as the race features on several offshore calendars

Winning the Porquerolle's Cup demands far more than sheer boat speed. You need to master the opening swim, anchor handling under pressure, reading the tricky waters around the island — and having made the right call the night before on which way to go.

Far more than a regatta

The Porquerolle's Cup is a major social driver for the island. The prize-giving at Fort Sainte-Agathe offers an exceptional panorama over the harbour. The Sunday evening Grand Ball on the Place d'Armes brings together more than 1,000 people — racers, locals, tourists — in an atmosphere unique to this Whitsun weekend.

That's precisely what has sustained the race: a clever balance between serious competition and party spirit, true to Boris Vian's legacy. Seventy years after its creation, the formula hasn't aged a day.