A Century-Old Schooner Returns to Saint-Tropez, and You Can Sail Her

A Ghost from the Golden Age

There is something hypnotic about watching a proper schooner under full sail, her canvas stretched taut against the wind, her spars creaking with the kind of authority that belongs to another century. Elena of London moves through the water like a memory made solid, a 180-foot echo of an era when winning meant more than crossing a line first. It meant proving that beauty and speed were not mutually exclusive.

This September, she returns to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, where the 28th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez will gather roughly 250 vessels ranging from sleek modern racers to venerable classics. And for those who charter her, Elena of London offers something increasingly rare in luxury travel: the chance to participate, not merely observe, in a tradition that stretches back more than a century.

Built Twice, a Century Apart

The story begins in 1910, when Morton Plant, then commodore of the New York Yacht Club, approached Nathanael Herreshoff with a straightforward brief: build me a schooner that can win. Herreshoff, whose designs had already dominated American yacht racing, delivered precisely that. The original Elena went on to claim the King's Cup Transatlantic Race in 1928, cementing her place in maritime lore.

Her contemporary namesake is not an interpretation or a modernized homage. She is a line-by-line recreation, drawn directly from Herreshoff's original plans and built over four years in Spain by craftsmen who worked with the same materials specified nearly a hundred years earlier. The lower spars and booms are Oregon Pine; the upper masts, gaffs, jackyards, and spinnaker boom are hewn from Alaskan Sitka Spruce. In full racing configuration, she sets eight sails, a wardrobe that includes jibs, staysails, gaff main and foresail, topmast, and fisherman staysails.

At Global Chic Voyage, we have watched the resurgence of classic yacht racing with interest, not least because it resists the relentless march toward carbon fiber and digital everything. Elena of London is a vessel that demands skill, patience, and an understanding of wind and water that no autopilot can replicate.

Winning Is in Her Blood

Elena of London has proven herself more than a museum piece under sail. She claimed victory at the 2018 Royal Regatta Cannes, triumphed again at the 2019 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, and most recently took the 2026 Richard Mille Cup. Her record suggests that Herreshoff's design remains as competitive today as it was when Plant first commissioned it.

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, scheduled this year from September 26 to October 4, is one of the Mediterranean's largest and most prestigious gatherings of sailing craft. Classic schooners share the water with turbo-charged maxis and cutting-edge racing yachts, creating a spectacle that is equal parts sporting contest and floating exhibition. Beyond the racing itself, the event includes gatherings in the race village and the famously spirited crew party, where sailors and charterers mingle in a setting that feels more like a maritime festival than a formal regatta.

For charterers, the opportunity is not simply to watch from the deck of a support boat or sip champagne in the harbor. It is to crew, to feel the weight of the helm, to understand why Plant wanted a schooner that could win.

Mahogany, Leather, and the Art of Restraint

Below deck, Elena of London continues her fidelity to the past. The interior is rendered in solid mahogany, with period-correct hinges, lights, and fittings that recall the craftsmanship of early 20th-century yacht design. Red leather upholstery adds warmth without ostentation. The salon and dining area are generous without being grandiose, and five guest cabins accommodate up to ten guests in conditions that balance historical authenticity with modern comfort.

There is no attempt here to smuggle in contemporary luxury by stealth. The aesthetic is deliberate, considered, and unapologetic. It is the kind of interior that rewards attention, where details reveal themselves slowly: the grain of the wood, the heft of a brass fitting, the way natural light filters through portholes.

We have found that the best yacht interiors are those that know what they are. Elena of London is not trying to be a superyacht disguised as a schooner. She is a schooner, faithful to her lineage, and her interiors reflect that integrity.

Racing, Chartering, and the Question of Ownership

Elena of London is available for charter during Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez through Camper & Nicholsons, the brokerage firm handling her bookings. She is also on the market for sale, a fact that may appeal to those who find themselves unwilling to relinquish her after a week on the water.

Chartering a racing yacht for a regatta is a different proposition from booking a motor yacht for a languid Mediterranean cruise. It requires a willingness to be part of the vessel's operation, to participate in the choreography of sails and lines, to accept that the sea and the wind will dictate the rhythm of your days. For some, that is precisely the appeal.

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez has become, over its nearly three decades, a gathering point for those who believe that sailing is not a leisure activity to be outsourced to a crew, but a skill to be practiced and a tradition to be upheld. Elena of London, with her impeccable pedigree and proven record, offers a way into that world.

The Romance of Repetition

What strikes us most about Elena of London is not her beauty, though she is undeniably beautiful, nor her racing record, though it is impressive. It is the deliberate choice to build her exactly as she was, to resist the temptation to improve or modernize or make concessions to contemporary tastes. In an age when so much luxury travel is about novelty and disruption, there is something quietly radical about a vessel that insists on fidelity to the past.

She is a reminder that some designs do not need to be reimagined. Some ideas, once perfected, need only to be repeated.