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19.05.2011
A race village in full swing!
Up and running! At 1000 GMT this morning, the race village for the Normandy
Channel Race opened its doors. From now through until Sunday, when the
competitors set off on the race, over thirty exhibitors will be on the site
to welcome the general public! A whole variety of entertainment is on the
programme. For the next 4 days, young and old alike will be able to see what
goes on behind the scenes in ocean racing and even meet the Class40 skippers
along the way.
Colour and smiles
The Class40s competing in this second edition of the Normandy Channel Race
are all now safely alongside in the Bassin Saint Pierre in Caen, northern
France. The multi-coloured hulls and flags are brightening up the port,
providing visitors with a dazzling spectacle. Through until the end of the
week, the general public can come and stroll around the race village at
their leisure. Everyday from 1100 to 2000 hours and on Sunday from 0900 to
1800 hours, the local associations and businesses along the Quai Vendeuvre,
are offering a great range of activities, which include a tour of an old
sailing ship, a show on virtual racing and a demonstration by rescue dogs,
to name but a few of the delights. At the heart of the race village is a
Race Info stand enabling the more curious visitors to find out all about the
Normandy Channel Race and the participants. Finally, those who are lucky
enough to have their names drawn out of a lot, after correctly answering 10
questions in the competition, will get a ride aboard the Boëdic on this
Sunday, which will be a prime spot to see the race start. As such there’s
certainly plenty to smile about in Caen!
400 students at the race village
Though Normandy Channel Race is a top level international race, it is also a
great educational tool that welcomes visitors. One of the index aims of the
organisation and the institutional partners, the City of Caen, the Lower
Normandy Regional Council, the Departmental County for the Calvados and the
urban area of Caen la Mer, is to enable youngsters to discover the sailing
universe, the skippers and the boats. In this way, from Tuesday through
until this coming Saturday, several hundred students of all ages, as well as
some disabled young people from local special schools, are set to flock to
the race village to take part in the various workshops designed with them in
mind. Aged from 7 to 15, these youngsters are already proving to be very
enthusiastic about these visits: “Today we visited Fabien Delahaye’s boat.
We also did an origami workshop and visited the Granvillaise, an old sailing
boat which was really great!” explains Simon, aged 10. Often, the students,
despite being impressed by the race and the boats, admit that they wouldn’t
fancy swapping places with the skippers: “It must be hard to stay at sea for
several days. I’d be too frightened to do that!” admitted Clara, aged 9.
The start of the Normandy Channel Race 2011 will take place on Sunday 22 May
at 1400 hours local time. The public are invited to the Bassin Saint Pierre
from 0930 hours to witness the grand Class 40 parade.
Join the Normandy Channel Race at www.normandy-race.com
and on Facebook.
List of participants 2011:
Boat name
No.
skipper
type
nat
co-skipper
nat
1
TEAM MABIRE - MERRON
101
Halvard Mabire
Pogo 40 S2
FRA
Miranda Merron
GBR
2
DEFI GDE - TZU HANG
53
Axel Strauss
Akilaria
GER
Nicolas Boidevézi
FRA
3
RED
66
Matthias Blumencron
CC 40
GER
Boris Herrmann
GER
4
LIVEWIRE
48
Stuart Dodd
Express40
GBR
Steve Kennington
GBR
5
OCEAN ELEVEN
20
Stéphanie Alran
Pogo 40
FRA
Caroline Vieille
FRA
6
DES PIEDS ET DES indexS
52
Damien Seguin
Rogers 40
FRA
Yohann Richomme
FRA
7
PARTOUCHE
60
Christophe Coatnoan
JPK
FRA
Sébastien Figue
FRA
8
PERASPERA
102
Francesco Piva
Kiwi 40FC
ITA
Zoccoli Luca
ITA
9
PORT DE CAEN OUISTREHAM
59
Fabien Delahaye
Rogers 40
FRA
Bruno Jourdren
FRA
10
SPLIFF
67
Andrew Dawson
Express40
GBR
Rune Aasberg
NOR
11
TALANTA
95
Jean Galfione
Pogo 40 S2
FRA
Eric Péron
FRA
12
MARE.DE2
79
Jorg Riechers
FS 40
GER
Etienne David
SUI
13
PHESHEYA RACING
23
Philippa Hutton
Akilaria
RSA
Nick Leggatt
RSA
14
MARIE TOÎT - CAEN LA MER
107
Marc Lepesqueux
Kiwi 40FC
FRA
Michel Kleinjans
BEL
15
GRYPHON SOLO 2
106
Joe Harris
Akilaria RC2
USA
Josh Hall
GBR
16
40 DEGREES
90
Hannah Jenner
Jaz40MK2
GBR
Anna-Maria Renken
GER
17
L'EXPRESS - SAPMER
68
Pierre-Yves Lautrou
Pogo 40 S
FRA
Dominic Vittet
FRA
18
INITIATIVES SAVEURS
30
Tanguy de Lamotte
Rogers 40
FRA
Sébastien Audigane
FRA
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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