27 January 2011
A sizeABLE COMPETITIVE LINE-UP EXPECTED IN LE HAVRE FOR NORMANDY SAILING
WEEK 2011
The 2nd Le Havre-based edition (and the 6th running in total) of NORMANDY
SAILING WEEK will gather together a sizeable competitive line-up from 11 to
13 June 2011 with 12 series invited to the event, compared with 8 in 2010.
2010 was a transition year with the arrival of the event on the Le Havre
site being synonymous with free access to deep water at any time of day, a
range of sizeable, dynamic clubs and a vast experience of organising
watersports. These assets will now play a major role in continuing the
development of the event and enabling it to exceed the threshold of 100
craft that was reached for the first time last year.
The schedule for the various classes has been drawn up for 2011 and the
announcements sounded out in the autumn (see PR No.1) have now been
confirmed.
Among the newcomers is the new steed for the Tour de France à la Voile, the
M34, as well as the Longtze, Seascape 18 and Open 5.70 in the sportsboat
category and a large class in the IRC category.
The Norman event has been retained as the first stage of the French Crewed
Championships by the FFV (French Sailing Federation), two weeks prior to the
start of the Tour de France à la Voile. As such the M34s will begin their
first races in Normandy Sailing Week from 10 June, where fifteen or so
projects are expected, representing the cream of French crewed sailing.
Cutting a fine, colourful figure on the water through its fine performance,
the Longzte sportsboat from China is continuing to take Europe by storm and
is returning to the event within the context of its new West Trophy circuit,
which encompasses the major Atlantic events and Cowes Week. Two additional
new series of sportsboats are also due to participate: the Seascape 18, a
new craft from Slovenia with 100 boats already produced in Europe, and the
Open 5.70, a craft which is already a familiar sight on a range of race
zones. The growth of the event’s sportsboat category means that one of the
three race zones will be dedicated solely to these very fashionable craft.
In the IRC category a new class has been opened to large craft measuring 45
to 50 feet (15/16m – TCC > than 1.060), to add to the 3 existing classes,
which should play host to the large British craft, among others, which came
to discover the event in 2010 (Swan 45, DK 46, Grand Soleil 43….). Amongst
the 2011 objectives is the desire to attract local cruiser-racers from the
Baie de Seine area (Deauville /Honfleur /Ouistreham /Courseulles /and
Dieppe…) as well as an increasing number of British crews in all the IRC
classes.
Of those series already present in 2010, several are set to be further
boosted this year, such as the Laser SB3 sportsboats, with a sizeable fleet
expected thanks to the development of the series in Upper Normandy and the
proximity of the World Championships in the UK in May, which are likely to
gather together 120 craft. The Class 6.5 (Mach 6.5 /K 650 /Open 6.50) is
also filling out with around twenty craft expected on the circuit in 2011.
In J80 rallying together the Norman crews and creating a fleet of at least
20 to 25 craft will be just one of this year’s major aims. Nearly twenty
boats are already based between Le Havre and Deauville, with around forty in
Normandy and the North Sea. Finally, in the Beneteau 7.5 a further twenty or
so crews are expected within the scope of the selection process for the
French Espoirs Championship, which will again be held in Le Havre in August.
The Open 7.50 and J109 are also likely to race in a one design series with a
fair quota of entries (10 for the J109).
As such an ambitious programme awaits the crews in the marvellous setting of
Le Havre, where the process for encouraging watersports is unfailing. Indeed
the site has a packed schedule of events again in 2011: Voiles Etudiantes
(Student sailing), French Espoirs Championships, Transat Jacques Vabre and
the inauguration of the first section of a marina in the Bassin Vauban.
Website: www.normandy-week.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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