10.06.2012
Success at Normandy Sailing Week
The seventh edition of Normandy Sailing Week came to an end this afternoon
in Le Havre with victory going to “Toulon Provence Méditerranée” on the
M34s, “Beelzebuth 3” in IRC1, “Batistyl” in IRC 3, “LVHN2” in First 7.5 and
“Vog” in J80.
In some varied sailing conditions, with strong, medium and light airs over
the course of the week, Normandy International Sailing Week has been a great
success both on the water and on shore. The 500 competitors linked together
a large number of races, with no less than ten races for the M34s, as well
as a host of festivities back on shore, which included three crew suppers.
Over the years, Normandy Sailing Week has become a classic for the M34
circuit, and this year they made the most of the occasion to host the first
stage of the French Crewed Championship. It was also an important week for
the Norman, Breton and British crews, who were competing on IRCs and small
one-designs. The crews have already pencilled 2013 in their race schedules
for the eighth edition of the event, which should see the arrival of an even
greater number of sportsboats and the J80s in particular.
In the definitive overall standing for the event in Le Havre, a number of
the favourites confirmed their winning form. In the M34 category, the racing
was both intense and competitive. On Tuesday, the boats which are soon to
compete in the Tour de France à la Voile, took part in a Channel hop which
started and ended in Le Havre via a mark off the Isle of Wight (235 miles).
This new feature of the event was much appreciated by the crews, who are
preparing to tackle the long sprint around France’s coastline, which kicks
off in Dunkirk on 29 June. It’s the Omanis on “BAE Systems”, who secured the
win after 27 hours of tricky navigation at the mercy of the currents of the
English Channel.
Following on from that, the monohulls from Archambault yard raced a series
of ‘tactical’ courses throughout the weekend. In this particular format, the
team from Hyeres, under the leadership of Fabien Henry, double victor of the
Tour de France, really stood out and didn’t put a foot wrong. Indeed, having
already won the Spi Ouest France and the Grand Prix de l’Ecole Navale, the
team from southerner France have snatched the lead in the French
Championship and have asserted themselves as pretenders to victory this
summer. “Courrier Dunkerque”, skippered by the experienced Daniel Souben,
came off well and bagged second place, whilst “Crédit Mutuel – Bretagne”
completed the podium.
In the IRC category, despite a cancellation of racing on Friday due to
excessive breeze, the battle was superb in every class. Normandy Sailing
Week is the largest gathering of cruiser-racers in Normandy and is hence an
unmissable meeting for informed amateurs. In IRC 1, the Grand Soleil 40 from
Perros Guirec, northern Brittany, helmed by Olivier Pesci, took victory in
this seventh edition ahead of Jean-Philippe Cau’s crew from La Trinité sur
Mer, in southern Brittany. In IRC 2, Phillippe Bourgeois and his team on
“Dunkerque Plaisance” are leading, but they’ll have to defend themselves
well before the jury this evening, following an infringement. François
Blossier and his team could take the win. In IRC 3, the A31 “Batistyl’ did a
great job and deservedly crossed the finish line in first place on five of
the six races. Finally in IRC 4, “45 South” skippered by Laurent Beaurin
took victory on his Farr design Quarter Tonner, with a six-point lead over
the Cherbourg sailor, Philippe Rios.
Finally, in the Sportsboats, First Class 7.5, J80, Open 5.70, Seascape and
Laser SB 3 categories, the winning crews are respectively skippered by
Tanguy Troiville (Le Havre Racing Society), Philippe Szellos, multiple NSW
winner, Didier Sternou, John McLaren and Ed Russo.
Quotes from the boats:
Cyrille Legloahec, IRC 3 winner: “Normandy Sailing Week is a race we love so
we come along as often as we can. We’re happy with our performance. We’ve
sailed well. I’m lucky to have a good crew. We raced the Tour de France a la
Voile last year and this year our goal for the season is the UNCL Trophee
Atlantique.”
Manfred Ramspacher, event organiser: “It’s been a great week for Norman
sailing, with some tough sailing conditions, but we managed to run a number
of races despite the cancellation on Friday. The new format with the long
Channel hop early in the week for the M34s was a success. I’d like to thank
our index partner, the town of Le Havre, all the volunteers, our race
committees and those laying the courses.”
Ed Russo, Laser SB3 winner: “It’s been a very fine event with 7 races on the
scoreboard! Conditions were tough yesterday with a choppy sea. Today the sea
was flat and we were able to build our victory race by race. We look forward
to next year’s racing in Le Havre!”
Fabien Henry, event winner in M34: “The race format offered up by the
organisers was good. To head off to do a circuit of the Isle of Wight early
in the week and then follow on from that with some close-contact racing for
the rest of the week is great training for the Tour de France a la Voile.
We’re particularly happy to win Normandy Sailing Week, which was our first
big event of the season, as it’s the first stage of the French Crewed
Championship.”
Olivier Pesci, IRC 1 winner: “I’d like to say that I’ll remember the special
crew night on Friday for a long while – it was great! Thanks to the
organisers… With a varied programme, with as many coastal courses as
close-contact racing, every competitor was able to express themselves and
defend their chances. We put up a consistent performance throughout the
event.”
http://www.normandy-week.com
>> Rights free photos for press and web use with the compulsory caption:
Jean-Marie Liot
Banner photo - Amandine Grivot
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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