Tuesday, November 22, 2011

CO-PILOTES Dominates French J/80 Nationals

J/80 sailing French Nationals off Saint Cast, France(Saint Cast, France)- The record fleet of seventy-four boats were treated to a superb weekend of sailing in the 2011 French J/80 Nationals, hosted in Saint Cast along the Bay of Biscay by Centre Nautique Saint Cast.  The event also marked the "changing of the guard" amongst the leaders in the French fleet.  Many of the top teams that had been dominating the standings all season long found themselves fighting for contention at the top of the fleet.  A new leader emerged that probably surprised everyone in the fleet, the team of CO-PILOTES for YC Granville won sailed by the team of Benoit Charon, Christian Ponthieu, Gael Fichet and Olivier Camebourg.  And, they won BIG!  Twenty four points big after seven races!

The first day of racing dawned with spectacular sailing conditions.  Gorgeous weather, moderate breeze, sunny.  Most importantly, the 74 boat strong fleet managed to get in three races on the first day.  It was an impressive level of competition.  At the end of the first day, the leader-board saw Yannick Le Clech's COTE D'ARMOR BLANC in first with an 8-2-5, followed by Charon's CO-PILOTES in second with a 2-13-4 and Clement Guihot's APCC J-PRANGOO in third with a 7-6-15.  Clearly, high scores for all in the top three.

J80 sailboat- rounding mark at French Nationals, Saint Cast, FranceDay two was a tough day for most teams.  Only two races were sailed that put a premium on getting clear lanes, clear air and to the correct side of the course.  Large gains and losses happened to many of the teams.   After a delay due to the presence of haze, driven by the wind, the fleet sailed in light ESE winds from 2 to 9 knots under clear skies and mild temperatures.  A pretty day for sailing, but tough on the tacticians!  There was a tremendous premium on getting off the starting to get to where you needed to go.  And, the multiple general recalls only heightened the anxiety for the top skippers in the fleet.  After the clouds of dust cleared from the battlefield, a new leader emerged to lead the pack, Charon's CO-PILOTES overcame great odds to win both races!  Dropping back significantly was Le Clech's COTE D'ARMOR BLANC with a 9-DSQ.  Ascending rapidly up the ladder was Quentin Ponroy's JIINGLE with a record of 3-10-24-12-7, good for third overall going into the final day of racing.

J80s sailing around mark off  FranceThe third and last day of the French J/80 Nationals was an opportunity for the committee to launch two nice races in a 12-15 knot wind, an ideal setting for the final, determining races in the regatta. The best performances of the day went to top French women skipper, Christine Briand, racing J'ILE DE RE to a 5-6, and also to Simon Moriceau sailing INTERFACE CONCEPT III to an 8-2.  As a result, the top five again saw a significant change in the standings as some of the top French teams all season long prevailed in their consistency to stay in the top ten in most races.  Sailing a superb regatta, and "congratulations" to his team, was Benoit Charon's CO-PILOTES from YC Granville, finishing out with a 7-10 for just 25 points after 7 races!  Behind them in second was Nicolas Troussel's BRETAGNE CREDIT MUTUEL with a record of 14-8-33-11-2-1-13 for 49 pts (drop included).  Third was Quentin Ponroy's JIINGLE, fourth was Christine Briand's J'ILE DE RE and fifth was top French sailor at the J/80 Worlds, Eric Brezellec on the familiar INTERFACE CONCEPT II.

Congratulations to the CNSC Race Committee for getting off seven excellent races over the three days.  Not an easy task considering the conditions of the wind, current and the aggressiveness of the fleet that caused a number of general recalls.    Sailing photo credits- Luc LeGrand/ Fox Images  For more French J/80 Nationals sailing information