Races follow one another but never look the same… or perhaps sometimes?
From Norman to fish pie through Brittany savoury pancakes, all of them enjoyed with some cider or Pastis, a lot of navigators still achieved great performances on the beginning of the season.
Solo Normandie Race
Rain does not appeal to the tourists but attracts champions!
The first event of the French Elite Championship of Offshore Sailing got off to a good start with the Solo Normandie Race. They were 24 skippers on the starting line ready to compete on the 260 nm course.
Famous Figaro skippers like Charlie Dalin, Martin Le Pape, Nicolas Lunven or Yann Elies and 20 other skippers endured tough weather conditions! All of the skippers admitted that they encountered a lot of difficulties. A total of 8 withdrawals but still a very nice podium in the end.
Charlie Dalin (Skipper Macif 2015) finished on the top of the podium followed by Nicolas Lunven (Generali) and Sebastien Simon (Bretagne Credit Mutuel).
Solo Concarneau – Trophée Guy Cotten
And that makes 2 for Charlie Dalin!
Nothing is stopping him! Charlie Dalin relishes again the first position of the podium. Followed by Erwan Tabarly (2nd) and Yann Elies (3rd), the Macif skipper faced between 8 to 15 knots North East wind conditions. However he was not guaranteed to succeed. Indeed, Tabarly, Elies and Hardy were leading much of the time but after some manœuvres and thanks to an ideal trajectory, Charlie Dalin overtook all of his rivals. As you may guess, Adrien Hardy – Agir Recouvrement – finished in fourth position after a brilliant navigation throughout the route.
SNIM (International Nautical Week in Mediterranean Sea)
As expected Mistral was blowing… and how!
Conviviality has always been present since the first edition of the SNIM. This year, no fewer than 125 navigators were ready to compete at the start of this 52nd edition. Sailors from many different nationalities and all kind of levels were gathered in a very enjoyable atmosphere.
The competitors encountered breathtaking weather conditions! The Mistral was indeed very present since Saturday but positive mood was still prevailing. The navigation conditions with spinnaker until the Embiez were quite pleasant on Friday. On the following day, the competitors faced tougher conditions which brought a significant gap between the ones who have trained hard for months and the ones less prepared.
Only one leg was maintained on Sunday because of a strong Mistral. Fortunately, thanks to better conditions, Monday was a perfect day for tactical navigation.
Congratulations to Jean-Jacques Chaubard in IRC 0 with Team Vision Future, Dominique Tian in IRC 1 with Tonnerre de Glen, Geranium killer in IRC 2 and Franck Loubaresse in IRC 3 with TwinL Banque d’affaires!
Spi Ouest France Event: 39th edition
Last but not least!
Head up into the wind and sunglasses on the nose, the Easter weekend launched the sailing season in a beautiful way!
409 crews, that is to say more than 2500 competitors divided into 18 categories took part in the well-known Spi Ouest France event. The huge mix of small and large boats is part of the originality of this competition. The international exposure of the race makes La Trinité as a prerequisite on Easter!
“PLEASURE” was the key word throughout the weekend. Either for the professionals, the amateurs, the famous ones, the less known skippers or the spectators, the Spi event was the occasion to live exceptional moments in a very festive spirit.
Excellent conditions concluded the 39th edition. The skippers had a lot of fun sailing in the Quiberon bay. On the winning side, Lorina team took the first place all categories!
Which results in IRC?
A key class for Adrena that equips more than 50% of IRC boats.
In IRC 1, Codiam won the race followed by Yoann Richomme – Solitaire Le Figaro 2016 winner – onboard Spirit Of Spineck. M.Menesguen finished in third position onboard Tiger 3 after a very nice race.
The new IRC double-handed class was a real success! The 34 competitors in which 50% are equipped with Adrena navigation software confirmed the current trend.
In Open 6.50, Dongfeng teams finish in second and third positions with Charles Caudrelier and Marie Riou.
Focus on Dongfeng team
The Spi Ouest France event was a good opportunity for the team to practice for the Volvo Ocean Race. An objective that Dongfeng crews keep in mind. In Open 6.50, one was skippered by Charles Caudrelier and assisted by Pascal Bidegorry while the other one was skippered by Marie Riou.
