Normandy Race Week - La Semaine de la Voile de Normandie

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 - Sun, 6 Jun 2010

100 boats racing in Le Havre during Normandy Sailing Week!

Normandy Sailing Week begins in Le Havre, France, on Thursday 3 June and run through to 6th June. 100 boats from the IRC, Farr 30, J80, First 7.5 and Sportsboat categories are expected in the Baie de Seine for some round the cans and coastal courses. The Town of Le Havre, the clubs (CNPV- SRH ? SNPH), the Upper Normandy Sailing League, the marina and Sirius Evénements, are fully prepared for the four days of top level competition, where daggers will be drawn amongst the international competitors.

A truly fabulous spectacle awaits as it?s been over 20 years since 100 boats have raced together in the Baie de Seine!

A wealth of famous competitors will be sailing on Le Havre?s race zone, which is renowned for its tactical nature. Among them are Bertrand Pacé, a world famous match racer, Pierre-Antoine Morvan the 15th best match racer in the world, Figaro legend Eric Drouglazet, Nicolas Lunven the most recent winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, Jimmy Pahun, Daniel Souben as well as Benoit Charon, to name but a few?

From 3rd June, the Farr 30s will take to the race course for the second stage of their French crewed championships. All the heavyweights from this series will be in Le Havre for the Championship ranking, as well as to hone their machines with a view to their participation in the Tour de France à la Voile. For the final year of the Farr 30, numerous teams are racing on the circuit and a fierce contest is expected. ?Courrier Dunkerque? skippered by Daniel Souben, will be here to defend his title. He will have to contend with some stiff opposition in the form of ?Nouvelle Calédonie? helmed by Bertrand Pacé, winner of the Grand Prix Atlantique at the start of the season, ?Oman Sail Renaissance? who are making a sensational entrance into the series, ?TPM Coych? sailed by the experienced Fabien Henry, ?Groovederci? skippered by the American Deneen Demourkas, as well as Jimmy Pahun?s ?Ile-de-France?, Benoit Charon?s ?Manche Basse-Normandie? and ?Tender to Rapetou? skippered by local skipper Alban Mesnil. On Saturday 5th June, following some close contact racing for the opening days, the crews will participate in a grand coastal course in the Baie de Seine.

Meantime the J80s, the most popular one-design in France and built by the ?JB Composites? yard, will also be in festive mode at the competition, where a stage of the French J80 Cup is scheduled in Le Havre. 15 crews will be on the start lines set up by the Race Committee. As such Normandy Sailing Week will be an important event for the French Cup ranking, which comprises eight stages in all, organised by the French J80 association. Two teams who seem particularly well placed for victory are those of Patrick Bot (Ecole Navale CG 29) and Laurent Chauvin.

In the IRC category, there will be a choice line-up for this event, with performances counting towards the ranking for the Trophée Manche (Channel Trophy) set up by the UNCL (National Offshore Union). A generous number of sailors have agreed to attend after being so well received at Deauville?s International Sailing Week in previous years. As such it is evident that Normandy has become a major playing field for British and French enthusiasts of racing on corrected time aboard sleek craft.

In IRC 1, Glynn Williams and his crew from the Royal Yacht Squadron are hot contenders aboard a fabulous Swan 45, as is the J133 ?Jivaro? skippered by Alain Rouault. In IRC 2, ?Foggy Dew? skippered by Le Havre?s Ludovic Senechal, has just won the Cowes ? Plymouth ? Cowes. An impressive line-up then, which includes no less than 15 Norman boats of the 35 competing in the IRC category!

In the small yet powerful planing Sportsboats category, several series will be vying for leadership with the K6.50s, Open 6.50s, Laser SB3s and Mach 6.50 all racing in Le Havre. Finally, the First 7.5s will also be out in force for the French Junior Championship selections taking place in the Baie de Seine, including several crews from the Upper Normandy Sailing League.

In short, there are some fine battles in store during the four days of racing at Normandy Sailing Week; proof if need be, of Normandy?s faculty for organising high quality sailing competitions. As if to echo this sentiment, Le Havre will also play host to the start of the Solitaire du Figaro in July and the French Junior Dinghy Sailing Championship in August.