(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- If it’s Easter Bank Holiday, it must be time for the largest regatta in France to usher in the new sailing season! Yes, it is that time again, from April 18th to 22nd, the Societe Nautique de La Trinite sur Mer hosts their annual SPI Ouest France Regatta.
The event is simply huge and is also an important gathering place for all sailors, professionals, and marine industry people. The 2019 edition will have 398 keelboats on the water, of which 98 are a veritable navy of J’s (25% of the total fleet) that include J/70s, J/80s, J/92s, J/97s, J/99s, J/105s, J/109, J/111, J/120 and J/122E.
The leading contenders in the IRC Divisions will include the trio of the brand new J/99’s making their first major regatta debut. The stakes could not get any higher than the largest regatta in France run each year! Leading that charge in the IRC B fleet may be Didier LeMoal’s latest J-LANCE 14 from Societe Regate Rochelaises. Then, Olivier Grassi’s J/99 GRASSI BATEAUX is sailing in the IRC Double class against a formidable contingent of top French offshore doublehanded sailing teams.
Racing in the IRC A class will be P. Vidon’s J/111 J4F from Societe Nautique Baie St Malo. Joining the J/99s in IRC B are H. Mehu’s J/109 JACKPOT, P. Girardin’s J/120 HEY JUDE, and P. Baetz’s J/122E MUSIX; all three teams are from the host club- SN Trinite sur Mer. In IRC C class will be two J/92s- M. Visbecq’s NAVARCHSOFT and T. Bidon’s DR JEKYLL from CN Lorient.
The French version of the American PHRF class is called the Osiris Habitable handicap rule. There are nine J/Teams participating in OSH 1 Division, including four J/105s, S. Blevin’s J/109 JOKE, two J/97s (O. Kayser’s NUAGE II and P. Mabo’s HALIOTIS), and a lone J/24 (A. Garcia’s JERONIMO).
Yet again, the largest class in the biggest regatta in France happens to be the sixty-four boat J/80 class, with representatives from Belgium, Spain, Great Britain and Ireland. The top French teams include Simon Moriceau’s ARMEN HABITAT, Sylvain Pellisier’s INTUITIVE SAILS, Luc Nadal’s GANJA, Ludovic Gilet’s NUMERO J, and Laurent Verdier’s HIP HOP. The top visiting teams include Kevin Sproul’s ULTIMATE SAILS/ J.A.T. from Great Britain and J. O’Dowd’s JABS from Ireland.
The seventeen-boat J/70 class continues to grow its participation in the SPI Ouest Regatta, and the competition is getting stronger as well, with representatives from three nations- France, Russia, and the USA. The top French crews are Luc Sambron’s HEMON CAMUS, Herve Leduc’s PIERRE OCEANE/ JIBESET. The top visitors include the American B. Vibert on APOLLO J and the Russian/ Spanish team on NEW TERRITORIES, led by Alex Semenov from Moscow with Olympic Medallist Hugo Rocha as trim/ tactics. For more SPI Ouest France sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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