(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.
Day
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. 
The
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
