Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT I Smokes J/80 Fleet
(Presque Ile de Crozon, France)- This year's running of GPEN, as it's
known locally, was near perfect. Great weather. Excellent Race
Committees and PROs. Monstrous J/80 class? Yes, again, the largest
class by a country furlong with fifty-eight teams participating. Said
Marc Bouvet, head of the FFV (the French Sailing Federation), "This is
the third year that the Grand Prix Ecole Navale provides support to the
championship of French one-designs. With 180 boats (J/80s nearly 33% of
the fleet), the event is a major one-design event in France. With nine
nations present, it's fast becoming a classic in European one-design
sailing circles. Moreover, foreigners may well come away with a title,
may the best man win! But mostly GPEN is just an extraordinary event
with an exceptional stretch of water, a commitment to the French Navy
and an exceptional organization thanks to Alain Daoulas and his team."
Bouvet's comments were spot on, great racing for all and the J/80 class
was no exception- producing a dominant winner in the form of Eric
Brezellec's team on INTERFACE CONCEPT I. Here is how it all turned out
for the teams that sailed on this gorgeous body of water along the
Atlantic side of France. 
The
first day was busy with four races in the breeze for all sailors. The
winds started at ten knots increasing to 20 knots early in the
afternoon. Eric Brezellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT I found the conditions
to his liking, scoring a 1-4-3-5 to be leading after the first day.
Second was Luc Nadal on GAN'JA with a 3-21-4-1 and third was Nolwenn
Lemaitre on ECOLE NAVALE I with a 6-6-5-3. After an invigorating day on Friday where the race committees were able to run four race for all series, Saturday was marked by calm conditions. Blame the capricious wind. It was not until the end of the day the J/80s sailed in much cleaner winds with about 7 kts of breeze. As a result, only one race was sailed. Matthew Souben, tactician of J/80 QUANTUM, said "The GPEN brings together top national crews. The level of the fleet is very high. It has been three years since I sailed on the series and I see it growing from year to year. The formula for J/80 works perfectly with a large fleet and a one-design boat. This morning we were sixth in the standings, four points behind the podium. It has been fantastic racing."
Sunday's
forecast was significantly better, N-NW winds blowing 10-12 kts
promised good racing and a wonderful finale to the GPEN event. After
four days of racing, it's been quite clear the series is becoming more
competitive in the J/80 class, the largest in the GPEN regatta. The win
goes again, as in 2010 and 2011, to Eric Brezellec and his crew on
INTERFACE CONCEPT I. Careful preparation, a set of sails developed by
the skipper, training partners who join him on the podium-- all point to
talent, work experience and above all three race wins that allowed them
to dominate the Grand Prix. Very difficult to beat a scoreline of
1-4-3-5-1-1-3 for 13 pts net over a 7 race series-- an average below 2nd
place! 
Behind
Eric's IC1 team, it was very close for the top five, only four points
separating the next four boats. Finishing in second overall was Martin
Le Pape sailing ARPEGE PROMOTION to a 7-7-12-4-11-2-1 record for a net
of 32 points. Third was Nolwenn Lemaitre sailing the top Ecole Navale
boat for the French Navy, ECOLE NAVALE I sailed to a 6-6-5-3-14-7-5
tally for a 33.6 net pts total. Fourth in the fleet of 58 teams was Luc
Nadal on GAN'JA with a 3-21-4-1-4-4-19 score line for 35 pts. Fifth
was Simon Moriceau on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 with one of the most
consistent scores in the top five- tallying a 4-8-6-9-3-bfd-6 for a 36
pts net- other than Brezellec, the only boat to score all top 10
finishes. For more Grand Prix Ecole Navale sailing information
