(Morlaix, Brittany, France)- And wins IRC!! You have got to be kidding. Not
if you're Nicolas Troussel, a very famous French Figaro racer and Tour
de France a'La Voile winner, who recently broke the 20 kts barrier
several times while racing offshore in his new J/70 off the coast of
Brittany!You might ask, what is Troussel doing sailing a J/70? Well, he loves sailing, loves one-design racing, and loves sailing hot sportboats with friends. J/70 is the answer! Over this past weekend, J/70s were sailing in the 2013 CCI Trophy in Morlaix (North Britanny). Here's the report from Fred Bouvier at J/Composites in France:
"On Saturday, the coastal race was started with a starting line in the vicinity of the Castel "Du Taureau". The weather conditions were simply epic-- 22-27 kts of Northerly breeze with massive, steep waves for the boats to surf the downwind run offshore to the "Méloine" sea-buoy.
Troussel's J/70 managed to stay in the race for most of the initial long upwind leg against optimized 38 to 40 foot IRC handicap racers. Indeed, sailing well enough to be able to use his downwind ability to recover his handicap time deficit while managing to beat the 20 kts speed record several times!
Unfortunately, Sunday's sailing saw very light and tricky winds, so the PRO had to cancel racing for the day.
In the end Nicolas Troussel and his J/70 team were crowned the victorious champions of the 2013 CCI Trophy in Morlaix!! An astounding, earth-shattering performance! Plenty of enthusiasm was shown around the J/70 and, in particular, Troussel's ability to sail easily and fast as a rocket downwind in rough conditions!" Cool. Troussel would've loved the Friday afternoon in Charleston Race Week when it blew 15-30 kts in flat water, too! Next time. :)
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