(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The French J/80 teams are not resting on their laurels after having a very good showing overall in the 2013 J/80 Worlds recently held in Marseilles, France. Training weekends for the 2014 sailing season have already started with several teams focused on the upcoming Europeans in Barcelona, Spain in June and others on the J/80 Worlds that are being sailed in Annapolis, MD in late September/ early October.
The French J/80 Class Association hold several training/ race weekends in late winter and early spring to get teams back up to speed for the new season, re-learning “old tricks” as well as learning new ones.
A
very popular weekend is the “Casino Partouche" training weekend,
they’re both sponsors and hosts for all the J/80 teams participating.
According to ARNO-Skipper webmaster Arnaud Walter, “it was a great
weekend of sailing! On Saturday, we had WSW winds between 8-15 kts
under a big sun! Plus, we had six races on short courses and many
general recalls. Great practice! The goal was for most crews to get
re-accustomed to sailing fast, organizing their maneuvers and working on
boat-handling. One of the standout teams on Saturday was FRA 1258 "EV Cataschool”, which dominated sailing against the other teams with good speed, nice maneuvers, and a good sailing to be in 1st place. Their skipper, Quentin Delapierre, is a very good example and a ‘good rabbit” for the rest of the fleet!
On Sunday, Meteo France said there was a notice of gales, but the sea remained passable for good planing sessions for most teams and some great sailing. You can catch all the J/80 sailing videos at http://www.sport-boat-regatta.com (this is Arnaud Walter's ARNO-Skipper website).
Thank you to the ‘Casino Partouche’ for their support and their J/80 cocktail during their evening concert on Saturday night.”
Starting
the March 8th to 9th weekend, top French one-design sailor, Eric
Brezellec, will help in coaching and sailing with many of the J/80
teams. Plus, you will have guest “superstar”, Aymeric Belloir, winner
of the Mini Transat 6.50 and Figaro Solo Circuit also providing his
services and sense of humor to helping J/80 teams sail faster, smarter
with more fun! Be sure to be there to take advantage of such great
coaching!After the second weekend of regatta/ training, the standings are the following:
1st - FRA 1258 "EV Cataschool" - Quentin Delapierre
2nd - FRA 926 "Jibi" - Yannick Tabarly
3rd - FRA 572 "Ruban Vert" - Jérôme Croyère
4th - FRA 932 "Jdismercipapa" - Matthieu Visbecq
5th - FRA 526 "J Venture" - Marc Leborgne
For more French J/80 sailing information
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