INTERFACE CONCEPT Flies Over Moon!(Lorient, France)- This year’s Lorient J/80 Open was an epic on more than two elements, the weather and the winner! To begin with, the thirty-four J/80 teams from across France could not have been more delighted with the sailing conditions on Friday and Saturday, it was near “picture-perfect” Indian Summer sailing with warms breezes from the SSW blowing from 10 to 15 kts each day. Despite a front rolling in on Sunday, the sailors were treated to a solid 10-20 kts NE breeze that enabled the teams to “get up on the step” and hop into planing mode downwind for last and final race of the regatta.
The other epic element was the sheer dominance of Simon Moriceau’s well-practiced team on INTERFACE CONCEPT. Talk about an eclipse of the harvest moon? You might as well have talked about Moriceau’s eclipse of the J/80 teams at this year’s Lorient J/80 Open. Sailing to five straight bullets in a row, then backing off the gas to post a 5th, the INTERFACE CONCEPT team (Moriceau plus Christian Ponthieu, Jean Queveau, Hugo Kerhascoet and Herve Corlay) counted only 10 pts in 6 races for an equally impressive 1.66 average score!
It
all started on Friday in the 12 kts SW breeze. The first start had
multiple general recalls, including a black flag start. Right out of
the starting gate, Moriceau’s team took a first, followed by SAFRAN
(Morgan Lagravière) in second then CHARIOT PLUS/ VANNES UTILITAIRE
(Matthew Solomon/ Quentin Delapierre) in third. The start of the second
race of the day went off without a hitch, with teams following the
lighter breeze off to the left. Behind Moriceau’s transom disappearing
into the mist beyond, was Frederic Hauville’s ECOLE NAVALE CG29 team in
second, followed by Alice Metais’ crew on CHARLY in third. At this point, with Moriceau’s INTERFACE CONCEPT leading with a 1-1, it was Morgan Lagravière’s SAFRAN that was hanging close by in second with a 2-4, followed by top woman skipper Alice Métais’ CHARLY (daughter of the famous Pierre Metais) in third sitting on a 6-3.
Saturday saw another extraordinary day of racing, with four additional races scored for the fleet! More Indian Summer sailing! The breeze was a steady 10-15 kts, but very shifty compared to the previous day. Again, Moriceau sailed off with a 1-1-1-5 to establish a dominant lead over the fleet. At this stage, it was a battle for second between CHARLY, CHARIOT PLUS/ VANNES UTILITAIRE, SAFRAN and Eric Brezellec’s COURIER JUNIOR.
With
just one race left for Sunday, it was a battle for the remaining podium
spots. Moriceau OCS’d the start and simply left the course since they
had won anyways. Behind them, Salomon & Delapierre took the bullet
to secured second overall and Brezellec finally got back on form to take
a second in the race and third overall. Dropping out of contention
with a strong chance for a top three finish was Alice Metais’ crew on
CHARLY, accumulating a 21-5 in her last two races to drop into fourth
(but still winning the Top Woman’s Skipper award!). Taking fifth was
Lagraviere’s SAFRAN, closing with satisfying scores of 1-4 in the last
two races.Everyone greatly enjoyed the social festivities as well as the wonderful hosts, CNPL (Centre Nautique du Pays de Lorient). The racing conducted by PRO Jean Coadou was met with great applause by all participants!
For the overall J/80 Coupe de France, Moriceau’s on INTERFACE CONCEPT/ CV ECOLE NAVALE has strongly increased their overall series leadership. Can anyone catch them? Perhaps not.
The women’s teams sailing J/80s in France are sailing extremely well. In addition to Metais’ 4th overall and 1st women’s position, taking 2nd in Women’s division was Maxime Rousseaux skippering ST-CAST GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES and 3rd was Pauline Chalaux driving PRINCE DE BRETAGNE. For more J/80 Open Lorient Regatta sailing information
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