(Douarnenez, France)- The next stage of the “Coupe de France” French
J/80 Championship Series took place off Douarnenez, France. Sixteen
incredibly competitive teams participated in the event, many of whom had
already sailed in the SPI Ouest Intermarche over the Easter Weekend in
La Trinite sur Mer. Proving that their excellent performance at SPI
Ouest was no fluke, Matthieu Salomon’s team on CHARIOT PLUS/ VANNES
UTILITAIRE (Quentin Delapierre, Quentin Ponroy, Remy Dupont and Elliott
Coville) sailed a remarkable series, winning 9 of 9 races- a perfect
score! And, that was against some of the best J/80 teams sailing in
France. To some teams it was a bit of a shock, to others it was simply
evidence that Salomon is a rising star in French sailing.After a light day of sailing on the first day, the P.R.O. Jean Coadou managed to off three races per day for the last two days in fairly breezy conditions- 15-20 kts gusting to 25 kts at times. It was heard by some sailors that Salomon’s CHARIOT PLUS team must’ve been powered by “Kouign-Amann”! An outrageously delicious pastry that tantalizes the senses and provides one great energy! This is the specialty of Douarnenez; this inimitable cake was invented by accident in 1860 by a Douarnenez baker, Yves-René Scordia. Its preparation is deemed difficult, but pastry chefs simply say “perseverance is key!” The tasting that follows is a naturally delight for the taste buds!
"We are happy with our performance,” said Mathieu Solomon, "it was a beautiful championship with beautiful conditions all weekend. We were rarely in trouble, even in the last race!”
As top woman skipper and also taking second overall was Maxime Mesnil from YC Cherbourg, skipper of CO-PILOTES and her team of Sophie Faguet, Yann Chateau and Loic Flocher. She scored 28 pts net to just beat Marc Noesmoen’s TEAM VENDEE crew comprised of Gatien Planson, Joris Cocaud, Hanna Revzin and Loic Orland Barisset from SN Sablais. Fourth was the familiar team of GANJA, skippered by Luc Nadal from NDCV Angers and fifth was another familiar face- Herve Leduc’s PIERRE OCEANE from SR Rochelaises.
The next event on the Coupe de France J/80 is on May 14-17 at the Grand Prix Ecole Navale in Camaret. Forty-four boats are already registered and more are promising to come! Thanks for report from Hervé LEDUC & Damien ZUCCONI. For more GP Guyader sailing information
|