(Crouesty Arzon, France)- The Crouesty J/Cup could have been nicknamed
the "Crouesty-tricks Cup” this year, in view of the crazy weather the YC
Crouesty- Arzon Race Committee and the crews had to contend with over
the weekend. Nevertheless, in the tricky conditions, Sylvain
Pellisier’s VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE and his crew (Mathieu Durand, Edouard
Gendreau, & Gabriel Couronne) sailed their J/80 smartly and
conservatively to win the regatta.On the first day of sailing Friday afternoon, there was barely ripple on the water, with a very light easterly wind of 3-5 knots. Fortunately, on this flat sea, the J/80s moved nicely and the YCCA Race Committee (bravo!) was in an opportunistic mode and made the most of the light air/ glass-out conditions. Two races were run, both won quite easily by Sylvain Pelissier's VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE, obviously very comfortable on this playing field.
Saturday’s
weather was more in line with the forecasts, moderate winds at best.
Forgot the surfing and planing at 18 knots like last year, this year it
was necessary to finesse the boat in a light to moderate south-east
breeze between 5 and 10 knots. Luc Nadal’s GANJA, that had started
modestly the first day, returns to the forefront with 2 victories over
the 5 races. Despite a modest fleet of thirteen teams, the races were
very close, with no less than 4 different winners in the 5 races of the
day. With two 2nd and one 3rd, Pellesier’s VOILERIE AP was still doing
very well and kept a comfortable points lead.Sunday’s racing was wild and different! With a good 15+ kts forecast by midday, the crews tightened their rigging in anticipation of a good breeze. Strangely, it was the fog, and not the wind, that dominated this day’s one and only race! 10 minutes after the start, you could not see more than 50m! Over the VHF radio, the YCCA RC strongly urged the sailors not to lose sight of the nearest competitor, not just to avoid his wind! Luc Nadal, in the lead, was the leader of the expedition. A 1st place well deserved! But, GANJA’s efforts were not enough to displace Pélissier’s crew. GANJA’s crew (Luc Nadal, Pierre Mousselon, Yvon Goude, David Nadal) finished two points back after their discard race to finish with 21 pts. Third was a local YCCA crew, that of Gaétan Le Guil sailing GUESS WHO’S BACK with crew of Brice Menay, Pierre Hervet-Cozette, and Quentin Le Saout.
Congratulations to the YCCA Race Committee chaired by Marc Eymond, who did everything humanly possible to make a regatta work in light winds ... and fog and run eight races against seemingly insurmountable odds! Applause also for the YCCA volunteers who have provided a benevolent and warm welcome in the very quaint club house.
COUPE DE FRANCE J/80 RANKINGS
The Coupe de France rankings are determined by the seven race series sailed from the spring to the fall. Starting with SPI Ouest France in April (La Trinite sur Mer), the fleet then went to GPEN in March (Brest Lanveoc), then Pornic J/Cup in June (Pornic), then Obelix Trophy in August (Benodet), then Atlantique Telegramme in September (Lorient), then Crouesty J/Cup in October (Crouesty), and finishes with the French J/80 Nationals in first weekend of November in Port Haliguen over the Halloween weekend!
With more than 100 points ahead of his pursuers, Simon Moriceau’s ARMENT HABITAT is guaranteed to win the Coupe de France J/80 for 2017. On the other hand, the fight for the podium promises to be exciting between five teams: Nadal, Pélissier, Guilhot, Bot and Le Guil.
The Masters J/80 title will be played out between Patrick Bot and Luc Nadal, provided each have a sufficiently senior crew (> 40 years on average). There are four contenders for the third step of the podium with a short lead for Xavier Tinel.
Top women’s teams are Elodie Bonafous’s BAIE DE MORLAIZ, Christelle Phillipe’s APCC EQUIPE FEMININE I and Margot Riou’s APCC EQUIPE FEMININE II. For more French J/80 Coupe de France sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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