J/70s & J/80s Enjoy Great Sailing Weather(La Trinite-sur-Mer, France)- It was yet another fun, challenging SPI Ouest France Intermarche Regatta that was held from April 17th to 21st on Quiberon Bay. The 300+ boats participating were not disappointed with the sunny breezy weather, certainly a far cry from last year’s event that saw some teams suffer hypothermia in the cold, stormy conditions.
The J/70s enjoyed equally fun racing over the four days, also managing to sail twelve races in all! However, unlike the 80’s, the 70’s saw a dominant performance put in by Luc Sambron sailing HEMON-CAMUS. Sambron’s team are former top J/80 sailors and have taken quickly to the J/70 performance envelope. By taking eight 1sts and three 3rds (tossing a 3rd!) for a total of 15 pts, it was clear they were the runaway winner. However, giving them a strong run for the roses in the last five races was T. Mellano’s LE HAVRE NAUTIQUE. Mellano’s crew had troubles in races 4, 5 & 6 but sailed a 2-2-1-1-2 to race back up the ladder to capture second overall for a total of 47 pts. Third in class was F. Charles’s crew on SUPER U LANMEUR- CABINET ABALLEA A (quite the sponsor name, eh?) with 51 pts. The balance of the top five was Jan Bergh’s Swedish KSSS YC sailing team on MOVEIT and Jm. Gosset’s LOCATION SPORT BOAT in 4th & 5th, respectively. For more SPI Ouest France sailing information
