9th edition of the Normandy Sailing Week starts soon
by Kate Jennings 6 Jun 2014 10:46 BST
9-15 June 2014
Monday 9 June 2014 will herald the start of Normandy Sailing Week 2014. This major nautical gathering, Europe's primary race meet in the English Channel, is run within the context of the French Crewed Offshore Racing Championship for the M34s, the French J80 Cup and the Trophies awarded by the clubs of Upper Normandy and the UNCL.
Within the framework of the French Crewed Offshore Racing Championship, the M34s will be the first to commence hostilities on Monday with a training race. Then on Tuesday 10 June, the participating crews will head offshore on their first point-scoring race, on what will be a very Norman circuit spanning over 200 miles: setting sail from Le Havre with a mark offshore of Dieppe, a long sprint across the Baie de Seine towards Barfleur, the islands of St Marcouf in the Cotentin and a mark off Omaha Beach, just days after the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings, and a return to Le Havre on Wednesday. The one-designs from the Tour de France à la Voile, skippered by a host of big names including Franck Cammas (GROUPAMA TEAM), Daniel Souben (COURRIER DUNKERQUE 3), Nicolas Troussel (CREDIT MUTUEL BRETAGNE ELITE) and Sidney Gavignet (OMAN SAIL), to name but a few, will then continue to battle for supremacy through until Sunday 15 June on a series of race courses set off the harbour of Le Havre.
The complete Normandy Sailing Week fleet will be in action from Friday 13 June. The J80s, the leading one-design racing series, will make their appearance within the context of the French J80 Cup, which is the top European one-design circuit with a 2013 ranking that featured some 250 crews.
Friday will also see battle commence for the Upper Normandy Clubs Trophy, which runs through until Sunday and gathers together the fleet of First Class 7.5s. Its success among the region's watersports clubs over recent years is a sure sign of some fierce competition on the race zone in Le Havre.
Finally the IRC racer-cruisers are expected to race within the context of the UNCL's Trophée Manche (Channel Trophy), which is divided into 4 series, from IRC 1 to IRC 4, according to their size and their rating, and groups together craft measuring 7 to 15m.
Latecomers can sign up quickly!
As is the case every year, Normandy Sailing Week will be keen to highlight the marine dynamism of the City of Le Havre, its conglomeration (CODAH), its League and its clubs, SNPH, SRH and CNPV.
Satellite beacon position reports will enable spectators to track the offshore course for the M34s on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 June: www.normandy-week.com