Normandy Sailing Week - Practice Race

The M34s hit the racetrack in Le Havre

This Monday afternoon the M34s, the Tour de France à la Voile one-design, completed their training race with a view to hostilities commencing for real tomorrow. The top-class line-up from this class has the promise of a battle royal for the rest of this week.

Normandy Sailing Week forms part of the French Crewed Offshore Racing Championship in the M34 category. Within this context, seven of these one-designs launched into their final preparations in the Baie de Seine today during the training race.

Buffeted by the Norman squalls one minute and then left floundering without a puff of breeze the next, it was Jean-Baptiste Gellée, skipper of the M34 Nantes St-Nazaire, who seemed particularly keen to show his hand today, leaving his rivals in no doubt that he and his crew are a force to be reckoned with in the top spot. Oman Sail skippered by Sidney Gavignet didn't want to be outdone either, securing second place, while Franck Cammas and his crew on Groupama completed the podium.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 10 June, the start of the M34s' 134-mile offshore leg will kick off at 0800 GMT. Due to the very light airs forecast, the course is now as follows: Depart Le Havre, Antifer mark to be left to starboard, mark offshore of Dieppe to be left to port, return to the LHA mark at the entrance to Le Havre to be left to port, rounding of the Merville mark offshore of Ouistreham to be left to port, final mark offshore of Dives to be left to port, before crossing the finish line off the city of Le Havre.

Follow the M34s' offshore course on the cartography yb.tl/nsw2014,which will be updated every 15 minutes on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 June.

M34 Teams:

• BRETAGNE CREDIT MUTUEL ELITE - Skipper: Nicolas TROUSSEL
• COURRIER DUNKERQUE 3 – Skipper: Daniel SOUBEN
• GROUPAMA – Skipper: Franck CAMMAS
• NANTES - SAINT NAZAIRE – Skipper: Jean-Baptiste GELLÉE
• NORMANDY – Skipper: Baptiste CHOQUENET
• OMAN SAIL – Skipper: Sidney GAVIGNET
• TPM-COYCH – Skipper: Florian SIMONNOT

www.normandy-week.com