Coupe de France at the Yacht Club de France - Day 1

Melges 24, Mumm 30 & Dragon racing in the Coupe de France © Fiona Brown

After the dissipation of a light fog and the appearance of the sun around 2 pm, a gentle breeze from the South-east rose in the gulf of Saint-Tropez, making it possible for two race to be run for the 30 crews engaged in the 54th edition of this historical trophy, now being run in teams of three boats – Melges 24, Mumm 30 and Dragon.

This year the three classes were joined together on the same course, with a slightly shorter windward leg for the Dragon than for Melges and Mumm. Three rounds and then a finish for the first race with a wind between 6 and 10 knots, and then three rounds and an extra beat for the second race where the wind was sometimes gusting up to 12 knots, constituted the racing program on this first day.

In the light wind, where strong nerves are sometimes more important than boat speed, several crews showed real talent, giving identical performances in the two races of the day and thus confirming great overall potential.

In the Dragon class, Tamm ha Tamm with Christian Boillot of the Yacht Club of Monaco - helmed by Denmark’s Franck Erisken, won the first sleeve whereas the second was taken by Jean-Sebastien Ponce on Pistou. The Dragon Ulysses of Jean Breger, who carries the colors of the Yacht Club of France, was particularly consistent and finished third in the two races.

In Melges 24, it was a very even scenario for the two winners of the day, respectively the FlorDirect Monegasque of Philippe Ligot and Germany’s Vamp with Eddy Eich, whilst behind them second and third places were allocated twice to the British boat Gill skippered by Quentin Strauss and to the Yacht Club of France team representative Guy Zag with Henri Samuel.

In the Mumm 30, the Yacht Club of France team Shared Challenge skippered by Maxime Bessou won the first race, but the second went to Mean Machine with the Monegasque Peter de Ridder, penalized by an individual recall tardily returned from in the first race.

Tomorrow, Saturday, racing will be again start from 11 a.m. with three races planned and with a likelyhood of a change in conditions we can expect some close racing and a likely redistribute the overall positions.

Results after 2 Races:

1. The Really Random Team 19 pts : Fezi Khaleghi Yazdi - Holl (Triple P Mumm), Quentin Strauss - UK (Gill Melges), Don O'Donoghue (Martin Payne) - Irl (Sea Bird Dragon)
2. Yacht Club de France 19 pts : Thierry Bouchard - Fra (Maxime Paul) (Défi Partagé Mumm), Henri Samuel - Fra (Zig Zag Melges), Jean Breger - Fra (Ulysse Dragon)
3. Yacht Club de Monaco 2 24 pts : Peter de Ridder - Holl (Mean Machine, Mumm), Philippe Ligot - Fra (Flor Direct Melges), Arnold Tas - Holl (Mean Machine Dragon)
4. Marine Nationale 27 pts : Nicolas Pauchet - Fra (Ile de France Mumm), Jean-Paul Douchy - Fra (J'gaulo Melges), Didier Cuny - Fra (Gwaien Dragon)
5. Yacht Club de Monaco 1 30 pts : Claude Rodelato - Fra, (Toroscatenato Mumm), Benjamin Cohen - Fra (Sogeti Melges), Christian Boillot - Fra (Tamm ha Tamm Dragon)
6. Toulon Provence Méditerranée 36 pts : Pierre-Laurent Garnero - Fra (Magy Mumm), Christophe Barrue - Fra (Denis Infante) (Euro Voiles Melges), Gérard Blanc - Fra (Tsuica Dragon)
7. Voiles sans frontières 37 : Julien Di Biase - Sui (Ville de Genève Carrefour Prevention Mumm), Gilles Guyon - Fra (Nova Melges), Jean-Sébastien Ponce - Fra (Pistou Dragon)
8. Suisse Allemand 38 pts : Thomas Studer - Sui (Bienne Voile Mumm), Alba Batzill - All (Vamp Melges), Michael Schatten - All (CHI Dragon)
9. Team X : Vincent Portugal, Marc Pajot - Fra (Belvedere pour Téva Mumm), Silvio Santoni - Ita (Devotissimo Melges), Enric Carreras - Esp (Tico Dragon)
10. Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez : Jean-Albert Gabriel - Fra (Bred Reunion Mumm), Thibaut Garnotel (Nicolas Novara) - Fra (Ville de Saint-Tropez Melges), Julien Desmet - Fra (Tara Dragon)