French Dart 18 Nationals at Quiberon, France

The French Dart 18 Nationals always combine great sailing and competition with a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, making it one of the highlights of the sailing calendar. This year, the event was held just over a week before the World Championships in Holland, so teams from Britain, Portugal, Holland and Belgium joined the French for a regatta with a truly international flavour. With crews from South Africa and the Czech Republic, there were sailors from 7 Nations.

The event was held at the impressive National Sailing Centre at Quiberon, with the racing on the same waters as Carnac.

Unfortunately, on the first day racing was cancelled due to storms and very poor visibility which, combined with fairly strong winds, made racing unsafe.

For the first day of racing, the wind was in the 15 – 18 knot range, but offshore and extremely shifty with large holes. Choosing the right way, especially close to the windward mark, was vital and the French team of Cedric Cheyan/ Stephane Lelievre chose the best options all day. They won the first race. Followed by another French team Marc Le Goff/Frederique Leaute, and the British team of Dave and Louise Roberts in 3rd place.

The second race saw the same two teams in first and second place, but the third place was taken by another French team - Thierry and Christine Wibaux.

In race three the same two teams were again first and second, but they swapped places. Le Goff/Leaute took first place, with French sailors Pierre Betsch and Isabelle Monod in third. The race team tried to make up for the lost races on day one and ran a 4th race in similar tricky conditions. This time the Portuguese team of Nuno Rocha and Joao Gil Morais chose the right way and won with some distance. Ten times French Single Handed Champion Pierre Vidal demonstrated that Darts can be fast singlehanded and took second place just ahead of the French/British team of Herve Le Maux/Jo Jo Pierce.

On the second day of racing, the wind was in the 8 – 10 knot range and much more consistent – but no more predictable. In the first race of the day, all the overall contenders took the left hand side of the beat and collected their event discard! Angelique and Claude Formont won this race, ahead of the Portuguese Rocha/Morais.

For the rest of the day, the fleet took the right hand side of the beat, which was consistently better. In race 6 there was a very close finish with the first three boats arriving at the leeward mark together. Emmanuel and Marie-Caroline Dode, just won ahead of Le Maux/Pierce and Roberts/Roberts.

In race 7, the early pace was set by Wibaux/Wibaux who were just overhauled on the last leg by Roberts/Roberts, with Cheylan/Lelievre in third. Again, the race team ran a 4th race, but the wind dropped significantly at the end. Roberts/Roberts held onto the lead in the dying breeze, followed home by Betsch/Monod and Rocha/Morais.

With two races remaining on the final day, there were four teams in with a chance of the title, led by Cheylan/Lelievre. A steady 8 – 10 knot breeze promised a great finale. Le Maux/Pierce had the most points to catch up and took the high risk port tack start; but they executed it to perfection and established a good early lead. Eventually they were overhauled by Roberts/Roberts and Le Goff/Leaute. This left the British team of Dave and Louise Roberts leading the fleet with a few points to spare – they had to stay within a few places of Pierre Vidal and Cheylan/Lelievre and in the end a 5th place was good enough to win the title.

All the foreign sailors enjoyed the idyllic setting and great French hospitality.

Overall Results:

1 Dave & Louise Roberts, GBR7835, www.sailingbooks.co.uk, 34 pts
2 Pierre Vidal, FRA7813, C.N. Haute Seine, 38 pts
3 Cedric Cheylan & Stephane Lelievre, FRA7645, C. Quimper, 45 pts
4 Herve Le Maux & Jo Jo Pierce, FRA7777, CIC, 47 pts
5 Nuno Rocha & Joao Morais, POR7789, G.N. Olhao, 51 pts
6 Emmanuel Dode & C. Dode, FRA1812, C.N. Loccmariaquer, 60 pts
7 Thierry & Christine Wibaux, FRA7914, France Catamaran, 70 pts
Other British
10 Geoff & Jenny Lloyd, GBR7778 92pts
21 Barry Peters & Debbie Morgan, GBR7347 162pts
24 Charlie & Rosie Hillier, GBR7794 181pts