Longtze European Tour at Lanvéoc-Poulmic, France

German Eckhard Kaller, crowned champion of France in Lanvéoc-Poulmic

Each time, the same suspense! Not until the final leg of the 11th round of the Grand Prix de l’Ecole Navale, 2nd stage of the Longtze European Tour, was the winner revealed. German Eckhard Kaller (Wet Feet) and his team take it by one small point from Jimmy Pahun’s “Région Ile de France 2010”. The students from the team CSC – HEC Ecole Navale are third.

This Grand Prix de l’Ecole Navale was also, for the first time, the French Monotype Championship. And in keeping with the Longtze never going unnoticed, the very first Champion of France for the series is …a German!

“The title French Champion? Yes, it is funny. Coming here, we didn’t know that it was the French Championship, but our goal was to win. On this circuit the battles are always very close. And as usual, there was nothing in it and it was decided on the last round! The organisation and the racing circuit here are extraordinary, shame that we are 16 hours drive from home! “, comments Eckhard Kaller, Wet Feet skipper.

Jimmy Pahun, who came onto the Longtze circuit for the 2nd time after his February debut at the Primo Cup, took second place. He was notably and competently partnered with Nicolas Bérenger, a Longtze circuit faithful since 2009. This great team took 5 of the 11 rounds of the event, a stunning performance but just not enough to conquer the consistency of the Germans.

The Naval Academy team in the leading spots

In third place on the podium, the crew form CSC-HEC Ecole Navale, led by Hervé Gautier, also enjoyed great success. Regularly in the leading positions, the students finished about ten points from the professional crews and are 1st out of all the students.

“We are really happy with our placing. Our goal was to finish in the top 5, so a podium position and a win in the student class is perfect! And what is really positive is that the second Longtze from the Naval Academy was not far behind us (Stéphane Christidis on Générations Ecole Navale finished 5th, ndr). And that is super important because we are a team!” affirm the students from HEC and the Naval Academy in unison.

Mathieu Girolet (Ovik), newcomer to the circuit, played his cards very skilfully to race a creditable 4th place.

“We fought an incredible battle on the water!”

Calm sea, shifty winds, currents…throughout the whole four days of racing, the weather conditions were particularly favourable to a tactical battle. The leaders danced with each other between each mark. With the help of a little well-negotiated shift, the heir apparent took the lead…and so it went on. Up close, it was a game of tactics. In the end, it was technique that came out on top. “The Longtze is a beautiful boat; we were really pushing it for four days! We fought an incredible battle on the water. It is an extraordinary championship played out at a very high skill level. On these boats, everything counts. The programme for this class is like a sailing ‘Tour de France’. It is easier to manage and what’s more the boats are such fun!” notes Jimmy Pahun (Région Ile de France 2010).

A great festival for Monohulls and Sportboats

For the 3rd year running then, the Longtze crews had a great time on the waters of Lanvéoc-Poulmic to contest the Grand Prix de l’Ecole Navale. The welcome and the logistical support are always exceptional and the racing area is superb for the sailors. This year, not less than 9 series, 163 crews and around 650 sailors met at this great festival event for Monohull and Sportboats…how could you not want to come back?

The next stage of the Longtze European Tour will be the mythical Cowes Week, at the beginning of August, while the students will fight out the final of the Longtze Student Cup from the 9th to the 12th of June at La Grande Motte.

Overall Results: (after 11 races, 1 discard)

1st "Wet Feet", Eckhard Kaller (Germany) 27pts
2nd "Region Ile de France 2010", Jimmy Pahun (SN Trinite/mer) 28pts
3rd "Csc-Hec Ecole Navale", Herve Gautier ( Porh Loeiz Skiff) 48pts
4th "Ovik", Mathieu Girolet (Yacht Club de la Grande Motte) 49pts
5th "Generations Ecole Navale", Stephane Christidis (Ecole de Voile de Cagnes S/mer) 49pts
6th "Wazabee", Pierre Mas (Yacht Club de la Grande Motte) 57pts
7th "Carissima", Markus Ziltener 69pts
8th "Centrale Lyon-Gfc Construction", Nicolas Thebaud (Club Nautique de Saint Paul) 70pts
9th "Alibi", Dominique Bourgeois (SN Trinite/mer) 76pts
10th "Voiles Et Voiliers", Laurent Berjon (CNPA la Flotte en Ré) 86pts
11th "Yin-Yang", Simon Chartier (Yacht Club de la Grande Motte) 96pts
12th "Safran 1 (Polytechnique Isae)", Antoine Lizee (Ass Sportive Ecole Polytechnique) 110pts
13th "Defi Voile Artem", Hughes-Marie Aulanier (YC du Der) 115pts
14th "Tchikk", Hugues Moulin (Union Nationale Pour la Course Au Large) 123pts
15th "Mine de Paris", Arthur Hubert (Les Glénan) 141pts
16th "Ancre de Chine", Jacques Van Den Heuvel (Hollande) 157pts