Please select your home edition
Edition
Sailingfast 2018 728x90

16th CIC Normandy Channel Race - Day 2

by Sirius Events 26 May 18:22 BST 25 May - 1 June 2025
16th CIC Normandy Channel Race © Jean-Marie Liot

With the Isle of Wight astern of them, the fleet parted ways. Sitting in the middle of the English Channel, TSS Casquets forced the sailors to make their first strategic decision, namely the rounding to the north or south of this prohibited area.

The first half of the fleet, with the exception of Bleu Blanc Planète Location, favoured a S'ly option. A longer course in terms of the distance to Land's End, the routing shows it to be the quicker course. Meantime, the N'ly and supposedly wiser option avoids the heavy seas related to the Alderney Race. The first competitors should reach the south-west tip of England overnight before they link onto what is set to be an unprecedented course in the event's history.

Indeed, the current weather conditions have forced Race Management to redesign the course.

Year on year, the CIC Normandy Channel Race certainly boasts its share of surprises. Kicking off play with a return sprint across the English Channel and a passage hugging the Cotentin peninsula during the first 24 hours out on the racetrack is plainly an intriguing scenario for offshore racing novices, especially when you consider that the initial goal is to reach the south-west tip of England. "The weather has thrown us a curveball," commented Corentin Douguet at the radio link-up.

Also contacted at noon today, Achille Nebout explains: "Negotiating the Alderney Race after the Isle of Wight is not actually that astonishing. It's a place where there's so much current that when the timing's right, it can prove to be a very interesting option." It's an opinion shared by two thirds of the fleet. Seventeen Class40s have chosen to mirror the route of leaders Esprit Large (209), Amarris (182) and Legallais (199) at the 5:00 pm position report.

For his part, Quentin Le Nabour, skipper of Bleu Blanc Planète Location, the first Class40 to go for a N'ly option, justifies his choice as a way to preserve his boat: "We were a little overawed by the sea and wind state around the Alderney Race and the Channel Islands." He adds: "The routing took us along the English coast so we've chosen to try our luck."

Complicating matters still further, the competitors are having to contend with 25-30 knots of W'ly wind whilst punching into the current and 2m waves as they make for the Wolf Rock mark off south-west England. As such, we'll have to wait until the middle of the night before we discover whether those on a northern or southern route have chosen the better option.

The boisterous weather conditions expected this Tuesday have forced Race Management to redesign the course for this 16th edition of the CIC Normandy Channel Race in order to preserve the integrity of the fleet and avoid a violent front rolling across the Celtic Sea.

"In anticipation of a strong gale and heavy seas, we felt it would be more prudent to send the boats a little further south to let this depression roll through," explains Race Director Miranda Merron.

After Wolf Rock, the competitors will set a course towards the north-west tip of Brittany, rounding a waypoint located to the west of 'L'occidentale de sein'. From there the fleet will sail the standard course albeit in the opposite direction: with a climb up to Fastnet lighthouse, then a passage along the south coast of Ireland as far as Tuskar Rock before returning to Ouistreham via Guernsey.

Event website: normandy-race.com/en

Related Articles

CIC Normandy Channel Race Summary
The Low-Down on an epic week in the English Channel The arrival in Ouistreham at 00:21 hours local time on Sunday of JANGADA RACING (No.152), skippered by Richard Palmer and Rupert Holmes, rounded off this 16th edition of the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE. Posted on 5 Jun
CIC Normandy Channel Race overall
Esprit Large is outright champion At the end of an absolutely epic race, the Class40 Esprit Large (209) has secured the holy grail by being first across the finish line off Ouistreham at 18h 23min 16s French time after 4 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes and 16 seconds of racing. Posted on 29 May
CIC Normandy Channel Race day 4
Heavy two-way traffic in the Celtic Sea Virtually all the fleet has now rounded the compulsory Chaussée de Sein passage mark off the west coast of Brittany. The Class40 Bleu Blanc Planète Location is currently bringing up the rear after a pit stop in Roscoff to repair a cracked rudder bearing. Posted on 28 May
CIC Normandy Channel Race day 3
Another 6 retirements after the entire day in meaty conditions The 16th CIC Normandy Channel Race fleet has spent the entire day navigating meaty conditions. The 25-30 knots of SW'ly wind and heavy seas in the area have made it a real slog to gain access to the Wolf Rock mark. Posted on 27 May
A grandiose start for CIC Normandy Channel Race
Two retirements already, with one due to a dismasting It was a spectacular start today for the sailors who set sail on the 16th edition of the CIC Normandy Channel Race. Bracing conditions and a superb light filtering through the partially overcast skies formed the backdrop. Posted on 25 May
CIC Normandy Channel Race fleet have assembled
32 Class 40 yachts are in Caen for 16th edition They've arrived! The 32 expected Class40s were on time in Caen on Wednesday evening; a fleet that therefore sets a record for the 16th edition of the event but also the record for an exclusive Class40 event since the creation of this class 20 years ago. Posted on 23 May
CIC Normandy Channel Race preview
Gearing up for a new participation record When registration closed on 1 April, 33 Class40s were signed up with a handful of other entries still being finalised and likely to join the fray. Posted on 11 Apr
CIC Normandy Channel Race 2025 back to May slot
Running from Wednesday 21 May to Sunday 1 June For its fifteenth anniversary, the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE treated its skippers, partners and organisation teams to the very best it has to offer. Posted on 30 Sep 2024
15th CIC Normandy Channel Race Prize Giving
For the very first time, victory in this epic Norman classic went to a Norman sailor This Sunday 22 September played host to the prize-giving ceremony to conclude this 15th edition of the CIC Normandy Channel Race. For the very first time, victory in this epic Norman classic went to a Norman sailor. Posted on 22 Sep 2024
15th CIC Normandy Channel Race Finish
Fabien Delahaye and Benjamin Schwartz on Legallais the new kings of Normandy Following an extremely close race and a final night spent punching into an intense current, it was Legallais (199) which finally took the win in this 15th edition of the CIC Normandy Channel Race. Posted on 20 Sep 2024