Written by Géraud LAFORTUNE Tuesday, 30 March 2010 18:43

As we are use to do every year, French 5o5 meet in Troyes, Champagne, the week-end before the Easter Europa Cup. This year 35 boats were present on the lake of Foret d'Orient, where we always have a warm welcome.

Saturday
It rains. It's quite cold but it's windy. We start the first race in around 15kn. The Swiss team Stauffer/Jacot took the lead right after the start. They won't leave the first place for the whole race. The fight for the second place is more intense between Lafortune/Lafortune and Broise/Rault. Broise/Rault succeeded to overtake Lafortune/Lafortune in the last downwind leg. The second race was done under the storm. Heavy rain and 30 kn gusts were on the menu. Boite/Toupet manage to finish ahead of the swiss team at the first place. The storm moved away and the wind vanished. Therfore the 3rd race of the day was done in light winds not exceeding 6 kn. Amazingly, the three top finisher were the same than in the previous race which was really windy!

Sunday
It is still rainy and cold. The wind is not as strong as the previous day but it is fine. Crews are tired because of the evening party and the daylight saving time change. 4 races are launched throughout the day. Boite/Toupet were close to lose a championship they dominated because of some mistakes: is it a sausage or a triangle? is there a dog leg?... Silvestre/Auberger made good racing during the whole day and managed to fill the gap they had to the third place. Everyone was happy with this great regatta which was perfectly organized by the CNHS. As usual, I should say...

Pictures
Results

PS : Merci à Géraud Lafortune pour l’excellente rédaction.

Philippe Jacot
Swiss 505 President