Welcome seal of approval for 'la Normandy'

by Kate Jennings on 5 Dec 2012 For its eighth edition from 3-9 June 2013 'la Normandy', as it’s now called, has received a welcome seal of approval to consolidate its future. Indeed this coming summer, the town of Le Havre, a major partner to the event, has renewed its trust in Sirius Evénements, the Ligue de Voile Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy Sailing League), the organising clubs (CNPV – SNPH – SRH) and the local marina, by backing the next three editions from 2013 to 2016.

This comes as confirmation of the event’s appeal among the leading inshore racing series for racer-cruisers, with 'la Normandy' remaining true to its original ethos through its provision of top-level, international racing with the focus on sporting quality on the water and social interaction on shore.

2013 will see further development in the J80 class with Le Havre and the Baie de Seine taking an important step forward in their bid to host the Coupe de France (French Cup). It is very much hoped that the event will take up this additional label, which is a guarantee of a high attendance at the event with nearly 200 craft making up this dominant one-design series in 2012. 2013 will also be a highly productive year in France for the J80 with the organisation in July of the J80 Worlds in Marseille. With over 50 craft in Cherbourg, Le Havre / Deauville and northern France as a whole, the English Channel must surely be capable of holding its own against the other sites which play host to the Coupe de France events.

Another highlight will be the hosting of the first European J111 championship. Since its launch, this fantastic 11m one-design craft from the J Composites yard has been a roaring success in its category and as many as 15 to 20 craft are expected to race in Le Havre, in what will be a highly international context with teams from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Of note is the fact that the J111 European Championship will have a special 4-day programme running from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 June.

Further recognition of the calibre of the event comes with the renewal of the format proposed in 2012 for the M34 French Crewed Offshore Racing Championship, which will run from Monday 3 to Sunday 9. In this way, Le Havre will play host to France’s top crews, as they prepare for the Tour de France à la Voile a few weeks later, with a long 230-mile race at the start of the week and a joint programme with the other series at the end of the week. A drive fully supported by the new organiser of the Tour de France, ASO, 2013 should see an even greater number of M34s competing in Le Havre.

Meantime, the Trophée Normandie (integrated with the Trophée Manche UNCL) will be the primary draw for the event’s IRC cruiser-racers. The competition has been further developed for its third consecutive year to provide the most competitive Norman cruiser-racers with an exceptional playing field spanning a total of five events, one of which will be raced offshore (Banana’s Cup in Dieppe, Cervantes from Cowes / Le Havre, Grand Prix des Docks Vauban et Normandy in Le Havre and Top Marine in Deauville). The UK craft will also be making their presence felt in four IRC categories as 'La Normandy' is once again on the programme at England’s largest racing club, the R.O.R.C.

Finally the Sportboats crews (Open 5.70 and 7.50, Seascape 18, SB 20 and Longtze) will continue to cut a dash on the race zone aboard their fine speed machines, whilst the Beneteau FC 7.5s will benefit from an original concept created by the Sailing League, with a trophy up for grabs on the inshore waters of Normandy and Ile de France.

Set a date then for Le Havre from 3 -9 June 2013 for the eighth edition of the number one Channel-based race meet for all the crews, as well as all our partners and all the businesses from Le Havre and Normandy, who will be on site developing their public relations operations in an original and top quality context.