The tres chic Peugeot Regatta

by Sardin media on 20 Nov 2007 The fifteen annual Peugeot Regatta was recently held on Sydney Harbour and proved to be a delight for Francophiles with excellent wine, gourmet food and a fleet of about forty boats competing for the coveted Beneteau Cup. Hosted by Vicsail and the CYCA in conjunction with the French Chamber of Commerce, the two day regatta has become something of a fixture on the yachting calendar. Each year it attracts a mix of highly competitive racers and crews that are there for the camaraderie and social activities.

Vicsail is the largest network yacht brokerage in Australia and is responsible for importing and distributing the Beneteau, Lagoon and Wauquiez brands. We spoke to Vicsail’s National Sales Manager John Cowpe about the secret to the regatta’s phenomenal success. Cowpe said there were a number of reasons that the November event was so popular with Beneteau owners but that the social dimension was critical to the owner’s enjoyment.

‘It’s a chance to meet with fellow owners, a chance to celebrate their ownership of their yacht in a fun way, and it’s a chance for us to give back to those owners who have purchased a Beneteau. It’s all part of creating a family of owners, which is the key to what we do in selling these yachts; the owners get the enjoyment of sailing and racing and getting to know other Beneteau owners.’

Racing kicked off last Thursday morning with the traditional ‘refreshmente’: a heart warming combination of champagne, buffet breakfast and fresh coffee. In case you were still feeling peckish, race organisers supplied ‘wonderful’ food hampers to every boat and in the evening there was a not so Australian BBQ (not a charred sausage in sight), drinks and prizes.

The prizes could be another reason that Beneteau owners turn up in droves for this event. For many years the Peugeot Regatta prizes have become famous in their own right and this year was no exception. On offer as a lucky door prize was a luxurious Greek Islands Odyssey holiday supplied by the specialist boating holiday company Mariner Boating. There was also a trip to Hamilton Island, sojourns in lovely hotels and a similarly jaw dropping list of other great prizes.

John Cowpe was deliberately understating it when he commented: ‘It’s a pretty big event on the yachting calendar.’

Day One saw guest Commodore Rob Mundle presiding over a choice of windward/leeward IRC racing or a harbour race that resembled a Twilight course. The harbour race option offered both spinnaker or ‘white sails’ (non spinnaker) racing.

‘It was more of a relaxed passage race around the various marks on the harbour’ explained Cowpe also noting that they had been lucky with the weather. ‘It was raining both days, but as soon as the gun went for racing it cleared up and we had some nice breezes.’

The non spinnaker race saw Lake Macquarie’s ‘Yes Dear’ owned by Michael and Marion Paull come home first. They were rewarded with a $1000 Club Marine voucher, AC shoes donated by Chris McSorley and champagne from Feltons. Second prize went to Paul Melling’s Morning Mist and his prizes included a Yaffa subscription, Lewmar winch handle and $300 voucher from Travel World. Kim and John Clinton raced Holy Cow into third position and scored a $250 Doyle Sails voucher, Wichard knife and more of Feltons delightful champagne.

The spinnaker division saw Dean Harrigan’s well known Playstation3 triumph: his prizes included a Club Marine voucher, AC shoes and more of the bubbly stuff. Europa, owned by Michael Coleman, came in second and secured prizes from Travel World, Yaffa and Lewmar. And Antipodes third place rewarded Greg Newton with AC shoes, Wichard knife and a premier boat trimming voucher.

At the top end of the pack, IRC racing saw Le Billet romp home with William Ebsary taking home prizes from Club Marine, Chris McSorley and Feltons. Second place went to Brilliant and Howard Piggott won a Travel World voucher, Yaffa subscription and a Lewmar winch handle. And Bushranger was next, rewarding Gerry Hatton with AC shoes, a boat trimming voucher and a Wichard prize.

The winner of the prestigious Beneteau Cup was Michael and Marion Paull on their Oceanis 473 proudly named Yes Dear.

With major sponsors including Racing Line, Raymarine, Harken, David Boekman and his famous coffee Pod Pack machine, Fresh Catering and Hamilton Island it’s hardly surprising that the event went so well.

Friday morning kicked off with another champagne breakfast and the addition of some new crew members. ‘On the second day we invite a lot of companies aligned with the French Chamber of Commerce to experience sailing and to get to know some of our owners: it works very well’ observed Cowpe.

However the Vicsail French Connection doesn’t end with each year’s Peugeot Regatta. In December of every year members of the Vicsail team travel to France for the launch of new Beneteau models at the Paris Boat Show: a name synonymous with style and classic boating. Often they are joined by current Beneteau owners, or prospective owners, and their trip to the 2007 show is no exception.

‘This year we will all meet in Paris and take the TGV down to the Vendee region, which is the home of Beneteau, where we’ll have a look at their factories and the vessels being produced. Then we’ll head back up to Paris. On the first day of the show there’s a VIP day which our guests our invited to.’

‘And in the evening we have the launch of the new Beneteau First 45, which is a pretty big event, the world’s premier if you like and then a day of looking around.’

After this many of Vicsail’s guests spend some time holidaying in France or travelling in other European countries. Increasing numbers of people are choosing to buy a new Beneteau in France and then sail it back to Australia; this year four Vicsail Beneteaus are participating in the ARC rally on their way back to this country.

Cowpe explained that Vicsail has established networks in place to help owners prepare their boats for such trips.

‘We’ve got strong links with the commissioning people, the electricians, and the chandlery people: it’s really important to have these contacts. It’s something that if it’s done without pre-planning can turn into a real pain and not a pleasure to do.’

‘Because we’ve done it so many times, we know what needs to be done so a person can launch their boat overseas. We’ve got a number of things that we’ve put in place so that when they arrive everything runs as smoothly as possible.’

Contact details:

Vicsail Pty Limited
d’Albora Marinas
New Beach Road, Rushcutters Bay NSW 2027, Australia
Telephone: + 61 2 9327 2088
Fax: +61 2 9362 4516
Email: info@vicsail.com