Gan’Ja tops J/80 Duo Crouesty Regatta

J 80 fleet in action © J80 France Officiel

Over the past weekend, the YC du Crouesty Arzon hosted the J/80 Duo Crouesty Regatta using new racing format - doublehanded racing of J/80s. This was done because of the "European Vacation" problem; traditionally, it is always difficult to gather crews at the end of August, hence the idea of testing a new racing format. And, it was also an opportunity to show the versatility of the J/80 as the "Swiss Army knife" of sailing- the ability to sail it for a variety of purposes, such as leisure, sailing school, match race, fleet race, and now as a doublehander.

The fleet enjoyed very varied wind conditions from 6 to 18 kts, very sunny days/ hot, and the YCCA PRO managed to run six races for the nine teams that participated. Note, this event counted as one of the regattas towards the overall J/80 Coupe de France season series.

After sailing four windward-leeward race and two random-leg courses around government markers, it was pretty clear that the top of the leaderboard had become a duel between the Nadal's and the Pellisier's! Starting off fast was the husband/wife duo of Sylvain & Caridad Pellisier on the Intuitive Sails with a 1-2-1 the first day for only 4 pts. Sitting in second after day one was Frank Vallet and Remi Rabbe's Akajoule with a 2-3-4 for 9 pts, then sitting in third was another husband/wife team- Luc & Maureen Nadal's Gan'Ja with a 4-6-2 with 10 pts.

However, the next day, the standings virtually flipped over on the leaderboard for the top three on the podium! After posting a 2-1-1, the Nadal's on Gan'Ja claimed the top spot, crowned as French J/80 Doublehanded Champions! Then, dropping to second place after a mediocre performance of 6-3-4 was the Pellisier's on Intuitve Sails, losing the regatta by a half point. Then, just on the verge of winning the event outright was Vallet/ Rabbe's Akajoule, starting with a 1-2 but then adding a DNF to their scoreline to drop into third on the podium.

As a result of this regatta, the standings remain fairly fluid for the top ten in the overall season series for the J/80 Coupe de France. Still leading is Simon Moriceau's Armen Habitat with 350 pts after four regattas. However, by winning the Duo Crouesty event, the Pellisier's leap into the second spot with 317 pts. Dropping to third is Patrick Bot's Ecole Navale CG29. Then, leaping into fourth is Nadal's' Gan'Ja with 270.5 pts, dropping Anne Phelipon's Navigantlique into fifth position with 266.5 pts.

The battle is on still to determine the final spots in the top five for the J/80 Coupe de France since there are two large regattas left on the calendar- The Atlantique Telegramme in Lorient from September 21st to 23rd and the final event will be the French J/80 Nationals in Pornic from November 1st to 4th. For more French J/80 class sailing information click here.