Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

J-Boats at the 43rd Spi Ouest France

by J/Boats 14 Oct 2021 06:24 PDT 7-10 October 2021
43rd Spi Ouest France © David Ademas / Ouest-France

The 43rd edition of the Spi Ouest France - Banque Populaire Grand Ouest delivered on its promise of great sailing and great camaraderie after three days of competition.

341 boats and 1,646 sailors enjoyed great sailing on the Bay of La Trinité-sur-Mer. Interestingly, the big winners of the event in the largest class by far, the 52-boat J/80 fleet- was Patrick Bot's ECOLE NAVALE CG29 SIRIUS.

The Societe Nautique de La Trinite sur Mer again hosted the amazingly popular event. The regatta continues to attract racers from France and across Europe. More than 330 boats (90 are J/Teams- 28% of the fleet) are expected in La Trinité-sur-Mer for this 43rd edition.

In what may be described as an unprecedented scenario, this traditionally huge spring regatta is still managing to have an enormous attraction for sailors thirsty to go sailing and get a chance to re-unite with friends they haven't seen in up to two years.

As has been the case in recent history, J/Boats one-design classes not only dominate Europe, but they also dominate France in terms of active participation. Over the past decade, the J/80 class has seen widespread participation in every province north, west, and south. And the latest addition to the J one-design stable- the International J/70 Class- has seen steady growth amongst the most competitive sailing teams in France.

J/80 Class

With fifty-two boats, the J/80 class was, again, the largest class by far in the regatta. BOT'S ECOLE NAVALE CG29 won just two races and recorded all top six finishes in their ten-race series for 32 pts net to win by a significant 30-point margin... a HUGE win by any standard in the largest, most competitive, one-design class in France.

The Spanish showed up in force, with Per Roman's GP BULLHOUND taking the silver with 62 pts net. Rounding out the podium was Pierre Laoenan's ELITE ECOLE NAVALE in third with 69 pts net. The other Spanish team taking fourth place was Inigo Jauregui's ENBATA 80 with 72 pts net, with Simon Moriceau's ARMENT HABITAT and PL YACHTING rounding out the top five with 77 pts net.

J/70 Class

With seventeen boats, the fleet witnessed the proverbial "schooling" of fast, consistent sailing and tactics by Damian Michelier's SAGE ENGINEERING SAILING TEAM. Counting only podium finishes after eleven races, winning only one race, but counting six 2nds to win with 21 pts net. Winning four races, the most of any team, and counting all top six finishes, was Spain's Luis Martin-Cabiedes crew on the famous NOTICIA (2021 J/70 European Champions). Rounding out the podium was Cyrille Teston's J-BECRE.

IRC Double

With worldwide interest growing in shorthanded sailing and, in particular, doublehanded mixed crews sailing, it's not surprising the biggest trend has been the increasing participation in this category with thirty-nine teams racing SPI OUEST. In the end, it was Phillippe Girardin and Gwenael Thomas' J/120 HEY JUDE that took the silver with 12 pts.

OSH I Division

Amazingly, in the twenty-two-boat field of mixed sportboats and classic spinnaker boats, the venerable J/24 JERONIMO sailed by Aorelian Garcia too the silver medal with 14 pts net, counting all top five finishes... an amazing performance.

OSH II Division

This twelve-boat class was certainly not expecting a tour'de'force of various J's that nearly swept not only the podium, but the top five. Winning was Phillippe Guennal's J/99 J IN MOTION, counting three bullets in five races to win with 5 pts net. Third place went to Charles Gury's J/105 PASSIFLORINE with 10 pts net. Then, Pascal Rialland's J/88 AXE SAIL took fifth place with 17 pts net and Christophe Jomier's J/105 J-SQUARED placed sixth with 22 pts net.

OSH IV Division

The sixteen-boat fleet was incredibly competitive for the three podium spots. In the end, the top three ended up just two points apart. After five races, Samuel Blevin's J/109 JOKE took the bronze medal counting just podium finishes for 9 pts net!

More information at evenements.ouest-france.fr/spi.

Related Articles

Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 8
Super Finals Saturday sees Daida Moreno produce buzzer beater The penultimate day of the 2025 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup saw final results gained in three categories; Women's, U21 Boy's and U18 Boy's and all three divisions required Super Finals to determine the eventual winners. Posted on 12 Jul
International Moth Worlds at Lake Garda Day 5
A day to remember on Lake Garda with waves and strong gusts A day to remember on Lake Garda for the fifth and penultimate day of the 2025 Moth World Championship, hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine from 6 to 13 July. Posted on 12 Jul
Jazz Turner Makes History in Project FEAR
Jazz credits Allen for providing cutting-edge sheeting systems, as well as expert advice Project FEAR, an extraordinary solo sailing voyage by Jazz Turner, has concluded successfully: she became the first disabled person – and specifically the first wheelchair user – to sail non-stop and unassisted around the UK and Ireland. Posted on 12 Jul
18th Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona overall
Some of the most celebrated gems of classic yachting in the waters off Barcelona The sails have now been lowered on the 18th edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica, which this week brought together some of the most celebrated gems of classic yachting in the waters off Barcelona. Posted on 12 Jul
Dylan Fletcher previews Portsmouth
Fletcher says SailGP's Portsmouth debut offers the team the chance to 'right the wrongs'. With just a week to go until SailGP's return to Great Britain, we sit down with Emirates GBR driver Dylan Fletcher to discuss the opportunities and pressures of a home event. Posted on 12 Jul
Australian sailors take to Olympic waters
Regatta serves as an important test, not just for sailors, but also for organisers The Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta is set to get begin, marking the first major combined event on the waters of the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Posted on 12 Jul
Marine Auctions: Two Online Auctions in July
Also Jacob Seiffert has been appointed as the Area Representative for the Port Lincoln Region Marine Auctions are proud to announce that Jacob Seiffert has been appointed as the Area Representative for the Port Lincoln Region in South Australia. Jacob is a local Commerical Fisherman. Posted on 12 Jul
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta 2025 Preview
The fourth stop of the five series Sailing Grand Slam circuit Over 200 elite athletes from 42 nations have converged on Long Beach to test their skills on the same waters that will host sailing events during the LA2028 Olympic Games as they compete in the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta July 12-20 Posted on 12 Jul
Best Buddies from Germany win the AEGEAN 600 2025
The second wave of finishers benefit from last night's steadier breezes Behind the first wave of finishers yesterday morning, yesterday and last night's steadier breezes helped sweep in another wave of Monohull and Multihull finishers to the race finish at Cape Sounion. Posted on 11 Jul
Conversation with Ben Willows: CEO RS Marine Group
Some people's passion for sailing runs so deep, it feels like it's woven into their DNA There are some people whose passion for sailing runs so deep, it feels like it's woven into their DNA. Ben Willows is one of those people. Posted on 11 Jul
Maritimo M600Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeHyde Sails 2024 - One Design