505 Euro Cup Series Leg 1 at La Rochelle Nautique, France - Day 1
by Mike Holt 3 Apr 13:16 PDT
3-5 April 2026
The first event of the 2026 505 Euro Cup kicked off in La Rochelle France today with 43 boats racing from 7 countries. The weather was chilly with a moderate breeze out of the west to test the teams, with the breeze up and down a little but generally forecast to build during the day.
As always for the 505 class, races were started using a gate start, with the rabbit crossing the fleet on port to get the racing under way.
Race 1 was a tight affair but British team of Paul Brotherton and James Fawcett showed the fleet around the race track followed at the Finnish by Jan Phillip Hoffman and Felix Brockerhoff, with Howie Hamlin and Jeff Nelson taking third.
With the wind building slightly, race 2 saw a different team at the front, with Mike Holt and Rob Woelfel leading from start to Finns, Paul and James kept their scores low to take 2nd and Rob Gullan and Paul Childs grabbed 3rd.
By race 3 the wind was holding steady and the rain had stopped. Paul and James were again in complete control to take the win, followed again by JP and Felix, with Mike and Rob in third.
After a tough day of racing, Brits Paul and Jame stop the leader board, followed by Germans JP and Felix, Howie and Jeff from the USA in third, with fellow Americans Mike and Rob third and another German team, Timon Treichek and Morten Roos rounding out the top 5.
Tomorrow promises lighter winds, more sun and warmer temperatures. Will that bring a change to the leader board?