fivepointfive - April 2023

NATIONAL REPORT - FRANCE
The French Touch
The revival of the Metric
Jean-Bernard Datry, the President of the French Association,
looks at fleet activities during 2022 and looks forward to 2023.
More information at their website http://french55.unblog.fr
With the provisional end of the pandemic,
one might have expected a greater
participation of the French 5.5 JI in the
Atlantic Metric Challenge events, as the
series is experiencing a new boom.
The Port Louis Metric Open brings together boats in the
metric series: 8 mJI, 6 mJI and 5.5 JI. In 5.5, only five boats
participated (Enez 2, Korrigan, Auguste 1er, Cybèle and
Bagheera VIII) whereas we could have reached a minimum of
11 boats (Twins XII, New Life, Favorita in Classic, Joker, Pan
and Blue Jack in Evolution) if we count the boats seen in the last
few years to which could be added one to three boats from the
‘Conservatoire Maritime du Havre’.
Enez C’las 2 (Modern) won, followed by Cybèle (Classic),
Korrigan, Bagheera VIII and Auguste 1er. The Pierre Penther
trophy (first Classic) was awarded to Cybèle (Classic with
suspended rudder) and the Christian Hauvette trophy to Enez
C’las 2 (Modern). Using the German compensated time rule
allowed Cybèle to win the second race, Korrigan to place second
in races 2, 4, 5 and Bagheera VIII (Evolution 1985) to outdistance
Auguste 1er (Evolution 1993) on points. This is a good rule of
thumb for comparing evolutions and classics with more modern
boats.
The second leg in Bénodet (Belle Plaisance) attracted five
boats, Enez 2, Joker, Korrigan, Bagheera VIII and Enez 1,
thanks to Yann who lent his boat to crews from La Baule and
Bénodet. The victory went to Korrigan (Classic), followed by Enez
2 (Modern), Bagheera VIII, Joker (Evolution 1993) and Enez 1
(Modern)
La Trinité, with four days of racing, was the second major
event, with unfortunately, only two boats, with Enez 2 winning
from Bagheera VIII.
The NO classic was only raced by Cybele and Auguste 1er.
The victory went to Cybele, Auguste Ier having been the object of
a ‘sea misfortune’. Enez 2 and Bagheera VIII were reserved for the
‘Open de France’ in Cannes, the only French international regatta.
FRENCH OPEN 2022
The French Open, held during the Régates Royales de Cannes,
attracted 12 boats (slightly less than last year due to two
last minute Italian withdrawals), two long keel Classics, three
Evolutions, and seven Moderns and six nations (BAH, POL, GER,
1 2 3
50 • fivepointfive • APRIL 2023