European Course Racing Championships

[Toby]

The Grand Prix Petit Navire, one of the most renowned competitive kiteboarding and sailing events, will host the 2009 European Course Racing Championships.

Since its creation in 1999, the Grand Prix Petit Navire has constantly kept evolving and diversifying.

The 2009 edition of the Grand Prix petit Navire will take place from April 30th to May 10th, marking the 10th anniversary of the Grand Prix Petit Navire, which will be an opportunity for the hundreds of volunteers to join forces and to celebrate once again this cherished yearly sailing event.

Douarnenez, in springtime, is naturally enchanting and its magical atmosphere is further enhanced when the whole town bends over backwards to welcome sailors from all around the world. It’s a real party atmosphere. At this point, the bay becomes a theatre of unusual encounters between high-tech, classical and traditional sailing types.

For this tenth birthday, we foresee the simultaneous participation of the following classes: 85 Dragons, the largest racing fleet in the world, 100 kitesurfers, constituting Europe’s largest gathering of kites and hosting the european course racing championships, class 60 ' IMOCA monohulls of the Vendée Globe, Class 40’ monohulls, 6.5m-long Mini boats, 300 schoolchildren competing in the Optimist class and the Port Rhu Museum’s open house featuring its traditional boat building skills.

The event is planned and organized by Douarnenez’s sailing associations: the Société de régates of Douarnenez (SRD) , Douarnenez Voile and the municipal nautical Center, with the help of a vast local volunteer force. Support comes from the Finistère’s General Council, the District council of Brittany, the French sailing federation (FFV), the French federation of Free Flight (FFVL) , the sailing League of Brittany, Nautisme in Finistère (NEF), the International Kiteboarding association, and the sponsorship of Petit Navire.

[holden]

first day:

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=146378

Airborne in the bay of Douarnenez

The Kitesurfing version of the Grand Prix Petit Navire 2009 began today with the European Championship in the discipline. It’s an event which continues to attract a vast number of riders to the bay of Douarnenez, the latter being equipped with a wealth of assets for the sport as Ronan Jollé, the race director, explains: “This bay is really very beautiful: there is no immediate danger, no current, no rocks. The beaches have no cause to be jealous of those in Hawaii as here the beaches span around ten kilometres and there’s plenty of room for manœuvre. The bay is swept by the prevailing winds and a small swell, which the riders greatly appreciate.”

First big date of the season

This Grand Prix Petit Navire, the world’s top large meet for the sport, is also an opportunity for the riders to measure themselves against the competition and to test out their material, as Alex Caizergues, the fastest man across the water explains: “Douarnenez is a spot I love and I’ve been coming here for the past four years. The Grand Prix is an opportunity to gauge your performance in relation to your adversaries… The standard of competition here over a long distance is fantastic. You generally have very good conditions here and there are a lot of races. It’s a real buzz…” World, European and French Champion in ‘speed-crossing’, Bruno Sroka, shares this view: “Douarnenez is home to me! As a Breton, you have to come along. Added to that it’s the first big date, the point where you can test everything out under real conditions: the evolution of the gear, physical preparation and the strategic and technical aspect. Furthermore the level is very high. All the top names in Europe are here.”

Douarnenez a precursor

“Today, the Grand Prix Petit Navire has become an unmissable event on the circuit, stresses Ronan Jollé. The sport has grown with the Grand Prix. We’ve always been the precursor in terms of long distance and racing. I remember during the first Grand Prix that we wondered how we could make it work with 20 to 25 riders on the line; today, we set 100 off at the same time.”

As such Douarnenez has always been the driving force of a sport which is constantly evolving, as Bruno Sroka confirms: “We’ve integrated the ISAF, the International Sailing Federation, which enables us to gain recognition for our events. It’s a massive development, as is the case with the material. We’re finding various ways to develop the sport on a technical level, which will enable us to make advances in the discipline. In my view, in the space of ten years, we’ve really gone from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Era, and that’s just the beginning!”

It is worth noting that this year Douarnenez has even obtained the IKA label which means that the event also counts towards the world ranking with some new, original rules in France.

Day 1 validated

For this initial day of competition, it was the Pentrez spot which was retained by the organisation. The wind took it’s time to kick in but finally, at around 1600 hours, race management launched hostilities in a steady wind of between 11 and 15 knots. 40 riders on the first leg and then over 80 riders on the 2nd leg were able to power up, which is always a staggering spectacle. Tomorrow’s weather conditions promise a bit of heat and the start of the 2nd round is due to set off at 1030 hours.

[holden]

this is from last year!?!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x96l31 ... vire_sport

[holden]

hopefully there will be pictures in this album soon. there are some pictures from last year:
http://pixsail.com/index.php?/category/142

[lezo]

Just back home from this great race, no wind for the last, 4th day. 97 kiters on the starting line from France, Germany, Holland, UK, Spain and Canada. Overall 12 validated heats, Bruno Sroka won before Charles Deleau et Marc Blanc (on foil). Womens champ Fabienne d'Ortoli et Junior chap Julien Kerneur (4th overall). Veteran champ Sylvain Hoceini.

A frech blog with some photos:
http://zekites.over-blog.com/

[lezo]

hopefully there will be pictures in this album soon. there are some pictures from last year:
http://pixsail.com/index.php?/category/142

These pictures are from this year, I recognize my kite on some!

[kakanala]

It was an insane, so so great competition!!!

I'd want to say a big "thank you" to all the organization and the people there.
And the biggest thank you goes to Fabienne D'Ortoli, she managed such a fantastic event! This girl rocks!!!! (and she flies on a board, that orange Helix always full speed....)

The ambiance was so so great, both in the water and in the "soirees".
I am just raving to go back next year.

Big cheers to you all,

Andoni.

[holden]

http://www.internationalkiteboarding.or ... 202009.pdf

[kakanala]

Final results:

http://www.grandprixpetitnavire.com/adm ... tsurf.html

[föhn]

Kakanala,