Bob and I are at the French National Championships in Hourtin, France, a town located on a two-mile-long, half-mile-wide lake about a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. The water is very flat, and winds are very shifty. We practiced with the French team yesterday.
Today was the first day of racing Forty boats are here, one a very good French boat (Phillippe Gildas).
Race 1
The first start today was supposed to be at 1:00 p.m., but there was
no wind, so we were postponed on shore until 2:00 p.m.
We went out at 2:00, but we did not get a start until 4:00. After one general recall, we got off to a good start near the boat and went left. We played a couple of shifts, but did not hit all of them and rounded the weather mark in fourth.
We stayed even on the reach, but the run got kind of strange: we stayed to the right of everyone but jibed a little late to the leeward mark. We passed one boat but lost the good French guys. Then it started to pour down rain, making it very hard to read the jib telltales.
Halfway up the beat, Bob came in to bail the boat out. The guys in front went left, and we went right. We had more wind, but the breeze shifted left. Then the sun came back out.
We came out one boat length ahead of the good French and were winning. We caught some puffs and waves downwind and extended and won by six boat lengths.
Race 2
We had one general recall, then we were off. We got an okay start at
the boat, but the good French guys were close to pinching us off, so
we tacked right. We went some distance waiting for a header and
were gaining on the fleet. We were in about fourth but hit a couple
of shifts to get into second at the weather mark.
We stayed even on the reach, extending on the guys behind, and did the same on the run.
The next beat, we gained more on the guys behind, then had a short tacking duel which ended with the guys winning. We rounded right behind them at the weather mark and jibed on their wind and passed them.
We rounded the bottom mark and reached to the finish for another win.
Race 3
There was a rainstorm on the right. We started at the boat and
tacked out because of bad air. We tacked back and were laying the
weather mark and slowly got headed. The wind was blowing about
10-15 knots, and I had the vang on pretty hard.
Halfway up the beat, there was a large BANG (the vang had come loose from the boom). So the traveler went down, and we did some traveler sheeting. We got close to the weather mark, and the wind died a little, so Bob came in and retied the vang. We rounded the weather mark in third, with the good French guys winning.
We passed the second place boat at the reach mark, then about halfway down the run, the race committee abandoned the race and sent us in.
We were far downwind from the club, and it took about an hour to sail in. We paddled with the spin pole the last 200 yards.
More tomorrow.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Same thing happened today as yesterday. We sat on shore till 2:00 p.m., went out, and they tried to start a race around 4:00.
We had two general recalls, then a postponement until 5:00, then two more general recalls at about 6:00, then thunder downwind of us for an hour, then two more black flag general recalls at 7:00, then they sent us in.
We were safe on the black flag recalls, so we get to try again tomorrow.
No races today, though.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
The first start was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. today, with hopes of getting three good races in. There was no wind when we arrived at the sailing center, but the race committee sent us out anyway. By 11:00, there was a nice ten-knot breeze, and after a few general recalls, we got a good start.
Race 1
The top French team, Gildas and Tanguey, were black flagged, so they
were not racing this race. We had a great start at the boat end. The
wind had shifted way right, so the race was mostly on starboard
tack.
We got out in front from the start and did a good job, staying in the puffs. We rounded the first mark in first place where the race committee was signaling a shorted course; this means that we just reach, run and then reach to the finish, removing a windward/leeward from the race.
A big right shift made the next three legs easy for us to stay in the lead, and we won the race.
Race 2
The race committee took a little while to shift the course around
before we got off to our next start. We started at the crowded boat
end but got into a good lane quickly. The good French team had
started a little ways down and had a little better start.
The French team was in the lead until we found a nice puff on the right to pass them. Then, just before the weather mark, they did the same back to us and rounded first. We rounded fourth and held even on the reach.
We passed the two boats in front of us on the run and caught a little on the first place boat. On the final beat, we caught up to the first place boat but weren't able to pass them. Gildas and Tanguay won the race, with us in second.
Race 3
The wind made some more big shifts and picked up a few knots
before the last race of the day. We had a good start in the middle of
the line, but the wind had shifted way left just after the start.
Boats at the pin tacked and crossed, but we couldn't tack and cross
the boats to windward of us. Not being able to tack put us a little
behind, but we hit a few shifts and puffs in the middle of the beat
and got back into the front group.
By the weather mark, we were in third, with Gildas and Tanguay winning again. The course was an inner loop this time, and we had a right puff at the weather mark, so we jibe set. The two boats in front did bear away sets.
At the bottom on the run, the wind shifted back, and we passed both boats. We covered up the last beat and stayed in the lead for the rest of the race, with the French right behind us. The third place boat must have flipped, because the two of us were a leg ahead of the rest of the fleet.
Having an OCS in the first race means that Gildas and Tanguay have to count a six from the first day, so we are still in first by a few points. The last start tomorrow is at 3:00, and if things go as well as they did today, we should be able to get three races in.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Note from Beanard: The first report was mistakenly labeled "French Nationals," but this regatta is the International 470 French Cup.
Today was the last day of the International French Cup. The winds were at about 10 knots in the morning, so it was going to be easy for the race committee to get all three races in today.
Race 1
Wind was 8-15 knots and very shifty; flat water.
We had a good start in the middle of the line but were not pointing too well; as a consequence, we missed a couple of shifts up the first beat and rounded the weather mark in about eighth.
We got in the passing lane on the first reach, however, and used our speed to move into fifth.
On the next run, we passed another boat, then stayed even on the next beat, and on the final reach to the finish we were just able to pass one more to move into third.
The good French guys finished second with another French guy winning.
Race 2
We won the pin this start and went left a little more than the fleet.
The wind went a little left, and were just ahead of the good French team when we crossed again up near the weather mark. They found a good puff at the end of the beat to round in first by three boat lengths.
We caught up right away with a puff from behind and passed them halfway down the run. A big right shift came in at the end of the run to put them back ahead. We tacked immediately to the lifted tack after rounding the leeward mark, and they followed. It was a big lift, so we both went a long way waiting for the shift back.
About halfway up the beat we heard a loud BANG. It was not our boat this time; it was the French boat. Their jib halyard shive had blown out of the top of the mast. They were out of the race.
We looked around for the rest of the fleet, and there was a group on the right in a major right shift and puff. We could not get back to them and rounded in fourth at the weather mark.
We had a great set to the spin reach and rolled one boat, then got in the high lane again to roll another. The first place boat was too far ahead, so we ended up second.
Race 3
The good French guys were back sailing. We got a good start near the
boat and were going well. We stayed in a righty, then played the
shifts and puffs really well up the beat to round first by 200 yards.
We did the same downwind and up the next beat and eventually won the race by half a leg. A good finish to a fun regatta.
We got lots of trophies and some really fancy French wine for being first. Then they threw Paul into the lake (at least it's fresh water).
Now we are supposed to fly home but, instead, have arranged to do a training session with the good French team.
Special thanks to Stephanie, Kurt and Max Read and Bob Chilton for donating the air miles to fly us over here.
See you guys at home (one of these days).
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Thursday 15 July 1999 1:26 p.m.
Okay, for those of you who are confused (myself included)--this regatta was called the "National 470, International French Cup". The race that we did in May was called the "Championnat de France de Voile Olympique et Sportive".
Now that we have that cleared up, I still do not know which was the National Championship, but at least we won the race for which they gave the foreign teams trophies (they did not give foreign teams trophies at the regatta in May).
Well, here are the scores:
Paul and Bob 1 1 1 2 1 3* 2 1 9 FRA 2577 6 3 2 21* 18 1 14 4 48 Brounnaud/Brounnaud USA 1726 3 9 BFD* 6 3 10 3 17 51 Tracy Haley/ Louise Van Voorhis FRA 2574 2 8 BFD* 1 2 2 DNF 2 56 Gildas/Tanguy (1998 World Champions, 1999 Kiel Week Champions) Total boats racing = 38.P.S.
If anyone has any influence with American Airlines AAdvantage tickets (they only reserve a few seats for AAdvantage passengers), please e-mail Paul, or call Carrie Foerster at 972-203-9190.
Thanks.
Paul and Bob
1999 USA and France National Champions