The 22 Class40s taking part in the 17th CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE set sail from the Caen/Ouistreham harbour today at 2.00 pm in winds of around ten knots and under beautiful Normandy weather – a palette of greys and blues, with the sky dotted with patches of sunshine. It was, in the end, a very impressionistic scene, well known in this beautiful bay of the Seine. At the end of the coastal leg, it was Fabien Delahaye and Pierre Leboucher on LEGALLAIS who crossed the final mark of the course in the lead before heading towards the Cotentin.
Once past the mark off the Île de Saint-Marcouf at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, the crews will begin their northward climb up the Cotentin, followed by the crossing of the English Channel towards the Isle of Wight, which they are expected to reach by the end of the night, hoping to catch favourable tides.
A route amended by a supplementary notice on Saturday awaits the competitors over the coming days. The start of this route will follow the classic pattern: the Cotentin, crossing the English Channel, entering the Solent from the east and exiting via the west, then along the south-west coast of England to Land’s End; all in 20 to 25 knots of wind on a close reach, meaning conditions are already challenging. However, the Class40s will not head to Ireland to round Tuskar Rock lighthouse at the entrance to the Bristol Channel, followed by the Fastnet lighthouse. Indeed, the arrival of a low-pressure system bringing strong winds and very rough seas on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ireland, the Celtic Sea and the western Channel makes it very difficult to follow the classic route and sail up to the legendary Tuskar Rock. A modified route has been put in place, with a section in the Celtic Sea rounding Lundy Island. This is followed by a southerly run towards the Portsall Rocks before rejoining the original route via Guernsey, then the Raz Blanchard and Barfleur. The final leg of the course will include a passage through the eastern Channel to Dieppe – a route through the eastern Channel never attempted before – before returning to Ouistreham, likely on Thursday.
The fleet is smaller than in 2025, due to a trend towards solo sailing in this, the year of the Route du Rhum, and to projects that have since moved on to the GLOBE40 round-the-world race; yet it is ultimately more competitive and probably better prepared for the well-known challenges of the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE. The field is of such a high standard that it is very difficult to identify the likely winner; those mentioned include Fabien Delahaye and Pierre Leboucher (LEGALLAIS), Quentin Le Nabour and Thierry Chabagny (BLEU BLANC PLANETE LOCATION), MACCAFERRI FUTURA (Lucas Rosetti and Pierre Brasseur), Axel Trehin and Antoine Carpentier (CUSTOPOL), Guillaume Pirouelle and Jules Ducelier (SOGESTRAN - SEAFRIGO), Thimoté Polet and Alexandre Demange (ZEISS), Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde (VSF SPORTS), Mikaël Mergui and Benoit Hantzperg (HIRSCH-CENTRAKOR), Robin Follin and Gaston Morvan (SOLANO), Vincent Riou and Gerald Veniard (PIERREVAL FONDATION GOOD PLANET), and many others who, across the various stages of this course, can find the right combination.
Source : Sirius Events
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