A START WITH AN IMPRESSIONISTIC TOUCH FOR THE 17TH CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE

The 22 Class40s of the 17th CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE set off from the roadstead of Caen/Ouistreham today at 2:00 PM in around ten knots of wind and under a beautiful Normandy sky — a blend of grey and blue, with fleeting bursts of sunshine filtering through the clouds. A setting that was ultimately very impressionistic and instantly familiar in this lovely 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 in the lead before heading towards the Cotentin peninsula.

Once past the Île de Saint-Marcouf mark at the base of the Cotentin, the crews will begin their northward push up the Cotentin, then cross the English Channel towards the Isle of Wight, which they should reach by the end of the night, hoping to catch the favourable tides. A course modified by amendment on Saturday awaits the competitors over the coming days. The opening section will follow the classic format: Cotentin, Channel crossing, entering the Solent from the east and exiting to the west, along the south-west English coast to Land's End — all in 20 to 25 knots of upwind breeze, meaning already demanding conditions. However, the Class40s will not be heading to Ireland to round the Tuskar Rock lighthouse at the entrance to the Bristol Channel, nor the Fastnet lighthouse thereafter. The arrival of a depression bringing strong winds and a very heavy sea on Tuesday and Wednesday off Ireland, the Celtic Sea and the Western English Channel makes continuing on the classic route and pushing north towards the mythical Tuskar Rock extremely difficult. A modified course has therefore been put in place, including a section in the Celtic Sea as far as rounding Lundy Island, followed by a southward run towards the Roches de Portsall before rejoining the course with a passage past Guernsey, then through the Raz Blanchard and past Barfleur. The final section will include a leg into the Eastern Channel as far as Dieppe — a foray into the Eastern Channel never attempted before in this race — before the return to Ouistreham, likely during the course of Thursday.

The fleet is smaller than in 2025, due to the pull of solo racing in this Route du Rhum year and projects that have since departed for the GLOBE40 round-the-world race, but ultimately more tightly matched and probably better prepared for the well-known characteristics of the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE. The sporting field is of such a high level that identifying a potential winner is no easy task. Among those mentioned: 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 many different facets of this course, may find just the right combination.

Source: Sirius Evenements