Battling Dragons

Tommorow will see the start of the Petit Navire Dragon Grand Prix in Douarnenez Bay

The curtain will be raised tomorrow on the seventh Petit Navire Dragon Grand Prix in Douarnenez Bay. After the Brittany Cup, which brought together more than 50 boats, the Petit Navire Dragon Grand Prix will see 18 nationalities and more than 80 Dragons fighting it out until 6 May.

“It's a superb fleet bringing together many different people that we're not that used to racing against. More than 80 boats racing over a short course is going to be very interesting. You should never lose sight of what is going on elsewhere, when you do this job,” explained Jean Le Cam, who is joining Jimmy Pahun and Fred Gourlaouen on Ar Maout for this Petit Navire Grand Prix. Three times winner of the Figaro Single-handed event and second in the last edition of the Vendée Globe, Jean Le Cam will be coming up against the leading figures in the series.

As for his team-mate Jimmy Pahun, who has also been crowned on several occasions Tour de France and Spi Ouest France champion, he is also enjoying himself. “These are great boats, and it's rare to get so many identical boats together in one place. Most of the entrants are very experienced. I'm counting on our tactical genius Fred Gourlaouen to make sure we are not made to look ridiculous, as he is an expert in Dragons and knows the Bay like the back of his hand. As everything works on this boat to the nearest millimetre, it's better if you can work with someone who knows just what to tweak to go fast,” he says. The two skippers did not really get off to a pain free start yesterday, as Ar Maout was disqualified after a false start in the fourth heat of the Brittany Dragon Cup.

While today has been a layday for the skippers, it is not the case for the organisers and volunteers, particularly for the office in charge of registering the entries for the Petit Navire Dragon Grand Prix. Organised around Annie Ravach, it is here that the Dragon racers are welcomed and given advice. A volunteer ever since the first edition of the Petit Navire Grand Prix, Annie Ravach is also taking care of the International Jury. “It was Henri Fiacre and his father, who helped me to discover the Dragon boats, and today I have even become an official measurer for the class.” She has also passed on this passion to her son, Tanguy, who is sailing alongside Yann Kersalé on the Dirastarc'h Dragon.

Also in today's programme, one particularly original event is to be held: a world sculling championship began at four o’clock in the entrance channel. Two pools of four scullers battled it out, rounding an unusual race mark, a seven metre long steel pirate fish, the work of sculptor, Marc Morvan. This isn't the first time the artist from Quimper has exhibited in the port of Tréboul, as this year’s event, like last year, a magnificent dragon (also made of steel) commands the entrance to the Petit Navire Grand Prix village.

The programme for tomorrow is as follows:

9h30 start from the Dragon pontoons

17h00 The dragons pass the buoy in the middle of Saint-Jean beach

18h00 Awards ceremony for the day