Warm westerlies

With eighty entries could Deauville Week have the weather to match?

The prospect of coming to Deauville on the Northern coast of France is clearly sparking the enthusiasm of regional and international sailors alike. Manfred Ramspacher’s organisational teams have been registering over 80 firm entries with just five days until battle commences, including a number of key English and Irish players.

The yacht classes currently enjoying success all across Europe will be out in force for this second edition of Deauville International Week, with an abundance of J/80 and J/109’s and IRC 1, 2 and 3 craft. A final rehearsal prior to the Tour de France à la Voile, this week of racing in the Bay of Seine is also much awaited by the main teams of the Mumm 30 circuit, with a large number of local Norman entries in particular.

All of the sailors are coming in search of some exciting, top level racing in the warmth of Deauville’s legendary welcome. Event organiser, Manfred Ramspacher, bears witness to this, with a leap in registrations in the key series like the J/80 and the J/109, which has seen double or even triple the number of sailors this year. Racing is shaping up to be hotly contended amidst very tight fleets of 15 to 20.

The same is true of the X 35 and the 747 OD fleet; a strongly represented series in Normandy with boats from the neighbouring Saint Valéry en Caux and Fécamp.

The international presence will be particularly evident in IRC 1, 2 and 3, which bring together 8 to 13 metre yachts.

The race village situated in the centre of Deauville opposite the station, just a short distance from the basins, will open its doors next Wednesday 6th June. The weather is often the deciding factor in the success of sailing events and the early forecasts for next week, with a high pressure system filling in from the South, announce clearer skies and moderate westerly winds.

Event Programme
0900 hours Tuesday 5th June to 1200 hours Thursday 7th June: lifting,
registrations, scrutineering.
Wednesday 6th June 2007: opening of the race village, training races from 1400
hours, return to port around 1700 hours.
Wednesday 6th June 2007 1900 hours: welcome cocktail for the event.
Thursday 7th June 1200 hours: skippers briefing, end of registration.
Thursday 7th June: one or several races from 1430 hours, return to port around
1830 hours.
Friday 8th June: one or several races from 1530 hours, return to port around
1930 hours.
Saturday 9th June: one or several races from 0900 hours, return to port around
1600 hours.
Sunday 10th June: one or several races from 1000 hours, return to port around
16.40, prize giving at 1730 hours. (Subject to results from the Jury).

For further infomation: http://www.deauville-week.com