110 Miles, amateur ocean racing
"The 110 miles" is a historic race. Think about it, it's been around for almost 40 years. This event is organized by the Société des régates de Concarneau (SRC) under the leadership of its president Pierre Gauthier.
The route is always the same: a round trip along the coasts of southern Brittany.
We are 13 competitors divided into doubles or solo to start. It's not much this year, but enough to have fun.
This "small" ocean race deserves to be known, it is a real sporting event. The 110 Miles remains very accessible thanks to the 24-hour regatta format. It is very economical, 50 ? of registration including 10 days of postage and a good arrival buffet.
It should be noted that most competitors have boats at a reasonable purchase price, it is not necessary to have the latest trendy IRC. Here, the average fleet budget must be around ?30,000. You don't need to be wealthy to participate in this "small" ocean race and the pleasure is there.
Stéphane and his old racing boat
Stéphane invited me to run aboard Calicot Jack, his Figaro 1. This is Philippe Poupon's former Fleury Michon, a boat with a glorious past. Today, it is converted into a no-frills race-cruise.
Stéphane bought it for ?11,000 3 years ago to take his little family to the islands and do the local weekend regattas. Like all Figaros, it is equipped with a good NKE pilot, to whom the captain has added an AIS. To have fun in regattas and for the pleasure of sailing well on a cruise, he has equipped his old one-design boat with a set of recent sails.
This good old racing boat is perfect for a duet race and offers a good level of performance, however its rating is difficult to defend.
Forecast weather conditions
As the start approaches, the wind abstains.
The start is being made in the calm of stormy weather with a northerly flow blowing timidly at 3 knots.
The race committee decided not to wet the starting line in the wind. To such an extent that by tightening the wind closer, it is not possible to cross the line from starboard tack. So it's on the port tack that we're going to start cutting the line.
In such a light wind, you should stay manoeuvrable and not underestimate the time it takes to gain speed.
The burn horn sounds. Let's get started! Good start.
