A historic club that ranks among the top in France
Founded in 1858, the Cercle de Voile de Paris (CVP) is one of the oldest clubs in France, and indeed in Europe. It was founded at a time when Napoleon III was liberalizing access to boat ownership, previously reserved for professionals. "The club was created by a handful of people who were looking for a place to race together every Sunday, to play sports, in the same place, and on boats they had chosen. It was the beginning of the sport" explains Pascale Guittonneau, CVP vice-president in charge of communications and heritage.
The very essence of the club is therefore to race, to enjoy the sport together, but above all to institute all the rules for inland water regattas first, then for offshore races, and even those for motorboat regattas. "Initially, each club had its own rules, then when the Union des Sociétés Nautiques Françaises was created in 1919, now known as the Fédération Française de Voile, there was a grouping of clubs. The CVP is the origin of sailing, not yachting. For a long time, the CVP sponsored inland waterway clubs" explains Pascale.
The club first set up shop in Petit Gennevilliers, a place made famous by Impressionists like Monet and Manet, who often painted the regattas organized by the club. " Claude Monet was even a member of the CVP during his studies at the Beaux-Arts, from 1862 to 1864. Caillebotte was also one of our members before becoming vice-president from 1879 to 1894. For the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, currently being organized, we have loaned some paintings we had at the Club House" she adds.
The club's history is closely linked to the Seine, where it moved in 1893 to Les Mureaux, an ideal location for navigation thanks to the width of the river and its proximity to Paris. "Some club members had holiday homes there, and the water was ideal for sailing. Above all, the location was easily accessible via the train lines at Les Mureaux or Meulan station. The club even had its own private carriage to make the round trip during the day. Some club members slept on site or in their boats" pascale explains.
The Club House, France's oldest, was built in 1894.
An emblematic venue for water sports
After 1900, sailing entered the modern era; famous one-design series came into being, as did the international 6m JI class. "This is where modern regatta took shape. The CVP saw the launch of the first 6m JI, the first production 5O5, the Bélouga was born here..." says Pascale Guittonneau.
Even today, the club organizes regattas every Sunday between April and November, perpetuating a tradition that goes back more than a century. With over a hundred members, many of them licensed, the CVP has seen some sixty of its members take part in the Olympic Games, notably in the 1930s and 1940s. "For the 1932 and 1936 Games, all the French representatives were members of the CVP" explains Pascale proudly.
The Club celebrated the centenary of the 2024 Olympic Games in Les Mureaux by organizing events for small series. Numerous Olympic series from all the years were present on the water to race together, accompanied by the presence of French Olympic medal-winning Finn sailor, Jonathan Lobert.
Today, the CVP is a club for owners of sport boats, mainly keelboats, which are better suited to the water. The club also welcomes dinghies. Everyone gets together as a family to sail and have lunch together every week. "The fleet is rich, with Star yachts, 7.50 one-designs... We organized the French Soling Championship, with 17 boats on the Seine. The club's boats are between 7 and 8 m long. We're also proud to have had a famous boat, the first Pen Duick, then christened Grisélidis, at the beginning of the 20th century. We even have a photo of this very large boat sailing on the Seine. Some famous boats have passed through the CVP" concludes Pascale.
