The French Cup 2017 sailing race, organized by Arnaud Uhrich & Florent Herson and supported by the French community in Pattaya, brought out 18 entries for the weekend’s action from Feb. 4-5 at Royal Varuna Yacht Club.
On Saturday there was a single long distance race for both mono and multihull fleets around Pattaya bay. With winds averaging 12 to 15 knots, Gareth got away well in his Laser in the monohull fleet and looked to be leading at the Pattaya lighthouse, closely followed by Lasers of Khan, Peter and Neil and also with Albert taking the speed advantage of his Finn.
As the wind dropped on the final leg back to RYVC the fleet closed up dramatically and a very close finish ensued. After the calculators were brought out and put to good use it was decided that Gareth had done just enough to hold onto first place, with Peter taking second ahead of Khan following 2.5 hours of racing.
The multihulls had a longer course to navigate and the F18 Wild Cat helmed by the Australia’s Andy & Caroline built up a good lead at the first turn. However, a dramatic capsize by the leaders allowed the rest of the fleet back into the race and another F18 Wild Cat of the French crew Roch and Vero took advantage to take the line honours, followed by the Nacra 18 of Florent & Alex.
On Sunday there were 3 races around a buoy marked course off RVYC. Honours were shared around with Peter, Niel and Albert all taking a win in the monohulls and Gareth proving to be the most consistent of all as he placed second each time.
In the multihulls the race victories were shared between the Nacra 18 of Florent & Alex and the Tiger 18 of the French crew Matthieu & Pierrick.
Saturday afternoon saw the traditional onshore Petanque championship which attracted more than 40 players to take part and was won by Raphael and Titouan.
The winners at the French Cup 2017, Gareth Owen (monohull) and Florent Herson & Alex Frefel (multihull) received Eiffel Tower trophies and the runners-up medals from Mark Hamill-Stewart (RYVC Commodore) and the French organizers.
