(Hyeres, France)- It was a beautiful finale for the 15th edition of
Porquerolles Race Week in France. The last day saw good sailing
conditions, a single windward-leeward race (a.k.a.- a "sausage" or
"banana" or "hot dog"- depending on your frame of mind)! It was all
beautiful and rich in emotions with podium contenders often being upset
with the ultimate winners who scrap hard to get silverware, sometime
in-extremis! All "in a perfect state of mind" for some, perhaps for
others just "another day's work". "A big THANK YOU to the Committee and the entire organizing team for this week," was the phrase heard most on Sunday at noon via VHF as the fleets were returning to the harbor. Congratulations were well deserved. Especially, for the first time in four years that racing has been run on Sunday in ideal conditions-- six races sailed in total (5 windward-leewards and 1 coastal race).
The ultimate W/L of about 5nm on Sunday was accompanied by a staggered arrival at the port of Porquerolles, so that everyone can enjoy the beautiful show of sailboats as they parade by the piers into the harbor.
In IRC2, the competition was tough and the J/111 ESPRIT SUD.NET led by Oliver Krauss sailed incredibly well to finish 3rd class and 3rd Overall.
In IRC3, it was "spectacular coup'de'theater: where the final victory eludes prime time television!" In the end, the J/109 GALANGAL sailed by Philippe de Saignes ends with equal points for third overall in a race that could have gone either way!
In
IRC4, the women of St Tropez crew on the J/97 NO LIMITS skippered by
Agnes Di Russo enjoyed on-going celebrations at this sailing festival!
Feeling at home in comfortable surroundings, the dynamic heroines were
imperial in their class! Congratulations girls for their fantastic
sportsmanship at sea-- and their entertainment in the evenings were
simply superb! With Di Russo as their lead, the rest of the team should
be recognized for their extraordinary accomplishments- Josiane Rizzo,
Brigit Carstens, Elodie Briand, Sabine Cousin, Fabienee Moyersoen,
Magali Richard and Francoise Jean-Jean!Di Russo, skipper of NO LIMIT, said "Thanks to the first owner of our J/97, Pascale Barbier. The week was excellent in all respects: windy on the water and challenging downwind sailing! For us, it was almost as difficult sailing on the water as well as navigating the evenings! We knew how to be steady in our performance in our class, but it was very tight. After the final round of races, we are thrilled!"
For
the overall Challenge J/Boats Trophy, it was led by the J/111
ESPRITSUD.NET (Oliver Krauss); followed by the J/109 GALANGAL (Philippe
Saignes) in 2nd; the J/109 MISS JUJU (Jean-Marc Picon) in 3rd; the J/122
NOISY OYSTER (Olivier Parchet) in 4th; and the J/109 JET LAG (Richard
Burton) in 5th.Oliver Krauss, third in IRC2 and site manager of ESPRIT SUD J/Challenge, organizer and partner of Porquerolles Week: "We're the new J participating in this week's Porquerolles as the J/111 ESPRIT SUD. As a partner in the event, it was a great opportunity to interact with owners of J/Boats and motivate their network of J sailors across France. We set up a symbolic challenge between us and the girls who won with their J/97 in IRC4-- we finish third in IRC 2 losing this place today ... that's great! It was really nice to sail like that in these windy conditions. A very good first experience this week Porquerolles!" For more Semaine de Porquerolles sailing information
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