The low-down on a 15th anniversary celebrated in style
For its fifteenth anniversary, the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE treated its skippers, partners and organisation teams to the very best it has to offer. Indeed, as ever, it boasted an exceptionally competitive line-up of 25 crews, this year’s largest entry list on the Class40 circuit, transatlantic races included. As ever, it was a race that was incredibly closely fought, with multiple leader changes and the victor only breaking away from the fleet on the last night. As ever, it was an event that proved to be a media sensation, providing an important platform for France’s leading national sports channel – LA CHAINE L’EQUIPE, plus it was a real hit among the loyal local crowds who flocked to the quayside in Caen. This year, the weather played a blinder of a hand, the likes of which had never been seen before on what is always a similar but oh so different course. In another break from the ‘norm’, with a winning time of 4 days 21 hours and 17 minutes for the Class40 LEGALLAIS skippered by Fabien Delahaye and Benjamin Schwartz, the crown went to a Norman champion, supported by a company based in Normandy on a Class40 built in Caen. This was the fruit of a huge concerted effort spanning several years on the part of institutional, private and sporting bodies to get Normandy onto the offshore racing map. Enjoying incredibly mild conditions for most of the course to Fastnet in a week centred around a full moon, the skippers were able to relish the competition out on the racetrack, as well as take home some wonderful memories from this great epic that embraces the coasts of Normandy, the Isle of Wight, southern England and Ireland.
Class40 still top of the table
In this Vendée Globe year, offshore racing in France is breaking records across the board, from the sheer volume of teams to the event line-ups, to the activity of the yards and all the companies involved in the sector. Within this landscape, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, the Class40 is still leading the way on the European circuits, the transatlantic races and now the circumnavigations of the globe. Naturally, the dramatic post-Covid surge in new launches has subsided slightly but around a dozen new Class40s are due to launch in 2025 and with the 206th boat recently joining the fleet, the Class is continuing to flesh out. There is still work to be done of course, like maintaining a high level of amateur participations, tight technological and cost control, plus wider access for women but, on a competitive and budgetary level, the series remains one of the easiest ways to access major offshore races. Furthermore, with new areas of development opening up, like the Mediterranean, where new events are taking shape, the future of the Class is very bright.
Panorama of the 16th edition – green light for Sunday 25 May 2025
In 2025, the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE is reverting to its usual May slot, as is the case in 3 out of 4 years, with the event running from Wednesday 21 May to Sunday 1 June, during which the fleet will set sail on Sunday 25 May. Given that no major migration across the Atlantic is on the 2025 Class40 programme, other than the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre at the end of the year, there is likely to be a high concentration of the fleet on France’s Atlantic shores and in the English Channel midway through the season. As such, prospects are excellent for the 2025 edition of the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE, hence the publication on 1 October of the Notice of Race and the opening of registration to further plump out the fantastic stats for this event. Indeed, 641 skippers have participated in the race since 2010 with some 321 Class40s taking the start and an average of 21.5 Class40s in the starting blocks each year. The record for 10 participations is up for grabs too with 9 participations to date for Jean Galfione, Louis Duc and Marc Lepesqueux, 8 for Antoine Carpentier, Halvard Mabire and Nicolas Jossier, and 7 for Miranda Merron and Olivier Roussey… To end on a note of intrigue, not a single one of these skippers has won the event in these 65 participations, which speaks volumes about the standard of the fleet and just how difficult it is to hold the Trophy aloft.And no reason it could be easier next year..
The Notice of Race 2025 is being published today and registration is now open: www.normandy-race.com – skippers’ area https://normandy-race.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/V2.NOR_.CICNCR.2025.pdf
Facebook: @normandy.channelrace
Instagram: @cic_normandy_channel_race
