Dear UK friends,
Many of us are already looking forward to our two major Interclass Sport Keelboats events in May: the French Quillards de Sport National Championship at the Grand Prix de l'Ecole Navale, and, a few days earlier, the new event called ‘Les Quillards à Dinard’.
At the GPEN, for the first time, we will be based at the Naval Academy site [where the prize giving was in 2024]. The advantages of this northern side of the Crozon peninsula are that in light winds, we should have a little more air than at Morgat, and in breezy conditions, the water is better protected. Above all, as this is a Grade 3 French Championship, FFVoile and the Grand Prix believe they can guarantee us more starts and less downtime between races.
Download the Notice of Race now from https://agpen.fr. Date: 14-16 May (Ascension weekend). Online registration opens in early March.
Flying 15, Tempest and Aile, all will be determined to win the INQ 2026 French Championship title. In the Flying 15 class, several of our Belgian friends will be coming, perhaps a few English sailors, certainly a contingent from Dinard and the Paris region, and others from further afield (a sailor from Saint-Raphaël has already announced his attendance). The 2025 champion was a Tempest, in light to moderate conditions, but all our boats - Classic, Silver, Open - have the rating to compete for the title. And the GPEN is a great event - a perfect cocktail of organisation, energy and friendship.
The weekend immediately preceding the Grand Prix, to make the most of our trip to the west, we are adding ‘Les Quillards à Dinard’ to our calendar, a regatta designed with the other classes as a great INQ training opportunity. Date: 9-10 May. Participants will arrive on Friday 8 May and will be able to crane their boats until 3.30pm (depending on the tide). On Saturday, boats will be launched from 9 a.m., with the first warning signal at 12 noon. Briefing and aperitif at the Yacht Club on Friday evening, crew dinner on Saturday evening, prize-giving ceremony on Sunday at 2 p.m. Visitors may leave their boats at the quay for a few days. Starting 23 February, download the Notice of Race from https://yacht-club-dinard.fr, under the Regattas section. Online registration will be available at the same time. Registration fee: €30.
Exciting adventures and wonderful weekends await! Pre-book your stays now. For Crozon, you will find addresses on the GPEN website and the peninsula's tourist office website: All accommodation - Crozon Peninsula Tourist Office - Aulne Maritime. For Dinard, the tourist office website is very comprehensive. Here are the links to their accommodation options: Where to stay? - Dinard Émeraude Tourisme, as well as their numerous brochures: All our brochures - Dinard Émeraude Tourisme.
See you soon on the water, long live the Quillards de Sport inter-classes!
Flying Fifteen France
https://flying15.fr
PS. And don't forget: once again this year, our National Flying 15 will be held in the Ile-de-France region, this time on Lake Enghien. Save the date in your diary: 17-18 October. [link to calendar]