* Article edited on 02/03/2021: Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the France Open Skiff 2021 regatta (planned for 3rd – 5th April 2021) has since been postponed to 16 – 18 April 2022. Please refer to to the event website for the latest information.
This year, Musto Skiff sailors in France are hoping to grow their class and get back to some good competitive racing over the summer. FRA Musto Skiff Sailor, Alexandre Emanuel, gives us an update on what’s happening in France and what they are most looking forward to in 2021.
Article by Alexandre Emanuel, FRA 293
I’ve had a Musto Skiff for three years now, and I am really enjoying sailing it. We currently have just three Musto Skiff’s racing locally, so we usually compete at Breizhskiff Trophy and join other sailing events in nearby countries, like Switzerland. It has obviously been much harder to do this with the pandemic restrictions, but this year, we are really keen to grow the local fleet and we hope to be able to do more competitive racing.
As well as being involved in the Musto Skiff class, I’m also sailing a double handed skiff. I’m passionate about dinghy sailing and regattas, and I’m trying to pass on this skiff passion to Club Treffort-Voile on the Lac de Monteynard.
The Breizhskiff Trophy offers three great Musto Skiff venues for multi-series events, so I’m keen to encourage the French and Swiss sailors to come together to attend these regattas – presuming everything goes ahead as planned, that is!
The first big regatta is the Easter France Open Skiff in April*. This is followed by the M.O.S.T (Lac de Monteynard Open Skiff Trophy) in mid-June, and then the Skiff in Vallée de Joux, which takes place in mid-September.
Many sailors will already know these regattas, but for those that don’t, here is a little more about each of them.
France Open Skiff 2021, Lac du Der (France), 3rd – 5th April 2021*
* Article edited on 02/03/2021: Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the France Open Skiff 2021 regatta has since been postponed to 16 – 18 April 2022. Please refer to to the event website for the latest information.
The France Open Skiff 2021 is planned for 3rd – 5th April 2021* at Lac du Der, which is in the Champagne region of France. This regatta was established in 2004 and it’s usually the first event of the French skiff season.
Each year, the regatta brings together around fifty skiffs in a multi-series regatta, and all the skiffs race together over 3 days on the Easter weekend. This usually includes competitors from all over France and neighbouring countries, such as the Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the UK.
This is a great regatta, as it is suitable for all levels of competitors. It is always well attended by the Swiss and German Musto Skiff sailors, who have raced there many times over the years. The France Open Skiff is hosted at the UFOLEP Club, who offer an all-inclusive service for catering and accommodation. They also offer coaching for those who want to arrive ahead of the regatta and take advantage of extra time on the water to practice and train.
M.O.S.T (Lac de Monteynard Open Skiff Trophy), Lac de Monteynard (France), 19 – 20 June 2021
A couple of months after the France Open Skiff regatta is the M.O.S.T (Lac de Monteynard Open Skiff Trophy) at Lac de Monteynard in France. This is currently planned for 19 – 20 June 2021.
The MOST is hosted at a summer location, south of Grenoble, approximately 1h45 from Geneva by motorway. Treffort-Voile promotes skiff sailors and has hosted The MOST for 6 editions. The regatta is now mature, but in a good year, it is common to have around 25-30 boats in a skiff multi-series.
Monteynard is a windy spot – known in Europe for its excellent north/south thermal wind breeze on sunny days. People call it “the little French GARDA”, so I would say this is an ideal place to prepare for the next 2021 Worlds in Riva del Garda, Italy!
Skiffs in Vallée de Joux, Lac de Joux (Switzerland), 11 – 12 September 2021
Towards the end of the season, we will have the Breizhskiff Trophy Round 6 at Vallée de Joux regatta. This second edition typically happens in mid-September at Lac de Joux in Switzerland, and this year it is planned for 11 – 12 September.
Lac de Joux is known for organising the famous Bol d’Or dinghy and catamarans each year during August. The Swiss Musto Skiffs are already familiar with this location, as they often go there in the summer for evening regattas and other activities.
In 2020, the first edition of the new round Trophy was launched to bring skiffs together and create a local skiff multi-series event. French and Swiss sailors took the opportunity to sail together at this event, and last year Musto sailor Roger Oswald won first place out of 17 boats! We hope that the CNVJ will continue to host skiffs for a long time to come!
With three great events to look forward to in the region, we hope to do more competitive racing and see the Musto fleet grow over the coming seasons – both here in France and in Switzerland. We encourage everyone to participate and enjoy some great sailing with us this season.
If you want to get a Musto Skiff or join the class, just get in touch with the FRA Class Representative, Yoann Justeau. We will be happy to help you to get involved.
Thanks, and we hope you stay safe and enjoy some good sailing this season.
Alex
FRA 293
All FRA Class local events and regattas can be found on the Musto Skiff event calendar here: https://mustoskiff.com/class-events/event-schedule/
To get in touch with the FRA Class Country Representative, contact Yoann Justeau at yoann.justeau@gmail.com
