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BRITISH AT CARANTEC 1997Bowmoor Invades Carantec In September of last year Peter and Wendy Griffiths visited the small town of Carantec, which is just outside Roscoff on the North Brittany coast. (Thanks to Brittany Ferries for providing them with the free crossing!) They didn't just go for the free holiday or for the beer, but to visit the sailing club which every year hosts the International Carantec Optimist Regatta. The report they wrote persuaded nineteen helms from Bowmoor plus their families to attend the Regatta which was held in July 97. Racing in the regatta didn't start until Monday and because most of the Bowmoor contingent stayed on the same campsite, Saturday was spent in and out of the campsite pool, risking life and limb going down the very fast flumes. There was great excitement when Amanda Cully was the first parent to brave it down the chutes! On Sunday there was training for those who wanted it, but fortunately for most it didn't start until two o'clock in the afternoon. Most went out there just to get used to sailing on the sea again because it certainly makes a different from sailing on the placid waters of Bowmoor (ha ha!) After the waters of Carantec had been braved for the first time, the grand opening ceremony took place. Luckily for us there was an English translation, available due to the high number of British entrants in the regatta. However, most couldn't wait to get back into the pool at the campsite and those that were brave enough, decided that going down the chutes at 11 o'clock in the dark would be great fun! No injuries to report, but many won't do it again in a hurry - it was supposed to be July but it felt more like February! Racing started on the Monday, but because we had to wait for the seabreeze, racing started two hours late. With only half an hour to get out to the race course in a force 2 many people were extremely relieved when the first start resulted in a general recall. However, by the time we were on the third attempt at starting many people were just getting annoyed. This was something that you had to get used to because this happened nearly every day out of the four. For many people this was the first time we had sailed with the French and it certainly was an experience to remember. The French did seem to have their own version of the rules but by the end of the week most of us had caught onto them! The course sailed all week was the Carantec course, named after this event. The Carantec course is a trapezoid with a sausage. The legs were very long with each race lasting just over an hour. However the numerous general recalls at the start meant that we often spent half an hour waiting for the race to get underway. The results obtained from the Bowmoor contingent were very varied, with a 13th from Olivier Vidal and a PMS that most had! Overall the result aren't really worth mentioning with more Bowmoor names on the back of the result sheet than on the front. However, a really good week was had by all and hopefully next year we will be off again. Sian Griffiths Results: Best British results: Minimes - 26 Brits in fleet of 112. 4th & first overseas Mark Powell, 12th & 3rd overseas Nick Cherry, 28th Shona Brooks, 29th Myles Willis. Benjamins - 9 Brits in a fleet of 69. 11th & first overseas Stephen Powell, 14th Tom Mallindine, 15th Tom Barnes.
Barnt Green Optimist Sailors at Carantec All five Barnt Green sailors who went across the water to Carantec in July had a great time and learnt a lot - here are some quotes: "I enjoyed winning the vegetables at Carantec. Thanks for a great week." Harry Marshall GBR 2572 "I enjoyed the great weather and great sailing" Chris Wright GBR 3520 "I liked the racing and meeting new people" Charlotte Savage GBR 3937 "I enjoyed sailing on the sea and when it was really windy" Kelsey Suggitt GBR 4021 "Carantec was good because it was good practice for the Nationals and the best thing was sailing in a different country" Alex McIntosh GBR 4180 So here’s to Carantec 1998, Chris Wright has already booked his trip! Mandy Suggitt on behalf of Barnt Green SC Optimists |
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