JOUR J Wins Navigatlantique Trophy

(La Rochelle, France)- La Rochelle Nautique hosted the J/70 Cup for the ninth and final stage of the French Cup. This 13th edition of the Navigatlantique Trophy, always a very friendly event, took place from November 8th to 10th.

The first two races were held on Saturday in very light wind conditions. Then, four races were held on Sunday in stronger conditions. Finally, two more races took place on Monday in a good breeze.

After eight races, JOUR J, skippered by Béatrice Joyaud and her crew of Nicolas Dore, Eliot Merceron, and Benjamin Amiot, emerged victorious with 4 race wins and 10 pts. Taking the silver medal was Philippe Guigne’s SAILING IMPACT Team (Cedric Meunier, Damien Scelo, and Eric Guigne) with 3 wins and 15 pts. Rounding out the podium with the bronze medal was Christine Briand’s JINN team (Louis Taylor, Tom Marsan, Franck Juin, and Armand Clabon) with 24 pts. She won the tiebreaker count back on 24 pts over Richard Fromentin’s COCODY/ LECLERC HENNEBONT team (Thomas Waret, Thomas Nicol, Jean Fretigny, and Valentin Massu), finishing in fourth place. Rounding out the top five with 27 pts was Gonzague Marraud des Grottes’s JAWS TOO with his team of Emmanuel Lacoste, Nicolas Brisson, and Victor Dumareau.

Notably, this was the first J/70 regatta in France that saw two women helm on the podium, Beatrice Joyaud and Christine Briand! This development of top women skippers and top women crew in the J/70 class is a wonderful trend that continues to grow quite significantly. This trend “coattails” the American Laura Grondin’s recent win at the J/70 World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the three-time J/70 European Championship winner Claudia Rossi from Italy; and the dramatic growth of the Helga Cup in Hamburg, Germany, with 62 women’s teams sailing J/70s on the beautiful Alster Lake (325+ women sailors)!

For more French J/70 Cup sailing information
https://www.classej70france.com/calendrier