Oman Sail on their experience at the Grand Prix Guyader

From the following article submitted to Sail-World by Oman Sail:

http://www.sail-world.com/Asia/Grand-Prix-Guyader---Omani-sailors-step-up-their-learning-curve/121880

Oman Sail’s flagship campaign, Musandam-Oman Sail, got the racing season off to a flying start in Douarnenez last weekend at the Grand Prix Guyader with a majority Omani crew onboard for the first time.

As a first regatta on the MOD70 since the Transat Jacques Vabre last November, the objectives were to learn the boat and to continue developing the Omani sailors that make up the MOD70 and M34 squad for 2014, in a race environment.

The format with its stadium racing and speed runs was the perfect platform for some swift learning and a good warm up towards the next phase of the Grand Prix which kicks off today onboard the M34. The M34 fleet includes a number of Oman Sail’s closest rivals for the Tour de France a la Voile so will prove a useful benchmark event.

read more here

'2014 Grand Prix Guyader - Musandam-Oman Sail'    Jacques Vapillon ©

Team Lalou interview plus sailing footage from Grand Prix Guyader

The sailing segment starts at about 4 minutes in.  An interview with Lalou Roucayrol (in French) re: the new Multi50 Arkema.  They came in second overall in the Multi50 class in the Grand Prix Guyader behind the revamped Maitre Jacques a very impressive debut.

http://www.tebeotv.fr/emission/jt.html

Grand Prix Guyader, article on letelgramme.com summing up the event

From the following article on letelgramme.com

http://www.letelegramme.com/sports/voile/grand-prix-guyader-a-douarnenez-un-premier-acte-magique-07-05-2013-2094753.php

and the rough bing translate:

The curtain fell, yesterday in Douarnenez, on the first act of the Grand Prix Guyader, little windy but sunny. A cocktail which met crews who ensured the show in a magical Bay.  
    
At the end of morning Loïc Ponceau took advantage of a small South stream to launch fleet, the Class 40, IMOCA, Multi 50 and maxi-multis on a 19-mile coastal course. Once more, the spectacle, visible from the Rosmeur Pier, was superb under a sky that had begun to be filling. Lionel Lemonchois, indented Sunday, was the first to launch the slender hulls of «Prince de Bretagne» at the Committee boat before the powerful 'People's Bank'.
Second curtain, Mod 70 "Musandam" and "Virbac" pasted-tight began a match that was going to last, and even to continue before the jury. 

  It was nothing next to the epic jam that brought together all the series in the first brand under the cliffs of Crozon. This ultimate day was placed under the sign of light and unstable winds with episodes instead. "" The day the tactician nightmare because the wind was erratic, said laughing Roland Jourdain. ".Oman"(Musandam) has played, they made a u-turn almost and the Tower of the parish to find wind".

Sidney Gavignet and his crew won this final round before "Virbac» of Jean-Pierre Dick who has managed its entry into runway in am. 70. In general, the "Bank-popular" maxi, which was the first release in competition, managed to keep the supremacy narrowly.

In Multi 50, Loïc Féquet and the crew of "Maître Jacques" sign a perfects with four victories on the four disputed coastal. Yesterday, Malouin, assisted by Franck-Yves Escoffier to the tactics, has signed a beautiful fourth place overall, at 20 seconds of "Prince de Bretagne» Lionel Lemonchois and the"Banque Populaire"maxi, it is true little favoured in these light airs.

"We are pleased with this result and the manner in which it happened. We have a good speed in the small time, but above all, the crew is, every season, a little more ground. Everything is flowing between us, it is a huge asset, entrusts the Malouin which perfectly began his season. 

IMOCA, "Groupe Bel" concluded on a victory for sleeve and stood out to the general. His victory at Douarnenez is balm to the heart of Kito de Pavant after not yet closed injury of the Vendée Globe. "The boat has been superbly repaired CDK and lost nothing in performance. In conditions complicated with little wind, we demonstrated its qualities and took a lot of fun to race with buddies such as Jacques Caraës and Bertrand de Broc. It's a beautiful weekend, sporting and humanly. «Win made a very foolish ", says Kito de Pavant, moved slightly.

On the side of the Class 40, a series that displays a beautiful vitality, there was game to the end. On the momentum of his double on Sunday, Victorien Erussard ("solidarity in platoon") won a new victory yesterday. But "EDF GDF Suez" by Sébastien Rogues, second in this final round, is necessary to the general. "What a day! It was the Bay of Douarnenez in all its States but we managed to escape,"unleash in chorus the skipper and his tactician, Fabien Delahaye, come relax in a month of the Solitaire.

Four days Grand prix Guyader really brought together sailors from all walks of life.

Multi 50 update, First day at the Grand Prix Guyader

The Multi50 Association has put up a short news item on the Season opening Grand Prix Guyader which is held in the bay of Douarnenez.

From the following article on the Multi50 Association website:

http://www.class-multi50.org/bon-depart-pour-la-saison-multi50/a8.html

and the rough bing translate below.

The Multi50 launched the 2013 season this morning under ideal conditions in Douarnenez. The departure of the first round of the Grand Prix Guyader is played under a Sun of lead and with a breeze of 10 to 12 knots, sector North, perfect to wake up trimarans and crews. Maître Jacques took the best start. Arkema France has refined its settings. For Lalou and his crew, this is the first confrontation. Venue this evening with the skipper Aquitaine to learn more about his first impressions.

Multihull competitors at the Grand Prix Guyader and Tour de Belle Isle

Article on the upcoming Grand Prix Guyader and Tour de Belle Isle and the multihulls that will compete:

Here is the rough bing translate of the following article by Axel Capron:

http://www.sports.fr/voile/articles/...entree-621308/

Offshore racing season really began at the beginning of the month of may with two events, the Tour de Belle - island and Grand Prix Guyader, which will give the opportunity to the multihulls of all sizes to offer first confrontations. We think including the new Prince de Bretagne of Lionel Lemonchois, the Bank Populaire VII of Armel Le Cléac ' h, the MOD70 and the Multi50.

Brittany waters will bubble at the end of week! Douarnenez in La Trinité-sur-Mer, where respectively compete for Grand Prix Guyader (3-5 May) and the Tour de Belle-Ile (4 May), multihulls will be at the party after a winter 2012-13 media dominated on the Vendée Globe Imoca class monohulls. Some Imoca incidentally also benefit from the beginning of the month of May to make their re-entry (Akena Verandas on the Tour de Belle-Ile, master cock, Safran, Initiatives heart, Groupe Bel in Douarnenez), but it is on the trimarans will have attention with first clashes expected share and other Atlantic water plan.

The Tour de Belle-Ile will thus provide an opportunity for Lionel Lemonchois to try out racing his new Prince de Bretagne, trimaran of 80 feet (24.38 meters) which is other than the old Orma (60 feet, 18.28 meters) from Thomas Coville, Sodebo. After a year of construction of elongation in Vannes, the vessel proceeded to water last October, he sailed since January and his skipper does not hide his haste to do battle with the competition, history of measuring the potential of his steed. "It is clear that we have wanted to run with the boat, there's nothing better that to have competitors to feel where it is in the capacity of the boat," he says on the site of the Tour de Belle-Ile. And that fall well, since Norman has just found competitor facing him in the person of its former Gitana 11, with which he won the Route du Rhum 2006, record key, extended from 77 feet the same philosophy as that of Prince de Bretagne.

"Ours, I think, is more successful," considers Lemonchois, while in the opposite, Sébastien Josse, double camp taking this Tour de Belle - Island, which meet more than 500 boats on the same starting line, waiting to see: "Prince de Bretagne is a little bigger, he has no doubt of the things that we do not, but there is no tilting mast. "This first confrontation looks super interesting."A confrontation that is summarize elsewhere not to this single duel, as a third grand multihull will part, MOD70 Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) which, if the conditions are favourable, could well play the spoilsports.

Debut for Bank popular VII

Of the MOD70, there is also in Douarnenez on GP Lesley, with the debut of Jean-Pierre Dick at the helm of his new Virbac-Paprec, nice, after more than a decade dedicated to the Vendée Globe and the Imoca class, having decided to go have fun on three hulls. And to fill his lack of experience, it is surrounded by a "friendly to the skills crew" with denominator common "experience of the offshore race" found among others at Vincent Riou, Roland Jourdain, or Thierry Duprey. In southern Finistère, the VP Boys in découdront with Oman Air's Sidney Gavignet, which hosts including aboard her Irish multi-card Damian Foxall.

Multihulls again with the presence at Douarnenez from a beautiful fleet of Multi 50, the tenors of the class of the 50-foot trimarans that are Actual (Yves Le Blévec, also on Tour of Belle - île), master Jacques (Loïc Féquet) and ˜windowâ-Cardinal (Erwan Le Roux), welcoming a new kid in the person of Lalou Roucayrol coming to water his brand new Arkema-Francepending Gilles Lamiré who bought the former Prince of Brittany. Finally, finally, the largest multihull of this fleet will be also on le Guyader GP, it will be Bank Populaire VII, former Groupama 3 of Franck Cammas and Armel Le Cléac ' h, second of the Vendée Globe, comes from taking charge. And as the Saint-Politain is not rancorous, it embeds this big weekend time that deprived him of victory on the tour of the world for a little more than three hours, François Gabart.

All this small world, except the latter, will be then in June for a new tour of Europe for the multihulls, the Route des Princes, that will take from Valencia to the Morlaix Bay passing through Lisbon, Dublin Bay and Plymouth, before the final bouquet will be the Transat Jacques-Vabre, that only MOD70 will compete, the Organization (but also other classes)did not want to open the race to the larger units.

Multi 50 news, win a day onboard the Multi50 FenetreA Cardinal 3 at the Grand Prix Guyader, May 4

If you are in France this might be worth a look.  For our French readers jactiv.ouest-france.fr are running a competition where the prize is sailing for a day at the Grand Prix Guyader onboard the Multi 50 FentreA Cardinal 3.  Enter at the link below.

http://www.jactiv.ouest-france.fr/formulaire/embarquez-bord-trimaran-fenetrea-cardinal-au-grand-prix-guyader