13 Flying Fifteen crews gathered at the CV Moisson Lavacourt Lake on the weekend of 17 - 19 October to compete in the 2025 Flying 15 French National Championship. Seven French clubs were represented (YC Dinard, YC de l'Odet, CVBS Montesson, YC Pays de Fontainebleau, CS Montereau, Les Glénans, SN Enghien), along with two Belgian crews, ardent defenders of the class, from SN Eau d'Heure.
The Class had decided to organise its National Championship on inland waters for the first time. Another major change was the overall rankings based on corrected time. The suspense was palpable, would the Classic and Silver boats be able to compete with the newer Open category boats?
The day before the event, FFVoile responded at the last minute to a request to revise the Classic and Silver ratings, improving them by 10 points each. New ratings were introduced - Classic 1055, Silver 1040 (Open 1020 unchanged).
Paule Marie Poulouin, Secretary of the FFVoile League and Chair of the Race Committee, accompanied by volunteers from the Cercle de Voile de Moisson Lavacourt, gave the briefing at around 1300 hrs on Friday, just before the crane operations began.
The lake setting was magnificent with its autumn colours, and the facilities provided accommodation and catering on site. After a slow start, the sun came out and the wind gradually picked up but remained irregular. The first race started late as the committee had to modify the course several times before the first warning signal.
The race began on a shortened course (not along the length of the lake but on a small diagonal), with the marks close together but the water proved difficult to read. To make matters worse, mini banks of drifting seaweed added to the unpredictability.
Never mind, the Nationals went ahead with two races before the end of this late-season afternoon. Fortunes varied as it was necessary to read the breeze on the water and decipher its pitfalls.
At the end of the day (Toffee), Arno Solazzo's beautiful all-wood Chippendale hull FRA 598, the oldest boat, unexpectedly lead the overall ranking in corrected time. Second was the much newer Ovington FRA 4140 of Jamais Deux Sans Trois owned by the Class President, and third was the Shepherds 2470 Fenella Fusca from CVBS, helmed by Christian Huber.
On Saturday morning, after a dinner for the crews at the Ile de Loisirs restaurant the previous evening, the race committee decided to hold at least four races.
None of the four races experienced the same wind conditions, either in terms of strength or direction. Seaweed played havoc with the competitors' nerves, with many boats having to reverse during the races to free themselves, and some ending up spectacularly stuck!
There were many changes in the rankings on this second day, except at the top, where (Toffee) consolidated its position at the lead of the overall standings with a perfect score (which it would maintain the following day). But nothing was decided yet for the podium, which promised to be hotly contested until the very end.
Sunday was the last day to lose or gain places. It was going to take patience and inspiration to overcome the rather unpredictable weather conditions. The lake was like a mirror, the light wind forced the race committee to make successive delays and the random shifts made it almost impossible to set a reliable course.
But the committee and the buoy layers managed to overcome the obstacles and, with a one-hour delay, a two-lap race was raced. FRA 3799 (One Under) and FRA 598 (Toffee) managed to round all marks in the lead, with the capricious wind giving the advantage in real time to one or the other depending on the options: start on the right? or on the left? Last close-hauled leg to the buoy or in the wind vein that lengthens the route? Downwind with or without a spinnaker? A final race was sailed but then shortened as the light wind gradually died down.
The fleet head for the pontoons for the crane and dismantling operations before the announcement of the results and the presentation of trophies designed and crafted by Alain Kinard (builder/helmsman of his BEL 3742, a specialist in composite materials).
Trophies awarded:
The Uffa Fox Trophy for the overall winner in corrected time, the Gustave Caillebotte Trophy for the winner in Classic division, the Roy Windebank Trophy for the winner in Silver division and the Steve Goacher Trophy for the winner in the Open category.
Arnaud Solazzo (YC Pays de Fontainebleau) and Claire Mortreuil (CS Montereau) came first in the Overall Rankings for All Categories in corrected time and first in the Flying 15 Classic category.
Vincent Boyer and David Passant from CVBS Montesson won the Silver category. Jean-François Poirier (YC Dinard) and François Chevet (YC de l'Odet) won the Open category.
Full rankings are attached. We hope to see even more competitors vying for these beautiful trophies in 2026!
A huge thank you to CV Moisson Lavacourt, its president Guillaume Soudée, Paule Marie Poulouin, and all the volunteers!
Report and photos provided by Michel Pelegrin