First Day at the 40ieme Semaine Olympique Francaise de Voile

Montreal Sailor Genévieve Bougie-Bastien (RSt.LYC) left early for Europe to maximize her training. She is one of the many Canadian competitors at the S.O.F. in Hyeres, France. Genévieve sails in the Laser Radial. Also in Hyeres for this regatta are Oliver bone and Stéphane Locas (BYC) competing in the 470, and Dominique Vallée in the RSX class.

The conditions were incredibly tough on the first day of racing, with winds reaching 25 knots with short, deep waves. Some of the Canadians on the Olympic quest are at the top. Chris Cook of RCYC is in 1^st overall in the Finn class! Michael Leigh is in 3^rd overall out of a field of 149 competitors in the Laser class! Gordon Cook and Ben Remocker are in 10^th overall in the 49er class! Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stitth are also doing superbly, 15^th overall in the Tornado.

There is a lot of capsizing going on, particularly in the 49er skiffs which are having spectacular wipe-outs. The website is slow and freezing up, so getting news is tough. I imagine a lot of the competitors’ first objective is to stay upright.

Montreal Sailing shouts out OI OI OI! for Locas, Bone, and now for our most recent favourite international competitor Genévieve Bougie-Bastien. Damn the conditions and have a blast Canucks!