Day 4
GBRs Rory Bowan went into the the final days race for the Petit Navire Championships with a 12 point lead over GER 933 Tommy Muller. With on discards aloud the final race had to count and an OCS would mean 100 points added to yourresults sheet which was would put you out side the top 10 automatically.

So Bowman had to take the cautoius approach but still had to run a resonable result in the final race. The race took place in near perfect conditions with 15 knots of northerly breeze, which was stable though with regularly predicatale shifts. Bowman had a poor start in the second row of the 95 boat fleet, which left him with alot of work to do for the rest of the race. Bowman though managed to crawl back to finish 15th, which aloud him to take the overall regatta.

The front end of the fleet had GER 928 Eric Hirt take the final race though he was chased hard to the post NZL Russel Coutts who was out to prove him self after a mixture of results, though once ashore he reaslized that he was infact black flagged.

This left FRA 305 Yann Kersale to take second place anda second over all in the regatta. Third in the final race was also French FRA 289 Bruno Jourdren with a usful final race for him. GER 928 Eric Hirt took third over all and NED 280 Cess Nater in 4th followed by GBR 660 Hans Fogh (Canadian), double olympic gold medalists.

Russel Coutts ended finishing 21st over all after a black flag result which he admitted that he found these big boat fleets hard work. Another top sailor to be involved in the regatta was Michel Desjoyeax who managed to beat Russel Coutts which he was pleased with to gain 18th overall.

Final Ranking :

1 GBR 662 YEAH BABY (BOWMAN Rory), 77.70 pts (1-27-4-3-5-15)
2 FRA 305 DIRASTACH (KERSALE Yann), 83.00 pts (5-29-5-5-9-2)
3 GER 928 AYINGER HIRT (Erich PANCKSCH), 84 pts (12-32-1-2-19-1)
4 NED 280 GLOGGY (JOSS NATER Cess), 123.40 pts (3-6-39-13-10-20)
5 GBR 660 SPITFIRE (FOGH Hans), 127.40 pts (6-48-14-7-6-11)
6 DEN 324 ELSA (BRUUN KRISTRENSEN Klavs), 140.70 pts (27-12-3-43-15-8)
7 GBR 656 ELUSIVE (PAINE Martin), 141 pts (14-2-18-32-28-16)
8 IRL 159 PHANTOM (HEGARTY Neil), 148 pts (18-4-29-15-8-40)
9 NED 300 HESTIA (VAN BEUNINGEN Frank), 160.70 pts (7-51-10-8-3-49)
10 SWE 306 RAFFA (HJORNE Peter), 165 pts (29-7-28-45-7-13)
18 FRA 299 PUFF (LE BERRE Henri, DESJOYAUX Michel, ROZEN S.) 201 pts (52-49-12-18-17-17)
21 NZL PETIT NAVIRE (COUTTS Russel, BUTTERWORTH Brad, BJORN Kai), 219 pts (23-9-15-23-20-X)
 
Day 3
With a strong breeze building throughout the day the 92 Dragon had some perfect sailing in beautiful sunshine. With two more races for the Petit Navire Trophy scheduled, it was an important day for all the crew as there are no discards in the regatta.

The first race took place in 15-20 knots of yet again northerly breeze. After one general recall and thus a black flag, the fleet got away with yet again, large gain in the still shifty conditions. Fin 50 (Henrick Dahlman) took the race, beating GER 928 (Eric Hurt) to second place and GBR 626 to third who looked good to take the overall lead as GER 933 was down in 14th. Yet again GBR 625 (Nicky Streeter) showed he could be up at the top, gaining a 6th place.

For the second race of the day the breeze increased to 20 - 30 knots which made life interesting and much to the relief of the sailors, a shorter course. Fin 50 again dominated the race in these conditions to take the bullet. The surprise of the day was the Danish royal family with HRH Prince Consort taking 2nd, sailing Den 313. His son HRH Prince Frede took 4th place and between them NED 300 (Frank Van Be Unigen).

Other top sailors in the fleet include Russel Coutts, who managed a 20th and 23rd to leave him in a respectable 10th position overall. A surprise also, is Michel Dixjoyeaur sailing FRA 299 who managed to beat Coutts in both races which pleased him immensely and left him in 20th place overall. At the top of the table though, it is great news for GBR 662 (Rory Bowman) who has a 12 point lead over GER 933 (Thomas Muller).

However, with one race tomorrow it can still be anyones regatta as no discards are allowed.

Provisional Results (top 10) :

1 GBR 662 YEAH BABY (BOWMAN Rory), 56.70 pts, 1-27- 4-3-5
2 GER 933 SINEWAVE (MULLER Thomas), 78.70 pts, 4-3-2-14-36
3 FRA 305 DIRASTACH (KERSALE Yann, PHILIPPE Gildas, CARIOU Tanguy), 80.00 pts, 5-29-5-5-9
4 GER 928 AYINGER (HIRT Erich), 84.00 pts, 12-32-1-2-19
5 NED 280 GLOGGY (JOSS NATER Cess), 97.40 pts, 3-6-39-13-10
6 IRL 159 PHANTOM (HEGARTY Neil), 102.00 pts, 18-4-29-15-8
7 NED 300 HESTIA (VAN BEUNINGEN Frank), 105.70 pts, 7-51-10-8-3
8 GBR 660 SPITFIRE (FOGH Hans), 110.40 pts, 6-48-14-7-6
9 GBR 656 ELUSIVE (PAINE Martin),119.00 pts, 14-2-18-32-28
10 NZL PETIT NAVIRE (COUTTS Russel, BUTTERWORTH Brad, BJORN Kai), 120.00 pts, 23-9-15-23-20
...
20 FRA 299 PUFF (LE BERRE Henri, DESJOYAUX Michel, ROZEN Sébastien), 178.00 pts, 52-49-12-18-17
 
Day 2
Day two of the Petit Navire Dragon Championship saw two races that look to dictate the likely top runners in the event. Race one was sailed in a light northerly of 5-10 knots that allowed for some interesting sailing in testing conditions. Martin Payne (GBR 626) had a very close battle with Peter Heerema (NED 316) although Heerema took the bullet seeing Payne finish second and Thomas Muller (GER 933) third. The next Brit was Colin Woodcock (GBR 550) finishing in fifth place. Russel Coutts finished in his highest place of the event so far which was 9th, however Michel Desjoyeaux was struggling with such a high-class fleet and finished down in 50th.

The breeze filled in for the second race and this allowed for two general recalls which punished ten sailors under the black flag rule. This eased the start line for start number three and allowed the fleet to comfortably head for the windward mark. Two German boats, GER 928 and GER 833, sailed by Erich Hirt and Thomas Muller, dominated this race showing that it is possible to consistently finish in the top positions in such a large fleet with great competition. GER 928 took line honours whilst Thomas Muller held a deserved second place and DEN 324, sailed by Klaus Kristrensen, took third.

Yet again, Britain’s Rory Bowman (GBR 622) was the highest placed Britain. After missing out on a medal last year, Bowman is determined to be up there this time round. Coutts managed a fifteenth but is the first to admit that he is finding it difficult in such a large fleet. With no discards it is anyone’s regatta but Muller (GER 833) is looking extremely promising and is preparing to defend his lead from the rest of the extremely experienced fleet.
 
Day 1
Today saw the first race of the Petit Navire Dragon Championship in Douarnenez on the Western tip of the Brittany peninsula in France. With 95 boats on the start line, along with sailors from 16 different countries including names such as Russell Coutts and Michel Desjoyeaux, some exciting racing was to be had.

First race of the championship was held in a brisk north easterly with about 15 knots of breeze. The fleet got under way on the first start though an individual recall was called so this may affect the overall results when issued. GER 933 (Thomas Muller) lead the fleet round the first mark though positions changed during the race to allow GBR 662 (Rory Bowman) to win the first race closely followed by NED 247 (Fred Imhoff) and NED 280 (Cess Nater) with Muller slipping to fourth.

Other results included Prince Henrik of Denmark in 11th and Russell Coutts in 26th. Coutts still appears to be struggling in this high class fleet despite sailing with his America's Cup number 2 and tactician, Brad Butterworth. Another interesting result was Michel Desjoyeaux, winner of the Vendee Globe 2000, who was back in 55th place sailing FRA 299 showing what a high class fleet this is.

With two races planned for tomorrow, we will see who can keep a constant set of results as being a no discard series, any bad results will prove to be very costly.