Franck Lauvray alias Francky calls all his boats “Alice”. Why? Because it slips along obviously! His Mini project dates from when he was 20. He even designed the boat of his dreams ten years ago. But to achieve his desire  for a transatlantic crossing before hitting 50, he acquired the 346. It’s the oldest boat of the fleet which will head off tomorrow morning. But it’s the boat which sticks the closest to his image, with an wing mast and a heap of innovations since 2001 plus the 4 transatlantic crossings that the boat has completed.

A strict amateur, originally from Orvault in Loire-Atlantique, Francky has been sailing at a high level since he was 18. Notably in the Admirals Cup in 1999 “I’m the Pierre Coubertin of the Mini’s! I’m philosophical about things”. With his sheer desire to sail and achieve his 30 year old dream, Franck represents the true spirit of the Mini’s.

For information on his project: https://sites.google.com/view/mt2021fl/accueil

It’s Monday and it’s under a sunny sky that most of the  77 Minis registered for the 17th  Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy can be found in  Tréboul port whilst waiting for safety checks prior to departure on Thursday. The volunteers and organisers have happily set everything up this morning and everybody agrees that the long awaited summer has finally arrived on the tip of  Finistère ! But will it last .. ?

The weather situation is quite complex for the second half of the week. And it risks deteriorating  from Wednesday with a depression coming up rapidly from Spain to the Bay of Biscay then Ireland. So the wind might be light for the start of the race whilst a second depression, stormy, forms and generates a strong wind over the eastern area from Friday evening. Jean-Jacques Quéré, our weather specialist, remarks that the situation can of course evolve and  will be re-assessed for the pre-race briefing planned for Wednesday 18:00 via videoconference.

One week from the start of the  17th Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy, preparations at  Winches Club are picking up pace and the volunteer teams are organised according to strict  Covid-19 protocols. Everything will be ready on Monday to welcome  84 skippers  and  start their safety checks (the inventory of all the essential and regulatory equipment on board). For the moment the departure is expected to take place at  09:00 on Thursday  3 June.

The Mini season Atlantic races have  well and truly kicked off. After the Plastimo Lorient Mini was raced in full lockdown during  April, then the Pornichet Select and the Mini in  May which ends as I write these words, the Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy will be the 4^th race in  less than 2 months for certain. Tanguy Bouroullec, winner this morning of the  Mini in May, commented : « It was energetic! The whole time I had between  15 and 25 knots, the conditions were dynamic. But there was no sun. It was so grey that I didn’t even see the Glenans when I passed beside  them »

Let’s hope summer will make its appearance this time !

The pre-race of the Trophée Marie-Agnès Péron will take place in the harbour of Tréboul. Continue reading Program →

We find ourselves a little more than a month from the departure of the Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy, the first of two Mini races leaving from Douarnenez. The Plastimo-Lorient, which raced during confinement, has just finished and saw Hugo Dhallenne and Thibault Vauchel Camus win in Series (979), plus  Pierre le Roy and Cédric Faron winning with  the  imperial prototype 1019, Réseau étincelle.

The Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy and the Mini-Fastnet have been placed on the list of priority competitions by the French Sailing Federation and should take place on the dates concerned under a protocol adapted to the health situation;  less convivial perhaps but the warmth and good spirits of the Winches Club volunteers will still be present!

Dozens of boats are on the waiting list. And the organisation has just allowed 4 extra places, carrying the number of registrations for each race to 84. The competitors can’t wait to get to Douarnenez in June. Which makes for a very promising season.