The 2020 Flying Fifteen European Championship will be held in conjunction with the Flying Fifteen National Championship of France.
This next major event for the international class follows the successful staging of last year's Subaru Flying Fifteen World Championships on Dublin Bay by the National Yacht Club.
The event runs from Thursday 21 to Saturday 23 May 2020 in Brest, an area officially twinned with Dun Laoghaire.
The regatta will be held within a larger multi-class regatta, the Grand Prix de l’Ecole Navale (GPEN) which is traditionally held at the Ascension weekend (Ascension Thursday being a holiday in France),
The GPEN is organised by the French Naval Officers School, based in the bay of Brest, at Lanvéoc-Poulmic, in the south shore of the bay.
The 2019 Flying Fifteen Nationals were sailed on the same racecourse as the Open 5.70, the First 18 and the First 24 in Morgat Bay, with different starts for each class, while other classes raced in Roscanvel, Camaret and Lanvéoc-Poulmic (4 racing locations altogether).
This season the 2020 Flying Fifteen Europeans and French Nationals expect 40 boats and GPEN plans to dedicate the Morgat Bay course just to the Flying Fifteen fleet and the Open 5.70 class.
Morgat Bay is an excellent racing area, and Crozon a holiday spot.
The scheduled format is for 3 days of racing (Thursday - Saturday), with 3 races a day.
Proposed Schedule
Sat 16 - Tue 19 May: boats can arrive, launch (using the slipway) and use the facilities at Morgat
Wed 20 - All day and Thu 21 morning: Registration and launching by crane
Thu 21 - Briefing around noon, racing in the afternoon followed by apéritif and dinner in Morgat in the evening
Fri 22 - Racing followed by dinner in Morgat
Sat 23 - Racing followed by a prize giving party and dinner for all classes at the Ecole Navale in Lanvéoc
Sun 24 - Morning: craning of boats.
The organisation is in the hands of the Ecole Navale with the help of the local clubs (CNCM for Morgat). A Jury is provided by the FFV (French Sailing Federation).
The organisation provides lodging, breakfast and dinner, all included in the entry fee.
There will be a regatta in Dinard the weekend before for those interested in testing the local waters.
The prize-giving dinner party is a great event in itself with an anticipated 1000 sailors expected to be participating.
Access from the UK is easy with options of ferries from Poole to Saint-Malo, and Plymouth to Roscoff.
From Ireland, ferry routes include Irish Ferries Dublin to Cherbourg, Brittany Ferries operates 1 route, Cork to Roscoff which runs once a week. Stena Line operates one route, Rosslare to Cherbourg which runs three times weekly.
