Manac'h, Denis and Benon wins at the Voiles de Légende

written by Marc Lefevre  on  August 6  of  2026 and read by 256

Rounding the mark at the 2023 edition in La Baule
@Amy Roy

It was a wonderful weekend for the 2026 edition of Les Voiles de Légende in La Baule, alongside the magnificent classic and metric yachts, a great turn out for the Solings that were able to enjoy beautiful races at La Baule Bay.

This year, sunny weather and a light breeze of 6 to 14 knots made it possible to hold 11 races over three days for the nine boats in attendance. There was a fierce battle for the top spots between three local boats—FRA 198 (helmed by Jean Marie Le Guillou sailing with Juliot and Francois Castagnet), FRA 164 (helmed by François Gombeaud sailing with Jean Mouille and Philippe Gontier), and FRA 182 (helmed by Yves Allain sailing with Dider Gacoin and Marc Furic)—and two boats from Angers— FRA 210 (helmed by Vincent Manac'h sailing with Francois Xavier Denis and Stephanie Benon) and FRA 168 (helmed by Marc Lefevre sailing with Karine Filmon and Jerome Filmon).

It was a thrilling contest in which FRA 210 skillfully navigated all the pitfalls of the shifting onshore wind and won the race ahead of FRA 168, which remained ever vigilant. Of note was the return to the class of Philippe Montecot (helming FRA 45 and sailing with Hevin and Quemener), who is gradually finding his footing with this new boat imported from Netherlands and his new crew, who are just getting acquainted with the Soling.

FRA 64 (helmed by Christian Huber sailing with Christian Dousset and Herve Maurer) and FRA 8(helmed by Jean Claude Luttenbacher sailing with Cherville and Luttenbacher), slightly older boats, struggled a bit in these erratic winds, while FRA 258, with its 14-year-old crew member Foucault, was unable to make up for its absence on the first day.

The next event in Frace will be in late September the traditional Open Soling Trophy held in Paris.


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