written by Francois Gombeaud on November 26 of 2025 and read by 83
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Postponed due to the "cleaning" of the Maine River, the Autumn Trophy brought together a record number of Solings this weekend in Angers.
The CVA (Angers Sailing Club) pulled out all the stops, both on the water and on land! By making every effort to get all their boats back in top condition, the club was able to make five Solings available to visiting crews (three from La Baule and two from Paris).
Two other crews from La Baule came with their own boats, bringing the total number of boats on the water to 18!
Given the number of competitors and the width of the Maine River, it was decided to create two groups for the starts, staggered by a few minutes, in order to run five ranking races on Saturday.
At the end of this icy but sunny and sufficiently windy day, the top five finishers in each group formed a "gold" group; the other eight formed the "silver" group, somewhat like a "Friendship League regatta."
On Sunday, with temperatures returning to autumnal levels and rain, and a steady wind, two more races were held using the same format.
Three local crews finished in the top spots, with Pierre Montecot and Claude Salles, followed by François-Xavier Denis, Stéphanie Benon, and Vincent Manach, then by Marc Lefevre, Jérôme Filmon, and Karine Filmon.
The CVA volunteers also did everything they could to make the meals enjoyable, and the Soling fleet was able to spend a festive and joyful weekend, forgetting the cold and rain!
A great moment that no one will soon forget, with the hope of experiencing such events again next year in our clubs.
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