Image: The winners! @Vincent Olivaud/Ocean Fifty Series
The 2025 vintage of the Ocean Fifty Series is promising. Ten races were contested over four days, in light to medium winds, in the heart of the Bay of Saint-Malo. The seven privateer crews battled it out with determination, and five of them managed to win at least one race. Erwan Le Roux's crew (Koesio) won, finishing in the top three in nine of the ten races.
Since Monday, the crews have been hosted by the city of Saint-Malo and Bretagne Plaisance at the Port des Sablons, a fabulous setting between the ramparts and the Solidor Tower. Accompanied by the Brittany Region, as they will be in Concarneau in a week, the teams enjoyed the courses facing Sillon Beach and sailed long tacks on an emerald sea, between Pointe du Grouin and Cap Fréhel. "We're better off here than at the mine," as Tanguy Le Turquais, crew member aboard Lazare, summed up. The same story from the guests on board, who had a magical experience, just like the winners of the competition organized by the La Madeleine Shopping Center, a partner.
Tactics, inspiration and a little luck too…
While the shore events saw a large crowd, the crews battled tooth and nail with the small gusts, unexpected wind shifts and currents, in an often light wind that forced them to breathe. They had to search for the wind, anticipate, bet, make good starts and string together some great maneuvers. A little bit of luck was sometimes necessary for some, especially on Saturday's long coastal course which saw the lead pass through five teams before the finish line was denied to the leaders in the final mile. On Sunday, in a slightly stronger wind, the Ocean Fifty raced two coastal courses which were supposed to consolidate the established order and which only tightened the ranking, to the point that Koesio finished just two points ahead of Solidaires En Peloton. Tied on points with Lazare, Inter Invest completed the podium because it won more races (3) than the rookie in the class (2). In this arithmetic game, Viabilis Océans takes 5th place. In a tie, it is ahead of UpWind by MerConcept because it has a round victory, unlike the women's crew.
Please note:
– The metronome-like consistency of Erwan Le Roux (Koesio) and his ability to come back from far away to impose himself on a line.
– The excellent week of Anne-Claire Le Berre and the female crew of Upwind by MerConcept who have only improved throughout this Act, achieving some very good starts and often finding inspiration on a very complicated race course.
– The performance of Erwan Le Draoulec's crew (Lazare) is about to lose its outsider status... by worrying the designated favorites in each round.
– Inter Invest and its crew led by Sébastien Rogues who are the only ones to have won three rounds but who lacked a little consistency to win.
– The gradual rise in power of Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton) who achieved some great things over the last two days but which were not enough for him to retain his 2024 title in Saint-Malo.
– Baptiste Hulin (Viabilis Océans) lacked consistency, capable of a fine victory on Friday morning but penalized by a late finish in the first round on Thursday.
– Luke Berry (Le Rire Médecin-Lamotte) despite some good starts, suffered a slight speed deficit in conditions that were not those his boat prefers.
See you from June 25 to 29 in Concarneau for the rematch!
Bretagne Plaisance, a partner of Act 1, hosted the Ocean Fifty for the second consecutive year . This marina accommodates 1,200 boats, including 60 visitor berths and around a hundred monthly berths. Bretgane Plaisance is pursuing an ambitious 25-year project with an increase of 150 afloat berths and 400 dry berths, as well as a rollout across the whole of Northern Brittany. Gaëtan Guilloux, director : "At Les Sablons, we have the desire and the ability to create strong events. We support boating; sport and competition are part of it. We have the ambition to develop the port and port areas, to continue to support the SNBSM and its activities, to democratize competitive sailing and ocean racing. Sailing is not reserved for an elite; young people can also access it. The development of Bretagne Plaisance is built on important pillars: an environmental commitment at sea and on land, an innovative economic approach to try to reduce costs; the creation of convivial spaces in our ports, so that they are not just parking lots for boats and cars. This is also why we hosted the Doudoustrail at the same time as the Ocean Fifty Series. We had a fantastic week!
Erwan Le Roux : "We really enjoyed sailing together, the team stepped up a notch. We did a few benchmark races where communication was very fluid. We were always in the leading pack, it's nice to win because in 2024 we were consistent but we never achieved a single victory. We had fun, making beautiful trajectories, beautiful maneuvers, when the boat accelerates, it seems simple but it's years of training and hours spent rehearsing. And then Saint-Malo is one of the prettiest places in Brittany, it's incredible to sail in this jewel, with all these coastal sailors in the small pebbles."