There was a fin de siècle feel at Royal Varuna Yacht Club earlier this month as a number of the club’s French connection bade their final au-revoir in the Tour d’Eiffel Trophy on November 14.
No fewer than nine catamarans and assorted other pleasure craft turned out in force as they vied to topple the French hegemony of the high seas one final time.
Out of the traps first downwind was the Hobie Tiger of Nick Henley & Simon Makinson, but they were soon overhauled by the Nacra Infusions which revelled in the light conditions.
By the time the fleet reached Ocean Marina, it was the Tigers which again came to the fore as Saranya Makinson (crewed by Jean Philippe Proust) and Richard Eyre (crewed by Dave Littlejohn) blasted through the fleet to set up a battle royale for first place.
Morten Jakobsen tried to spoil the Tiger party but was caught out by a huge shift to the sea on the long leg from Koh Rang Kwiaan back to Varuna Yacht Club, which saw the rest of the fleet catch up, setting up an exciting grand finale.
However Makinson and Proust proved once again that fortune favoured the French and took home the inaugural Eiffel Tower, with Eyre and Littlejohn just minutes behind in this three hour tour de force.
