Spi Ouest France : a J/99 victory

The J/99 AXESAIL wins the Spi Ouest France

The 2022 edition of the emblematic Spi Ouest France which took place last weekend in Quiberon Bay was marked by sunny conditions. The J/99s were once again at the forefront, especially in the IRC B category.

Maxime Mesnil, skipper of the J/99 AXESAIL, winner of the IRC B category, gave us his impressions on his race and has already set his sights on the next races.

“We came to the Spi with the idea of doing a working race and we won! The whole crew is delighted with this great performance!

Our J/99 is based in Cherbourg, so we don’t have much opportunity to compete with other IRC boats in France. For these reasons, we wanted to start the season with the Spi Ouest in preparation for our main objective: the Drheam Cup in July.

We have an offshore racing program, so the boat was equipped for that, and not for coastal races. Despite this, and given the light conditions that were forecast, we knew we had good potential. We kept an eye on the A35, J/109 and of course the other J/99s in the fleet.

The weather conditions were perfect to show the full potential of the boat. Indeed, the J/99 takes off very fast in light airs and on the upwind and downwind tacks we overtake everyone! This is the strong point of this boat which is very pleasant in these conditions.

The crew has worked well and this victory bodes well for our next races. On the program, a few races in the RORC (England) in May and June before the Drheam Cup in double-handed with Hugo Feydit where we are aiming for a TOP 5 or even a podium!”

Congratulations to all the J/’s for their performances at the Spi Ouest!

Axe Sail – J/99 – 1st in IRCB

J Lance 25 – J/99 – 3rd in IRC B

Hey Jude – J/120 – 1st in 2-handed IRC

Jeronimo – J/24 – 1st in OHA

Axilone-Joke – J/109 – 2nd in OHC