Event A Drheam story!
The Drheam-Cup is a class act from start to finish with interesting and testing courses designed for different types of boats – including a rapidly growing IRC fleet – and a festival atmosphere at both ends
Few offshore races rise to prominence as quickly as the Drheam-Cup, which is now a key feature of the French offshore racing calendar. The fourth edition notched up 134 entries in 2022, with IRC classes representing 50 per cent of the fleet. The event organisers are now looking to the next level, with an enthusiasmto grow the IRC classes further. As well as top-class competition
on interesting and testing courses, competitors benefit from the buzz festival atmosphere in the start and finish ports associated with any large French event that includes all the important offshore classes: IRC, Figaro 3s, Class40s, Ocean Fiftys, Multi 2000s, Open Large Monohull, Imoca 60s and Ultime trimarans. At the outset founder Jacques
Civilise had a vision for three separate races that all start together on the same line off Cherbourg-en- Cotentin, then all finish around the same time at La Trinité-sur-Mer in south Brittany. That's why there's a 600-mile course for IRC rated yachts, the Multi 2000s class for smaller and mostly older multihulls, Figaro 3s, SunFast 30 and Classic Yachts. The Mini 650 class has also been invited for the next edition in 2024 and will race the 600-mile course. The 1000-mile course is for Class 40s, Ocean Fifty trimarans, Open Large Monohulls and Imoca 60s, while the longest course at 1,500 miles is for the Ultims. All fleets initially head west from
84 SEAHORSE
Cherbourg, then across the English Channel to the Shambles east of Portland Bill. From here they sail west along the south coast of England to Wolf Rock, where the different courses split. The Ultimes go north to the Isle of Man, then the Fastnet Rock and down to a mark off Bilbao. The 1,000-mile course heads straight to Fastnet Rock while the remainder immediately turn south, outside the Ushant traffic separation scheme, round a turning mark in the Bay of Biscay and on to the finish. It’s a format that immediately
proved successful and the race quickly built a strong following. All the courses test competitors over a wide variety of conditions, wind angles and strengths and have tactically demanding sections. Winners are therefore always teams that are strong across a wide range of conditions. The event takes place in even
years when there’s no Rolex Fastnet Race and is timed to be a logical extension of the La Trinité-Cowes and Cowes-Dinard-St Malo races. These are both part of the RORC overall season’s points and this year also constitute the IRC two-handed European championship. Together the three races make a trilogy of events that can be completed in a three-week summer tour, with a bit of time off for those who need to catch up with work or want to spend time with their families. The start is in mid-July, typically
All of the key offshore classes are represented at the popular Drheam-Cup, fromFigaro 3s (above) to Imocas (top right) and an increasingly large IRC fleet (right), plus Ocean Fiftys and Ultims. The start line is split into sections to keep the fleets apart
just after the Bastille Day celebrations that mark the start of the long French summer holidays. This is important context: the main focus, of course, is in providing top- notch racing for some of the best offshore teams in the world. Yet a key reason for the event’s rapid rise to success is that it also recognises the importance of sharing the experiences and pleasures of offshore racing. Civilise conceived the race, the
full name of which is now ‘La Drheam-Cup / Grand Prix de France de Course au Large’ as an inclusive event for all the important offshore classes, from production 30-footers to Ultimes, that will be a lot of fun for everyone on land and at sea. Jean-Luc Denechau, president of FF Voile, the national governing body for sailing in France, has already recognised it as a legendary event that sits in the international landscape alongside the better- known classic events such as the Rolex Fastnet, Middle Sea, Sydney Hobart and Caribbean 600 races. The last edition of the Drheam-
Cup was already on the RORC programme, though it didn’t count towards the series points. It’s hoped that will change for the 2024 event and Civilise is already in conversation with the RORC racing department. This is part of a move towards encouraging broader participation in the Drheam-Cup, particularly among the IRC fleet. The race has already
ALEXIS COURCOUX
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