09/05/05 : Great News from the OPEN 6.50 Class !

The "Grand Prix de l’Ecole Navale" took place from May 6th to 8th in Brest (France). For the 4th year in a row, the French Naval Academy hosted the “sportboats”, with a remarkable 110 boats on the water ! The Open 6.50 and their crazy surfs made quite an impression !

Christian Ponthieu (Melges 24 world champion in 2004 with Sebastien Col and the Partners&Partners team) rolled over the competition and won 7 out of 8 legs.

“ On this sled, the feelings are even closer to those of a dinghy : fast accelerations, extraordinary boat responsiveness… There are no unnecessary controls, this is really a simple and fun boat, Christian Ponthieu explains. The more you sail that boat, the more you find it interesting ! It is an extremely seaworthy and safe boat at any wind speed ( from 5 to 30+ knots), its build quality is second to none, its upwind performance is truly amazing for that kind of boat, it’s incredibly fast even in light airs… Among the recent sportboats, the Open 6.50 really fills a void, and has a bright future ahead. “

The class is taking off, with 14 boats already produced, and more to come from l’Atelier des Grillons in Toulouse (France).

The highly innovative Open 6.50 is a Groupe Finot design built with state-of-the-art technology : Using the Autostruct process, the hull and its structure are cured in one shot in an autoclave (120°C/250°F under 3bar/43psi).

Gaspard Franeau.

1) Joli Grillon (C. Ponthieu – Partner&Partners) 1-(2)-1-1-1-1-1-1 = 7
2) Otor Bretagne (D. Daversin) 3-1-3-(5)-3-2-2-3 = 17
3) Cras Nautique (Y. Dupetit) 2-3-2-2-2-(4)-3-4 = 18
4) Ecole de Voile Océane (S. Menuet) (4)-4-4-3-4-3-4-2 = 24
5) Follen Du (M. Sauget) (5)-5-5-4-5-5-5-5 = 34