The fifth edition of the Drheam-Cup / Grand Prix De France De Course Au Large will be held from 11 to 21 July 2024. The three courses will be identical to the previous edition's, between Cherbourg-en Cotentin and La Trinité-sur-Mer, with eleven classes invited and the same ingredients that have been key to its success: Competition, sharing, celebration.
40 crews entered the first edition in 2016, 76 two years later, 95 in 2020 despite Covid, 134 in 2022. The Drheam-Cup / Grand Prix Rix De France De Course Au Large has attracted increasing numbers of crews since the first edition, fulfilling its creator's Jacques Civilise's aim to make it a popular rarce that is open to all. When this former "captain of innovation", who was born in Guadeloupe and has personal connections to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, where he first started sailing and La Trinité-sur-Mer, where he lives for part of the year, first launched the race, he gave it the motto "competition, sharing, celebration".
Competition, with challenging courses in the Channel, Irish Sea, Breton peninsula and Quiberon Bay, attracting the best sailors; sharing, with the Rêves de Large scheme, during which young people can sail on racing yachts in the Dream-Trophy prologue, and discover the offshore racing world; celebration, with many events open to the public around the race, in mid-summer, enabling everyone to enjoy it, especially the 14 July fireworks in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
All these ingredients will come together again in the fifth edition to be held from 11 to 21 July 2024. The key moments will be the Drheam-Trophy on Saturday 13, fireworks the following day, the start in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin outer harbour on Monday 15, with arrivals in La Trinité-sur-Mer expected from Wednesday 17 July, and prizegiving on Sunday 21 July. Eleven classes are invited to the race: Ultime, Imoca, Ocean Fifty, Class40, Figaro Beneteau 3, Mini 6.50, Multi 2000, Large Monohulls Open class, IRC, classic yachts and for the first time, the new Sun Fast 30 One Design, whose design was initiated by the RORC and UNCL - Racing Division of Yacht Club de France.
The fleet will be divided into three courses, depending on the size and speed of the boats: the Drheam-Cup 600 will race to Southern England, the Isles of Scilly, Ushant, the Plateau de Rochebonne; the Drhram-Cup 1000 will head up to the Fastnet before passing BXA buoy in the Gironde estuary; the Drheam-Cup 1500 will take the Ultime trimarans to the Isle of Man, the Fastnet, before crossing the Bay of Biscay to Bilbao and back up towards La Trinité-sur-Mer.
The notice of race will be published in September and entries will open in early January 2024. The Drheam-Cup / Grand Prix De France De Course Au Large is supported by its loyal partners: the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the Cotentin Council, the Manche Département and Normandy Region for the start and La Trinité-sur-Mer, the Auray Quiberon Terre-Atlantique council and the Morbihan Département at the finish. See you next year!