News & Events

French One Design Fleet Championships

From Sunday 18th to Friday 23rd July, the first ever French Junior Championships on One Design boats (...)

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Giulio Bellitti winner of the Maddalena Race

The final of the Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy took place on 5th June 2010 at La Maddalena, Sardinia, (...)

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Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy Maddalena : round 1

20 racers, gathered from all over Sardinia, were present in Maddalena on the weekend of 22/23 May to (...)

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BMW Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill on the O'pen BIC:

During the Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy, BMW Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill - who first sailed in the (...)

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Jack Simpson wins the Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy in Auckland

Fourteen-year-old Jack Simpson has only ever said "hello" to his heroes on board Emirates Team New (...)

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The next two Louis Vuitton Junior Trophies, March (Auckland) & June (Sardinia) 2010

Following the success last November of the Junior Trophy at the Louis Vuitton Cup in Nice (FR), two (...)

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Robin Follin wins the Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy - France, November 2009

Our 20 young sailors from the south of France who had qualified themselves for the finals, were (...)

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Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy: 20 finalists for WE 21/22 Nov. 09

Our 40 young sailors are now down to 20 finalists, ready to give their best at this week-end's (...)

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Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy : warm up

The Louis Vuitton Cup Junior Trophy is underway! Wednesday 11th November was the start of training (...)

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The O'pen Bic races alongside the Louis Vuitton Trophy; November 2009

The prestigious Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d'Azur commencing Saturday 7th November is the (...)

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Hertel World O'pen Cup : Dutch score at home

All the ingredients were in the mix for this 2009 World Cup that will live long in people's memories (...)

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New Zealand Herald Junior Pacific Series

A ticket to ride - Chris Steele from the Wakatere Sailing Club owns a new boat today after winning (...)

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O'pen BIC also racing at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series! February 2009

04 February 2009. The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, currently being held in Auckland, New Zealand, (...)

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ISAF International Status for the O'pen Bic November 2008

The O'pen BIC Class has achieved ISAF International Status following the 2008 ISAF Annual Conference (...)

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Pacific O'pen Cup November 08

The inaugural Pacific O'pen Cup was held on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November 2008. Run by the (...)

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Etoile du Design 2009 awarded to the O'pen Bic

The annual awards ceremony for the Observeur du Design was held recently on 23rd October 2008,  (...)

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Eur'Open Cup Italy August 2008

The Euro'pen Cup 2008, held on the picturesque waters of the Lac d'Iseo in the North of Italy, was (...)

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Swiss O'pen Cup-Very light winds!

15 June 2008. The first Swiss O'pen Cup was held at the Ecole de Voile La Serbache, on Lake (...)

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Italian O'pen Cup-final stages finish in the heat!

June 2008 : With hot temperatures and sun, summer had definitely arrived in Italy for the 3rd and (...)

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World O'pen Cup : Energized sailing for 65 O'pen Bic riders - July 2008

The O'pen World Cup was a great success! Organised by BIC Sport and the French Sailing Federation (...)

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Lots of fun at U.S. O'pen Cup, August 2008!

Excellent weather and a range of conditions from light to moderate blessed the junior sailors (...)

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UK O'pen Cup takes Scotland by storm!

27 June 2008 The second edition of the UK O'pen Cup took place in Scotland this year on the lovely (...)

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Pimaco Challenge 2008, Brazil

Fabio Melchert wins the final round and Denis Tassone is sent to the World O'pen Cup! 14-15 June (...)

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O'pen Bic now Energized!

BIC Sport is pleased to confirm that from this summer '08 onwards, all new Open BIC boats will start (...)

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North Sails to build the O'pen Bic Class Sails

January 10, 2008, Milford, CT - North Sails and the O'pen BIC Class Association announced today that (...)

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Bateau Bleu prize for O'pen Bic, December 2007

The prize of the Bateau Bleu was awarded to the O'pen Bic during a ceremony held at the 47th Paris (...)

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New Zealand Herald Junior Pacific Series

A ticket to ride - Chris Steele from the Wakatere Sailing Club owns a new boat today after winning an O'Pen Bic dinghy in the NZ Herald Junior Pacific Series.

Sixteen-year-old Chris Steele has Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker as a mentor, but it is the Alinghi crew he will be sailing with today in the final of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.

Steele's ticket to ride as 18th man on board Alinghi was handed to him last night [17 February] after he won the New Zealand Herald Junior Pacific Series sailing championships on the waters of the Viaduct Harbour.

The other half of the winner's prize for Steele, a former world Optimist dinghy champion, was one of the thrilling little O'pen Bic boats - a new breed of superfast dinghies - in which the regatta was sailed over the past fortnight.

Twenty O'pen Bic boats were brought into the country by Frenchman Bruno Troublé, co-ordinator of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, to be raced inside the Viaduct by 40 of Auckland's top young sailors. Last night's final was fought out by 20 boys and girls, who battled gusty winds to stay upright in the zippy boats, and it wasn't until the last race of the evening - with the setting sun glinting off the clear mylar sails - that Steele clinched the inaugural title.

"The winds made it a bit of a lottery, but these boats are very interesting," said Steele, a sixth former at Westlake Boys High School who sails for the Wakatere sailing club in Auckland. "I can't wait to take one out to sea to see how it goes in the waves.

"I think this class has potential to be raced inside the harbour and be a real spectator sport. I think it's exciting and it could really take off."

Steele keeps in regular contact with Barker through emails and texts, after meeting him at the Yachting New Zealand Sailor of the Year awards in 2007, where Steele was named Young Sailor of the Year along with world 420 champions Carl Evans and Peter Burling. He has also crewed for Emirates Team New Zealand afterguard members Ray Davies and Kevin Hall, but today will be his first experience on an America's Cup boat. He sees himself graduating from the little dinghies to the big Cup yachts in the future, but has plans for an Olympic campaign in the middle.

The O'pen Bic boats - created by the family of Baron Marcel Bich, who led France's first America's Cup syndicate - will stay in New Zealand to be raced by the latest generation of young sailing stars. The regatta was deemed a success by its organizers. New Zealand 420 women's sailor Sarah Bilkey was the race chairman with the support of the Kohimarama Yacht Club and the Murray's Bay Sailing Club.

Text courtesy of Suzanne McFadden