Tim Petetin of France won the only race on the opening day of the OK Dinghy Autumn Trophy in Bandol, in epic conditions with big wind and big waves.
Britain’s Matt Howard crossed second, James Downer third and Charlie Cumbley in fourth.
Howard held the early lead but headed to the wrong leeward mark, along with several others allowing Petetin into the lead.
Howard recovered to second as the wind and waves increased through the race, passing Downer at the final leeward mark. Further racing was abandoned as the wind increased to 30 knots. 50% of the fleet were DNF in the first race.
The event continues to Saturday with an early start scheduled for Thursday to get races in before the strong wind returns.
With the 2028 World Championship scheduled to be held in Bandol, there is a lot of interest in testing the venue with 37 boats from seven nations taking part in the annual Autumn Trophy.
OK Dinghy Autumn Trophy Leaders after Day 1
1st FRA 8 Timothe Petetin 1 pts
2nd GBR 2298 Matthew Howard 2 pts
3rd GBR 49 James Downer 3 pts
4th GBR 6 Charlie Cumbley 4 pts
5th NZL 15 Greg Wilcox 5 pts
6th SWE 2884 Lars Bergfeldt 6 pts
7th ESP 101 Javier Estarellas Coll 7 pts
8th SWE 14 Hakan Soderberg 8 pts
9th GER 715 Sven Beye 9 pts
10th GBR 33 Tom Lonsdale 10 pts