Chinese boat Longtze star of the GP Ecole Navale
The “Grand Prix Ecole Navale” which will be held in Brest (France) from the 8th till the 11th of May. This three-round race will be the biggest gathering of sportboats in Europe. About 140 of the newest generation sailing boats are expected. Among them a flock of Open 750’s, Melges and Mumm 30s. But the star of the event will be the first Chinese-build sportboat ever: the Longtze Premier.
This boat measures 6m80 ong and almost 3m wide and needs a crew of 4 or 5 to handle it. Luc Gellusseau, Operations Manager of Team China in the last America’s Cup explains: “When we raced the Cup under the colours of China, the idea was to become involved in the development of sailing in China, by enabling the Chinese to sail at the top level as well including them in the construction of the yachts. As a result, we decided to manufacture a Sportsboat: the Longtze Premier. It was built entirely in China in a yard more familiar with the construction of dinghies.”
No less than 5 Longtze’s will be present at the Grand Prix for the first appearance of this promising new Chinese export product. At about 26000 euro for a complete package including racing sails, the boat is quite well priced as well. The Longtze also fits in a standard container, so shipping is quite easy. Find out more about them on their website.
We look forward to the results and reactions of the crews that get to sail them in Brest.