HYC Fireball in action at the Coupe d’Automne

23 October 2025
HYC Fireball in action at the Coupe d’Automne
 
The Yacht Club de Cannes hosted the Fireball Coupe d’Automne last weekend, welcoming 13 boats from France, Italy, and Ireland and featuring our very own Matthew Cotter, warming up for the Fireball End of Season Championship here at HYC this weekend!
 
On Saturday, the fleet enjoyed conditions close to champagne sailing — a light easterly breeze of 4–10 knots, plenty of sunshine, and a racecourse that proved both beautiful and challenging, with large shifts and variations in pressure keeping the tacticians on their toes. The race committee managed to complete three races, though not without some excitement on the start line. The opening attempt was met with a general recall, prompting the race team to hoist the U flag for the restart.
 
In Race 1, the french duo of Trystan Robin and Xavier Broise set the pace to take the win, with Adrian and Matthew close behind in second, while Italian national champion Giovanni Dagnino, sailing with Giorgio, completed the top three.
 
A further general recall in Race 2 led the committee to move to black flag starts for the remaining races. In that second race, Giovanni Dagnino found his groove to take the bullet, followed by Trystan and Xavier in second and Olivier and Florence in third, with Adrian and Matthew in fourth.
 
The final race of the day mixed things up once again, with Olivier and Florence claiming victory. Matthew and Adrian secured a strong third place, while Trystan and Xavier finished fourth.
 
 
Trystan Robin & Xavier Broise – 7 pts
Olivier Burgaud & Florence Devaux – 8 pts
Adrian Lee & Matthew Cotter – 9 pts
Giovanni Dagnino & Gregorio Ferrari – 11 pts
 
With just four points separating the top four teams, everything was to play for going into Sunday but the weather had other ideas and following four hours of patience and perseverance, the wind refused to cooperate, and racing was ultimately abandoned for the day.
 
With no further races completed, the Day 1 standings became the final results, confirming the French duo as the 2025 Coupe d’Automne Fireball champions at the Yacht Club de Cannes.
 
A good warm up to the Fireball End of Season Championship here right around the corner!