France

811 French boats in the governed view. The JPK production fleet, the Figaro tradition, and a momentum-led signature — GRAVITYRUN ahead of GLIDEFORM and AEROMAX, raced across the Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and the Breton tidal gates.

Kinship

Every fleet has a fingerprint.

From the Solent’s tide-lines to the Aegean Meltemia — find your waters.

 Hidden Shape

11 archetypes.
How this country's fleet clusters before the results arrive.

How every French boat clusters, before the results arrive.
Photo: Barbetorte / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Kinship

A production-class density unmatched in offshore racing.

811 French boats in the FleetEdge governed fleet, racing under FFVoile across the Channel, the Bay of Biscay, the Breton tidal gates, and the western Mediterranean.

811
boats
15
events
11
archetypes
18.4%
Farr-designed share
National fleet view · as of 2026-07-10

ORC Authority: Centre de Calcul FFVoile

FFVoile governs the largest production-class density on the FleetEdge map. First 34.7, First 36.7, Dufour 34, and the J/99 / J/105 cluster anchor a fleet built around club racing on production hulls — and the JPK and Sun Fast short-handed series sit alongside them as the high-performance edge. The Breton coast adds a tidal dimension found nowhere else in the Mediterranean-dominated ORC world — Brittany's raz, the Chenal du Four, and the Raz de Sein are tidal gates where short-handed crews must read the water with the same precision they read the wind.

France's signature now reads as a clear momentum lead over a broad field. GRAVITYRUN tops the fleet at 21.9% — the heavy-mode momentum platform with strong downwind power in sustained breeze, the family the long Biscay and Channel runs reward when the Atlantic fills in. GLIDEFORM follows at 21.8% — the low-drag, efficient-flow signature of the short-handed JPK and Sun Fast canon — with AEROMAX third at 9.6%. The top two carry more than two-fifths of the fleet between them, but all eleven archetypes are populated and the long tail stays broad: French depth still comes from breadth across many design families. Farr Design anchors the drawing-board ledger at 18.4%, the most-common design voice across the fleet; Johnstone R (J/Boats) follows behind.

National fleet view · 811 boats · as of 2026-07-10

At a glance

France — structural profile.

Scope
811 boats
443 ORC-rated · 368 mapped-IRC
Top 3 archetypes
  1. GRAVITYRUN — 178 boats (21.9%)
  2. GLIDEFORM — 177 boats (21.8%)
  3. AEROMAX — 78 boats (9.6%)
Eleven canonical performance archetypes cluster the fleet by dimensional signature. See the full map →
Top designer cluster
Farr Yacht Design
149 boats (18.4%) — the most-represented design voice in this fleet.

Counts and archetype assignments above are measured from the current corpus. Commentary below is interpretive.

National fleet view · as of 2026-07-10
Hidden Shape

The shape of the French fleet.

811 French boats across 11 archetypes — a momentum-led distribution topped by GRAVITYRUN (21.9%) with GLIDEFORM and AEROMAX behind it. Here's how they cluster, and what the collective signature reveals about how France races.

The French Fleet Signature

The French fleet runs on momentum, with a clear lead at the top and a broad field behind. GRAVITYRUN leads at 21.9% (178 boats) — the heavy-mode momentum platform with strong downwind power in sustained breeze, the family the long Biscay and Channel runs reward. GLIDEFORM follows at 21.8% (177 boats), the low-drag, efficient-flow signature of the short-handed JPK and Sun Fast canon, and AEROMAX anchors third at 9.6% (78 boats). No narrow championship signature here; all eleven archetypes are populated and the long tail stays broad.

  • GRAVITYRUN 21.9% · 178 boats
  • GLIDEFORM 21.8% · 177 boats
  • AEROMAX 9.6% · 78 boats

Dimension emphasis: Sail Performance · Comparative & Time

In 2026, the French fleet races across a cross-Channel and Mediterranean calendar where GRAVITYRUN's downwind momentum and GLIDEFORM's low-drag flow meet their native conditions — Biscay swell, Channel runs, and the tidal gates of the Breton coast.

Complete data Latest published view

GRAVITYRUN

Heavy-mode momentum boat with strong downwind power in sustained breeze.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · strong downwind

Boats 178
Share 21.9%
  • First 36.7
  • First 34.7
  • X-332

GLIDEFORM

Low-drag hull delivering smooth, efficient downwind acceleration.

weak upwind · moderate reaching · strong downwind

Boats 177
Share 21.8%
  • J-105
  • J-99
  • Farr 30

AEROMAX

Upwind-power specialist with the fleet's strongest rig-driven VMG.

strong upwind · neutral reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 78
Share 9.6%
  • First 40.7
  • First 40
  • Grand Soleil 40

IRONWIND

Stiff, stable-drive platform with predictable load behavior.

moderate upwind · moderate reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 74
Share 9.1%
  • J-80 OD
  • J-24
  • Melges 24 OD

DEEPFRAME

Deep-hull efficiency paired with a stiff platform for drag-optimized flow.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 73
Share 9.0%
  • J-109
  • First 36
  • J-120

STORMLINE

High-power, heel-sensitive platform with explosive potential when sailed flat.

moderate upwind · strong reaching · moderate downwind

Boats 59
Share 7.3%
  • Comfortina 32
  • Fenix
  • Aphrodite 101

KEELFLEX

Narrow stability window; fast when perfectly balanced, punishing when not.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 54
Share 6.7%
  • First 31.7
  • Express
  • First 31.7 LR

AEROBLADE

High-efficiency rig with sharp heel sensitivity and rapid trim response.

moderate upwind · moderate reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 42
Share 5.2%
  • TP-52
  • Farr 40
  • XP-44

STEELCORE

Central, stiff rigid-platform hull — stability-positive, hull-form-dominant, low heel-sensitivity.

neutral upwind · neutral reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 28
Share 3.5%
  • Sunfast 37
  • Dufour 40
  • Grand Soleil 37 BC

STEELFORM

Compact-rig, rigid platform delivering consistent, low-variance results.

neutral upwind · neutral reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 25
Share 3.1%
  • Bavaria CR 46
  • Dufour 41 Performance
  • Hanse 400 E

HEADFORCE

Upwind-biased pressure boat driving compact rigs through higher-drag hull forms.

strong upwind · weak reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 23
Share 2.8%
  • Fortuna 9
  • Miura
  • Elan 333

Event cohort view · 59 boats · as of 2026-07-10

Racing Landscape

French boats compete across the full international and domestic offshore calendar in the FleetEdge fleet. The Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 carries the deepest French entry at 59 boats — the largest single-event French presence in the data — followed by the RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo (35), the 2026 Loro Piana Giraglia (22), the Spi Ouest-France BPGO at La Trinité (17 in the 2026 fully-crewed IRC fleet, with the double-handed and 2025 editions close behind), the Armen Race (15), and the RORC Cervantes Trophy (12).

La Solitaire du Figaro remains the cultural origin point for French offshore talent, but the modern cross-Channel and Mediterranean campaign circuit is where the production fleet meets the international field. The combination of short-handed engineering and fully-crewed campaign racing produces sailors who travel well, and French entries are competitive across rating systems and fleet types.

Selected Race Result

Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 — Overall

59 of 811 fleet boats competed. 1 race. A 695-nautical-mile offshore point-to-point from Cowes to Cherbourg, scored on corrected time — the largest single-event French presence in the data, and a French overall victory.

Headlines

What led the French entries at the Fastnet.

For Comparative Time, negative = faster than the rating expects (the boat beat its rating); positive = slower. For Crew Residual, negative = the crew beat the boat's archetype-expected pace (stronger execution); positive = below that baseline.

Comparative Time

1. LEON · −77.8 sec/nm
2. SOLENN · −48.0 sec/nm
3. WHIMJY 99 · −44.3 sec/nm
Cohort 16 boats

Upwind VMG (12 kt)

1. GLEN ELLEN · 5.75 kt
2. STAMINA IV · 5.56 kt
3. HEY JUDE · 5.54 kt
Cohort 59 boats

Crew Residual

1. LEON · −81.6 sec/nm
2. SOLENN · −53.2 sec/nm
3. WHIMJY 99 · −45.2 sec/nm
Cohort 16 boats

Comparative Time and Crew Residual are FleetEdge corrected-time analytics computed on the 16 French boats at the Fastnet with comparison records; Upwind VMG is the certificate-derived beat VMG at 12 kt across all 59 entries. Source: published Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 standings · as of 2026-07-10.

Stories

What the Fastnet 2025 entries revealed.

LEON — Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 Champion, IRC Overall

LEON GLIDEFORM, a JPK 1050, won the Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 outright — first in IRC Overall standings that run more than 300 boats deep, on the 695-nautical-mile course from Cowes to Cherbourg. The win is corroborated across every FleetEdge lens: LEON also posted the entry's best Comparative Time (−77.8 sec/nm against its ORC median allowance) and its best Crew Residual (−81.6 sec/nm). The scoreboard and the physics agree.

Source: published Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 standings, IRC Overall · rank 1.

A French one-two at the Fastnet

France took both top steps of IRC Overall. LEON's victory was backed by LANN AEL 3 STEELCORE, a First 35, in second — two French production designs occupying ranks 1 and 2 of an international field whose published standings run more than 300 boats deep. One is the JPK short-handed canon, the other the Beneteau First production line: the two pillars of the French fleet's identity, together on the podium of one of the world's biggest offshore races.

Source: published Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 standings, IRC Overall · LEON rank 1, LANN AEL 3 rank 2.

LEON clears the field by nearly 30 sec/nm

LEON's −77.8 sec/nm Comparative Time lead runs 29.8 sec/nm clear of the runner-up — SOLENN, another JPK 1050, at −48.0 — and a full 33.5 sec/nm ahead of WHIMJY 99 at −44.3. The gap from first to second is wider than the gap from second to eighth. On a 695-nautical-mile course, a margin that size is a structural separation, not a rounding of the scoreboard.

Source: published Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 data delta_sec_per_nm · 16-boat French comparison cohort.

A GLIDEFORM-heavy Fastnet comparison group

The French boats measured at the Fastnet lean far more GLIDEFORM than the fleet at large. GLIDEFORM is 21.8% of the 811-boat French fleet but 62.5% of the French boats classified in the race's comparison view — 10 of 16, nearly triple its baseline share and the group's largest archetype by a wide margin. The low-drag, short-handed JPK and Sun Fast canon traveled to Cowes in force, with LEON — the race's outright winner — among them. AEROMAX follows at 2 of 16, with AEROBLADE, DEEPFRAME, STEELFORM, and KEELFLEX at one boat each. 59 French boats competed; 16 carry comparison records in the published view — a small sample, and the race composition is not the fleet composition.

Source: FleetEdge FRA fleet baseline (811 boats, current view) vs the Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 archetypes published 2026-07-10 (16 French boats classified).

Race Archetypes

87 boats classified in the Rolex Fastnet Race 2025.

The Fastnet fleet's structural makeup — how the 87-boat comparison group clusters across the FleetEdge archetypes, and where the 16-boat French contingent with comparison records sits within it. AEROBLADE leads the event lens, with GLIDEFORM and DEEPFRAME behind it. This is the event lens, distinct from the 811-boat national Fleet DNA above.

Archetypes as published 2026-07-10 — the FleetEdge view nearest this event.

AEROBLADE

High-efficiency rig with sharp heel sensitivity and rapid trim response.

Boats 22
Share 25.3%

GLIDEFORM

Low-drag hull delivering smooth, efficient downwind acceleration.

Boats 15
Share 17.2%

DEEPFRAME

Deep-hull efficiency paired with a stiff platform for drag-optimized flow.

Boats 13
Share 14.9%

AEROMAX

Upwind-power specialist with the fleet's strongest rig-driven VMG.

Boats 11
Share 12.6%

STEELFORM

Compact-rig, rigid platform delivering consistent, low-variance results.

Boats 10
Share 11.5%

GRAVITYRUN

Heavy-mode momentum boat with strong downwind power in sustained breeze.

Boats 5
Share 5.7%

BALANCECORE

A balance-sensitive, stability-positive design with a wide, forgiving performance envelope.

Boats 5
Share 5.7%

KEELFLEX

Narrow stability window; fast when perfectly balanced, punishing when not.

Boats 2
Share 2.3%

STORMLINE

High-power, heel-sensitive platform with explosive potential when sailed flat.

Boats 2
Share 2.3%

HEADFORCE

Upwind-biased pressure boat driving compact rigs through higher-drag hull forms.

Boats 1
Share 1.1%

IRONWIND

Stiff, stable-drive platform with predictable load behavior.

Boats 1
Share 1.1%

Classified fleet view · 811 of 811 classified · as of 2026-07-10

Fleet Stories

The French fleet's signature.

Farr Design anchors the French drawing board

Farr Design draws the largest single block of the French fleet — 149 boats, 18.4% of the fleet and the most-represented design voice on the page. It leads a deep field of Johnstone R (J/Boats) and Felci lines behind it. Nearly one drawing board in five carries a Farr line, the clearest design signal in an otherwise broad fleet.

A GRAVITYRUN momentum lead

GRAVITYRUN is now the largest single archetype in the French fleet at 21.9% — 178 of 811 classified boats. The heavy-mode momentum platform carries strong downwind power in sustained breeze, and its lead reads as a long-running French tilt toward boats that keep driving on the long Biscay and Channel runs. GLIDEFORM follows at 21.8% on its low-drag short-handed signature; together the top two carry more than two-fifths of the fleet, layered over one of the broadest archetype spreads of any national fleet on the platform.

The First 34.7 production backbone

The First 34.7 is the single most common class in France — 62 boats, 7.6% of the fleet, ahead of the First 36.7 (40) and the Dufour 34 (32). The Beneteau First and Dufour production lines, with the J/Boats short-handed series alongside, give France a club-racing backbone no other national fleet matches for depth.

Popular Classes

The boats that define French racing.

First 34.7 (62)

A Farr Design racer-cruiser — fast, level, and everywhere in French club racing.

First 36.7 (40)

Beneteau's mid-size Farr-designed IRC weapon of the 2000s.

Dufour 34 (32)

Dufour's Felci-designed racer-cruiser — an Italian-French 34 with bite.

J-99 (26)

The J/Boats short-handed offshore specialist — a Class 40 successor in ORC trim.

J-105 (23)

The J/Boats 35 that built club asymmetric racing.

Continue

Go deeper.

Fleet Overview

The global offshore racing landscape and how France's 811-boat fleet fits within it.

Platform Scale

How FleetEdge measures racing across geographies and fleet types globally.

Join the world's offshore racing teams.

Historical weather meets hull physics — every fleet, every leg.

See France Racing — Mediterranean Championship See Fleet Overview