The Paris 6 Hours
Led by the YMCF
Since it was founded in 1907, the Yacht Moteur Club de France (YMCF) was interested in powerboating competitions, including the Gaston Menier Cup and Paris à la Mer. One of its presidents was Jacques Menier, the son of Gaston Menier, the chocolate factory owner, who took part in a number of competitions and built the famous Coq Hardi in 1922: With its 12m x 3m stepped hull, it featured two 575hp V12 Renault Aviation engines. We found the routes of the races organized by the YMCF on the River Seine between the Concorde and Grenelle bridges, from 1928. So, it was a natural step for President Bladinaire to organize the Paris 6 Hours event in 1955 to keep the tradition going.
Jean-Noël Bladinaire is an elegant physiotherapist and former water-skiing world champion who spends his summers at the Chambre d’Amour bathing station in Anglet; he also has a slight Basque country accent with a lilt. His friends and fellow club members include: Bernard Fichot and Philippe Ridray. With them, and a few devoted members, they organized for more than 30 years a boat race on a 4,700m stretch of water around the Île aux Cygnes, with a U-turn, upstream and downstream. Between 1955 and 1987, since its launch, this world-renowned race brought together 5,100 pilots and 2,560 boats. Moreover, the magic of Paris offered a dreamlike setting for the teams from 18 different countries. It took place on the first Sunday of October, because this was the date when a boat show was held at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The first event was relatively modest, with 34 competitors signed up, the vast majority from the YMCF and Hélice Club, as well as one English competitor (already), with outboard engines under 1000cc. We can already see, with a 25hp, the presence of Raymond Guyard and his son Daniel, who will go on to win on several occasions.
A race for each category of boats
There are several different categories and they will spend six hours racing around the River Seine at speeds of over 100 km/h. We see a lot of different hull types, from the deep Vs that bounced along like balls on the choppy water to the cats that charged straight ahead, steady on their floats. In 1955, there were 33 boats under 1000cc (Raymond Guyard and his son Daniel competed on a Seyler hull with a 25hp Johnson), but in 1981 for instance the field included:
ON – 1500 to 2000cc – 21 competitors (1 from France)
Almost all the engines are Mercurys.
The hulls are Veldens, Burgess, Molinaris and Seebolds.
OE – 750 to 850cc race – 25 boats (11 from France)
16 engines are Evinrude or Johnson, with 8 Mercurys. There are two Cormorant hulls (Roger Moreau has built them in Macon for years; a former pilot, he is President of the FFM sports commission), as well as Velden, Burgess and Molinari hulls.
SE – 750 to 850cc (nearly) series – 25 boats (12 from France and a lot from Italy) with OMC engines (Johnson-Evinrude) on Cormorant, Velden, Burgess and Gardin hulls.
And lastly, a dozen Swedish, Italian and French runabouts, with Volvo, Alfa-Romeo, BMW and Renault engines on Cormorant and Molinari hulls.
Race preparations
At the time, the day before the event, the boats on trailers gradually arrive at the boat park, located between the Bir Hakeim and Pont d’Iena bridges. The spectators of course want to see the boats up close, but the stewards carefully check who can be allowed through due to the risks involved: there is petrol everywhere, people are smoking, cranes are moving things around, and propellers are running in the open air. The champion Oreste Rocca is himself almost turned away.
At the boat park, the final finishing touches are being put in place, because many of the pilots are not professionals. Some are attaching their last few accessories and taking to the water for some final adjustments, while one mistake at this point might sometimes prevent them from starting the race. The wind is tested along the route; the right propeller blades are chosen depending on the number of laps on the outbound or inbound sections; wedges are placed or removed here and there; with a little hammer, cups are adjusted around the edge of blades to churn more water; average heights and angles are adjusted, if there is not yet any lift or trim; and tanks and ballasts are filled. Mixing petrol and alcohol is, in principle, forbidden; there is no room for mistakes. The quick refueling system is prepared to minimize any time lost having to fill up with fuel. Communication codes are confirmed, because there are not yet any radios. The compulsory paddle is attached; life jackets are tightened up; jokes are shared with friends; preparations are made for the following race, with hopes of avoiding a wreck. The teams know that more than half of the boats will not finish the race and they do not want to be part of this group.
And then the technical checks are carried out. Of course, there has been a bit of cheating with the cylinder bores, the segments, the fuel supply, the water pump and other little tricks which François Bisbal, the Federation’s technical president, is well familiar with after himself inventing a number of ways of getting around the rules. He has lots of measuring rods to test various hidden dimensions and everyone dreads his visit, even though he is a really nice person. He is the one who removes the winners’ engines following the race;
The Italian teams wrap their boats in tarpaulins to keep the technical details of their hulls hidden, and unceremoniously move on any journalists who might be too inquisitive. The pilot briefing and then the launch of the boats on the water are formalities, and the start is chaotic. There are so many people on the banks and bridges, while cars slow down to see the pack fly by at high speeds.
Frenetic start to the race
80 boats leave the left bank and bump into one another on the narrow branch along the Seine’s right bank. The boats and runabouts make waves, lifting out of the water. The Seine is like a boiling cauldron. The quicker pilots want to get away from the crowd of slow boats, while others say to themselves that there is still a lot of time left. The first laps are clear, but in a few minutes, there are so many boats running behind that it is hard to know who is actually in the lead.
And so the dance begins. There are major differences in the speeds of the different boats, and in all the spray and foam, it is hard to see who is in front of you. It is also a game for the pilots that overtake and try to spray the slower boats. When they arrive at the turning point: Should they stay tight to the yellow buoy, or take a wide angle without slowing down? Everyone is crowded together. No quarter is given. The lift and trim need to be handled. Then the correct adjustments are made, depending on the wind for the straight section that is coming up. Boats rise up into the air. The crowd shouts and cheers. The pilots ask themselves: will it or will it not turn over? The boats ram into each other. Some of them sink and there are wrecks everywhere. They run the risk of getting holes in their hulls, launched at full speed. Watchful eyes are needed.
The safety dinghies rush around, while avoiding the high-speed boats. But they create treacherous waves. Also, when they tow the wrecks, the routes they take are not always perfect. This is a necessary evil. Sometimes divers are needed to attach the crane cables and everyone is always willing to give an opinion.
International presence in the race
The heads of various engine brands have come over from the United States with prototypes, or from Belgium, where the series are produced. Karl Kiekhaefer, the head of Mercury, is very upset because his prototype turbine boat is in the process of sinking.
At the boat park, the news spreads quickly: “So and so” has an engine fault. “What’s his name” has flipped over, but he is all right. “This one” sank; he is swimming. Hitting the water at 150 km/h leads to some serious injuries and the weight of the helmets means that neck muscles are sore for several weeks afterwards. Water is not like concrete, as is sometimes said, but there are people bouncing around in all directions in the middle of sometimes sharp and cutting debris.
Sadly, in 1965, the boats are neck and neck and Claude Kirié, despite his vast experience, runs into the bank at full speed. Did his steering cables snap? The divers rush in and the president of the diving club even jumps into the water in his underwear. They cannot get the pilot out of his boat, because he is stuck, lifeless, at the very back, in the steering cables. His name will be associated with a leading boat brand.
Another year, in 1974, the great Italian champion Cesario Scotti is caught up in a gust of wind downstream from the Île aux Cygnes. The pilots are well familiar with the constantly shifting winds along the route. But Scotti is taken by surprise. His boat soars into the air and hits a pillar on the bridge. He was the first crewmate of Renato Molinari.
This circuit is full of hazards, with waves in all different directions, wrecks, and winds that vary between the rows of trees, as well as barges passing by; however, despite the risks, it is very popular with pilots from around the world.
