Roving Reporter Bert Janssen Chats To Philippe Pilote, Chairman of the Half Ton Class and owner of General Tapioca

BJ – So Philippe – are you happy to be in NP again?

PP – Yes of course, it’s like coming home for the Half Tonners. After all these years, we started this here in 2003 and it’s like seeing your family come back. It started 12 years ago. It is a big adventure and the adventure is getting more exciting and richer with each running of the event.

BJ – How do you see the development of the Half Ton Class?

PP – To create a Half Ton Classics Class was a good idea from the beginning, all the boats have a history, they have marked the development of yachting, many of today’s naval architects started by drawing half tonners. These boats are worth investing in, they are full of charm. Finally the years go by but the passion remains intact. The boats are not only beautiful but they speak to us, they have hearts and that’s nice.

BJ – You have a beautiful boat full of charm so tell us how your day went today?

PP – Today was not easy. The level is very high and getting higher. The boats are all well prepared. We gave everything, the day was very hard, the wind was over 15 knots with a big sea, but the day was very positive. We sailed to our potential, we are in the top three overall and that’s where we would like to stay. The windier conditions of today suit us very well, tomorrow we will see. If the wind drops it will be more open. We are satisfied to have come and satisfied to be able to share this with many friends, which is always good and indeed the most important.