Club Nautique de Nice
Club Nautique de Nice is a historic water sports club on the French Riviera, based at the entrance to Nice harbour. Specialising in sailing and rowing, it offers activities from beginner to competition level on the Mediterranean in the Baie des Anges. Members use fleets of Optimist, ILCA, Hobie Cat, RS500, Surprise and Star, plus a clubhouse, private swimming terrace and gym. Regular training, holiday courses, youth development and major events such as the Nice Christmas Regatta shape the programme. Founded in 1883, the club remains a key hub of Nice water sports with adapted sailing and rowing and professional coaching.
History
Club Nautique de Nice was founded on 14 March 1883 by a group of water sports enthusiasts. The first president was Léonce Le Gros, a former naval officer; Franck Pilatte proposed the name and later gave his name to the boulevard where the club stands today. The first headquarters was at 93, quai du Midi (today’s Quai des États-Unis). As early as 1885 the CNN hosted France’s first congress on racing measurement rules and founded the Union des Sociétés Nautiques de la Méditerranée. In 1886 it won a silver medal at the Nantes maritime exhibition. In 1894 the club yearbook was launched and Ferdinand Coucke created the rowing section; on 15 December 1894 the first rowing boat shed opened on Quai de la Santé. The sailing fleet grew quickly: 76 units in 1896, and by 1898 some 276 members and 118 yachts. After a merger in 1898 members of La Voile (founded 1886) joined. In 1899 the CNN organised the first motorboat races in the Mediterranean. Early twentieth-century members included Alfonso XIII, Prince Louis of Savoy, Sir Thomas Lipton with yacht Shamrock, Gustave Eiffel and Victor Masséna. The Nice Star fleet was founded in 1954 and is among the most active in France; since 1955 the Régate Internationale de Star de Nice has been held annually. Today the club has rowing, motorboat/eFoil and sailing sections, around 700–800 members, and continues to train juniors and elite athletes.
Information
Facilities
Clubhouse with terrace and restaurant, private swimming terrace, lockers and changing rooms, rowing tank and gym, stand-up paddles, step-free access via lift and Vivier Véran, rowing base at Lac de Saint-Cassien
Activities
Sailing (leisure and racing), rowing (leisure and racing), eFoil/powerboating, adapted sailing and rowing, holiday courses, school groups, corporate events, regattas
Youth section
Active junior sailing school from age 7 (Optimist), junior rowing from about age 10, holiday courses and strong racing teams with many podium results