Mini Transat: Full Throttle to Guadeloupe

(November 6, 2015; Day 7) – One just needs to check the statistics to imagine the pace set by leading boat of the Mini Transat îles de Guadeloupe.

Since leaving Lanzarote, the boats ahead of the fleet have covered almost 1600 miles, at an average speed of 11 knots. If they could have sailed a direct course, they would have already crossed more than half of the Atlantic. However, the detour to the north of the Cape Verde Islands to pick up the trade winds cost them a further 370 miles or so. A few facts and figures.

It is still full speed ahead of the fleet. The trade wind is still strong and the conditions are conducive to speed, although this second part of course, the fatigue of both men and equipment could lead some to ease off. At the same time, the high level of confrontation between the leaders is pushing everyone to get the most out of his or her machine.

Only breakage or exhaustion might weaken the will of each to push their limits. This is clearly what happened to Victor Turpin (Générations Océans), who is only progressing at 2.5 knots. The skipper, however, informed the race direction that all was well and that he did not require assistance. K8, one of the support boats, diverted to join his position, which should be reached this evening.

The race in figures:

1227.8: number of miles covered on the great circle, which is 44.23% of the total distance between the Canary Islands and Guadeloupe. On the great circle, Fred Denis held an average speed of 8.6 knots. In series Ian Lipinski (Entreprises Innovantes) covered 1,099.9 miles, a difference of less than 130 miles between the first prototype and the first series boat.

1598.5: number of miles covered on the water. More than 370 miles difference with the great circle. This year, the strategy was clear: plunging south was the only way through. Fidel Turienzo (Satanas), the main proponent of a northern route, is leading by more than 200 miles. The gap should shorten over the coming hours, as the southern group will be approaching the great circle.

5: number of successive leaders in both prototypes and series boats. Ian Lipinski and Fred Denis take the lion’s share, leading by 3d 11h and 3d 09h respectively.

572.4: the maximum difference recorded between Dominik Lenk (dominiklenk.com) at the back of the fleet and the leading prototype. Nearly three days at sea. In series Yann Claverie (MAP Product) is 656 miles behind the first series boat.

18.17: The maximum difference on November 3rd in production boats, between the leader Benoît Hantzperg (YCA Dhumeaux Secours Populaire) and his second Ian Lipinski – a gap that reflects the intensity of the battle at the head of the fleet. In prototype Denis Fred was 41.13 miles ahead of Jean-Baptiste Daramy (Chocolates Paries).

295.57: number of miles covered by Fred Denis, coming close to Bertrand Delesne’s record in 2010. With 251.95 miles, Ian Lipinski is still twenty miles behind the record set in series boats by Xavier Macaire, on the way back from Les Sables – the Azores – Les Sables in 2010.

36: number of positions gained over the rankings by Julien Pulvé (Novintiss) in series boats. The most regular progression so far is for Edouard Golbery (Les Enfants du Canal), from 32nd to 3rd place. In prototype, Axel Tréhin (Aleph Racing) and Vincent Grison (Roll my Chicken) are credited with the best progression with 15 places.

11: number of unexpected or planned stopovers, proof once again that this second leg, however fantastic, spares neither the boats nor the skippers.

42: number of the imposing delegation at Douarnenez that will travel to Guadeloupe for the finish. Municipal councillors, members of Cornwall’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, of the Douarnenez Tourist Office, the “Penn Sardinn” will be making themselves heard in Pointe-à-Pitre.

Last minute: K8, one of the support boats was able to reach Victor Turpin, deploring the breakage of one of his rudder hinges. He is able to finish repairs before setting off, and he is good spirits. In the Cape Verde Islands, Pierre-Marie Bazin (Voiles des Anges) has officially abandoned, mainly due to doubting the soundness of his keel.

Ranking 6th November at 18h (TU+1):

Series (Ocean Bio-Actif Ranking):
1 Ian Lipinski – 866 – Entreprises Innovantes à 1 643.5 milles from the finish
2 Julien Pulvé – 880 – Novintiss à 3.3 milles
3 Edouard Golbery – 514 – Les Enfants du Canal à 65.1 milles
4 Edwin Thibon – 721 – Cœur Fidèle à 66.3 milles
5 Tanguy Le Turquais – 835 – Terréal à 65.5 milles

Prototypes (Eurovia Cegelec Ranking):
1 Frédéric Denis – 800 – Nautipark à 1 511.5 milles from the finish
2 Clément Bouyssou – 802 – Le Bon Agent – Bougeons l’Immobilier à 26.4 milles
3 Axel Tréhin – 716 – Aleph Racing à 28.4 milles
4 Ludovic Méchin – 667 – Microvitae à 32,9 milles
5 Luke Berry – 753 – Association Rêves à 36,2 milles

Race website – Race program – Tracker

KEY FIGURES

The Race
72 entries
71 boats at the start in Douarnenez
63 boats at the start in Lanzarote
7 support boats

The Skippers
68 men
4 women
52 rookies
20 return competitors
33 years average age
The youngest: 22 years old (Julien Hereu and Quentin Vlamynck)
The oldest: 56 years old (Carlos Lizancos)
15 nationalities

The Course
4021nm, 2 stopovers, 3 towns
Douarnenez – Lanzarote 1257nm
Lanzarote – Pointe-à-Pitre 2764nm

Key Dates
7th October 2015 – Prize Giving 1st Stage in Lanzarote
24th October 2015 – Prologue and Prize Giving (Lanzarote)
31st October 2015 – Start 2nd Stage: Lanzarote – Point-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe)
14th November 2015 – Estimated arrival time for the first boat at Point-à-Pitre

Report by race media.

Background: For the 20th edition and for the second time, the Mini Transat – Îles de Guadeloupe returns to its origins with a start from Douarnenez (France). The Breton harbour had a fleet of 72 solo sailors set off on September 19 to Lanzarote (Canary Islands), where the Mini 6.50 will complete stage one of the race. The second stage will start on October 31, taking the fleet across the Atlantic to finish some three weeks later in Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe).