Luke Berry: My Mini Transat Story

For the 20th edition, the Mini Transat – Îles de Guadeloupe started from Douarnenez (France). The Mini 6.50 solo sailors set off on September 19 to Lanzarote (Canary Islands) for stage one of the race. The second stage started on October 31, taking the fleet across the Atlantic to finish some three weeks later in Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe).

Two divisions compete: Series (production boats) and Proto (custom boats). Finishing second in the Proto division was Brit Luke Berry.

Race website – Race program

Here is Luke’s story…

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