Mini Transat: Bluebird conditions

(November 3, 2019) – After starting the second leg of the Mini-Transat La Boulangère, the 81 Mini 6.50 solo sailors on the the 2,700-mile passage from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Le Marin, in Martinique are benefiting from trade wind conditions that favor slipping along and long surfs in a fairly stable NE’ly breeze of 20-25 knots, accompanied by an orderly swell of 1.5 to 2 metres and perfectly blue skies stretching right across the horizon.

Tanguy Bouroullec, on his foiling prototype 969 – Cerfrance, will be able to exploit these downwind conditions more than anyone else. Indeed, alone at the front of the fleet, conditions are perfect for finally getting the best out of his appendages.

In the production boat category, those to the South have the edge in a group led by the excellent Ambrogio Beccaria (943 – Geomag). Missing on the course is Marie Gendron who is in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria effecting the necessary repairs to her keel fairing and spinnaker pole so she can get back out on the racetrack as quickly as possible.

The second leg of the Mini Transat is synonymous with downwind conditions in the trade winds. Inevitably, these are the favorite conditions of Tanguy Bouroullec and his foiling prototype 969 – Cerfrance. This is evidenced by the fact that since last night the boat has been creaming along and appears to have a firm grasp on first place.

Making an average speed of 12 knots over the past few hours, the sailor from the Finistère region in NW France has been stealing a march on his pursuers and boasts a 7.3-mile lead at the 16:00 UTC position report. In his wake, solely Erwan Le Mene (800 – Rousseau Clôtures), Axel Tréhin (945 – Project Rescue Ocean), François Jambou (865 – Team BFR Marée Haute Jaune), and Matteo Sericano (888 – Eight Cube) are keeping pace with average speeds of between 11 and 12 knots.

In the production boat category, a group of fifteen or so Mini sailors, fronted by Ambrogio Beccaria, are benefiting from favourable positioning to the South. This is the case for Benjamin Ferré (902 – Imago Incubateur D’aventures), Kéni Piperol (956 – Caraïbe Course Au Large), Florian Quenot (946 – Mini Skippy), and Paul Cloarec (951 – Sonergia Branchet), who are all racking up double-figure speeds, fluctuating between 11 and 12 knots, whilst the bulk of the fleet positioned further North are barely making 6 to 9 knots.

That said, it will be interesting to follow the progress of Briton Joe Lacey (963 – Early Bird Racing), who finally made it to the finish of the first leg after multiple energy woes and two fairly long pit stops, and is now part of this slower posse to the North… albeit on a direct route…

One of the support boats, Ocean Dentiste, has informed Race Management that Julien Berthélémé (742 – Team BFR Marée Haute Orange) is encountering a few issues with his rudder. Cracks and fissures have appeared and if the problem worsens, he’s planning to swap it over. Meantime, another of the support vessels, Aloha, reports that Raphaël Lutard (900 – Arkema 3) is lamenting power issues.

Ranking at 16:00 UTC:

PROTOTYPE
1. Tanguy Bouroullec (969 – Cerfrance) 2472.2 miles from the finish
2. Morten Bogacki (934 – Otg Lilienthal) 7.3 miles behind the leader
3. Erwan Le Mene (800 – Rousseau Clôtures) 8.4 miles behind the leader

PRODUCTION
1. Ambrogio Beccaria (943 – Geomag) 2480.7 miles from the finish
2. Benjamin Ferré (902 – Imago Incubateur D’aventures 7.4 miles behind the leader
3. Julien Letissier (869 – Reno Style) 9.6 miles behind the leader

Event details – Entry list – Tracker – Facebook

The biennial Mini-Transat La Boulangère has competition for the Mini 6.50 Class in two divisions: the prototypes and the production boats.

Production boats are built out of fiberglass, have alloy masts, 1.6 meter draft, and prohibit material such as titanium, carbon fiber, and epoxy resin. Ten boats must have been built to qualify as an official production boat.

Prototypes, on their side, are free of these restrictions and have been, for years, the very first laboratory for sailing innovations. Canting keels, daggerboards, swinging wing masts, long poles for huge spinnakers, have been tried first on minis. New hull shapes with very wide waterlines and foils are the now the latest innovations.

Race Format:
Eighty-seven started the first leg on October 5 (delayed from September 22 due to storms) from La Rochelle, France and extends 1350 nm to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. After an often complicated exit of the Bay of Biscay, sailors will expect some long slips down the Portuguese coast before arriving after 7 to 10 days in the Canary archipelago.

Eighty-two started the second leg on November 2 from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and will take from 15 to 20 sailing days to complete the 2700 nm course and reach Le Marin in Martinique, French West Indies. Due to the numerous islands, the restart from the Canary can be tricky before reaching the famous trade winds that offer a long downwind run.

Source: Effetsmer