Crossing both Atlantic and Equator

The Mini Transat is a bi-annual, solo transatlantic sailing race, and provides a proving ground for the latest design ideas in the 21-foot Mini 6.50 Class. These ideas have influenced the Class40 and the IMOCA 60 yachts, with Mini designer Sam Manuard  now applying his scow bow to the Mach 50 Palanad 4.

American Peter Gibbons-Neff is building a new Manuard-designed boat for the 2027 Mini Transat which will have a revised race course for the September 2027 start. He explains:

Ninety Minis will cross the starting line in La Rochelle, France, with the fleet setting off to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canaries for a stop over, and then finish in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

This is exciting for the Classe Mini 6.50 fleet since now we will be crossing both the Atlantic Ocean and equator in the same race. This revived route is already a part of the long history of the race, because it had previously been used six times from 2001-2011.

Crossing the equator adds a whole new element for navigation and preparations. Racing out of the trade winds and across the doldrums presents additional challenges, which will be exciting for both the skippers and spectators tracking the event.

Fortunately, some of the design choices we made for our new Mini prototype before this announcement was officially made should align well for this route.

This change in route differs from my 2023 Mini Transat race. For that edition, we started in Les Sables d’Olonne (which is only about 30 miles northwest from La Rochelle) and had the stop over in Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canaries. Then the race took us west across the Atlantic, following the southern trade winds, to St. François, Guadeloupe.

Even with the difference in route, both courses are a little over 4,000 nautical miles long.