A must for sailors in search of recognition
After the Route du Rhum âeuros Destination Guadeloupe, the Mini Transat is the second major nautical event of the island. With smaller boats than the other regattas, it is open to skippers in the making. Thus, many sailors have made their first attempts by rallying Guadeloupe from Brittany like Michel Desjoyeaux, Lionel Lemonchois, Ellen Mc Arthur, Thomas Coville or Bernard Stamm. Organized every two years, a new departure will take place on September 19th.
The Mini is, for many sailors, a first step before starting a professional sailing career. "Pass your Mini first" is a saying used on the pontoons. Others try it, because it is for them a childhood dream, but also an exceptional maritime adventure: to sail alone for nearly 4 weeks, in two stages.
For this special edition, the organization wanted to maintain what made the 2013 edition a success. But some changes have been made. First of all, the name of the Mini Transat has been completed by the name of "Iles de Guadeloupe". But also the departure date of the Transat, which has been brought forward to September 19 to ensure the sailors a safe crossing of the Bay of Biscay. And these will not be the only changes since the next edition (2017) will see the rules deeply modified, and this from the beginning of the year 2016.
A mandatory qualification
Not everyone can participate in the Mini-Transat. Indeed, to be on the starting line, you have to follow a qualification cycle, which is said to be more difficult than the course itself. This rule has been put in place over the years for the safety of the sailors.
In 1999, due to bad weather conditions, a large part of the fleet had abandoned and many competitors had triggered their distress beacons. The Mini class has decided to strengthen the selection criteria so that the sailors involved are capable of facing this Atlantic crossing.
To be able to participate in the Mini-Transat, it is necessary to justify more than 1000 miles of racing, including a solo event, on the different races of the Mini circuit. But also a 1000 mile non-stop qualifying race.
Two courses are proposed: in the Atlantic, the competitors must complete a loop between the island of Ré, the Rochebonne plateau and the Coningbeg buoy off the coast of Ireland. In the Mediterranean, they will have to sail around the island of Gorgon (off the coast of Genoa), the island of Porquerolles, pass between Menorca and Majorca, sail around Sardinia, then the island of Zannone, not far from the Gulf of Naples. Each competitor can enter one of the loops from a point of his choice.
Competitors who have already competed in a 1000-mile solo race are exempt from having to complete the qualifying course again. If they have raced in the previous three years, the only requirement is to participate in a pre-season race.
