This Saturday, December 5, the Nautic welcomed on the Nautic Stage, the skippers of the Mini Transat Iles de Guadeloupe 2015 for the prize giving. Frédéric Denis (Nautipark) won the race in the prototype boat and Ian Lipinski (Entreprises Innovantes) in the production boat.
But it was especially the occasion to announce a change in the starting city of the Mini Transat. While Douarnenez has had the privilege for four years, the next edition will start from La Rochelle.
"We are obviously very disappointed not to be able to confirm the work done over the past four years. We wish the La Rochelle team good luck. I just want to say to them: above all, take care of the Mini Transat as we wanted to do it during these four years" expressed Bertrand Nardin, President of Douarnenez Courses
It is therefore the Rochelais collective - led by Antoine Grau and Jean Saucet âeuros who won the tender of the Classe Mini for the 2017-2019 editions starting from La Rochelle with a stopover in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, and an arrival in Le Marin in Martinique.
"La Rochelle is proud to welcome back this mythical solo race which pays tribute to fraternity, to the great adventure of the open sea and to silence" said the collective. They will be nearly 80 racers to venture across the ocean, alone on 6.50 meter sailboats. Unlike other major offshore races, the racers will have no contact with the land, except for a radio tuned to the daily weather bulletin broadcast by the organizer.
A difficult choice
Last spring, two applications were selected, one from Douarnenez Courses, the organizer of the last two editions, chaired by Bertrand Nardin, and the other from the Collectif rochelais led by Antoine Grau and Jean Saucet.
"The choice was difficult, the two courses being close. [If the attraction of a big city like La Rochelle is undeniable, it is the Mini spirit of the collective that was appreciated, with several former members of the Class at the helm of a project that brings renewal to the flagship race of our circuit explained the Mini 6.50 collective.
La Rochelle had hosted six departures of the Mini Transat, from 2001 to 2011.
