/ 
At the beginning of 2019, Kevin buys back a Mini that has just finished the Mini Transat. This Dingo built by the Marée Haute shipyard is certainly not a latest generation sailboat, but a racing boat all the same that enters the Mini Class. Like many, with the 570, Kevin wants to participate in the Mini circuit to train in offshore racing.
Too old!
Everything changes when Kevin asks to enrol at the training centre in La Rochelle: "Too old, too slow. You can't keep up with the group with this boat", he is told... But where is the famous Mini spirit that should offer the possibility to race with mini-budgets?
Certainly Kevin and his Mini can register for the different events of the Class. But everything pushes them to equip themselves with the latest models of boats, which are inevitably the most expensive. This search for performance means that the older models are relegated to the bottom of the harbour, and no longer sail. And there are a lot of these "old" Mini's. Recently, the number 1000 has just been assigned. What can we do with all the old Mini to encourage them to sail?
Making the "old" Mini run together
With this state of mind, Kevin decides to put a spotlight on all these penniless runners who would also like to make themselves known. To do this, he found a special sponsor in the person of François Jambou, winner of the last Mini Transat. Indeed, this sailor has had a lot of trouble emerging from years of trouble before finding funding. He understands the problem perfectly well.
20 as a key number
To help these sailors who can't afford the latest Protos or the latest born in Series, Kevin decides to propose a race with an age limit (for protos) or a price limit (for Series). Everything revolves around the number 20: over 20 years old for protos and under 20,000 euros for series.
This choice was made to limit the confrontation to the yachts that still have pointed bows, all those designed before the fashion for round bows. On the series side, the Pogo 1 and 2 fall into this category. But Kevin admits that he is not closed to other entries that he can evaluate so as not to leave anyone on the dock.
Gathering for 2020
For the first year, Kevin took too late to organize a real regatta. It will therefore be a "Navigation" for which he hopes to bring together 20 boats. The sailing will be double-handed on the weekend of 1st and 2nd August 2020. The course will start from La Rochelle in the direction of Rochebonne, then around the Ile d'Yeu before going back down to La Rochelle. A course of about 24 hours.
Organizing such an event already requires a lot of work. It is necessary to inform the Maritime Affairs, write a regulation, find an insurance, create an association... a lot of administrative time, but which also allows to officialize the appointment, to receive the reception of the Port des Minimes which will offer some places and to find some partners who limit the registration fees and offer prizes.
A Mini Old School class?
In the future, Kevin hopes to be able to repeat the experience, but this time in the form of real regattas by partnering with local clubs. For its part, the Classe Mini looks and collaborates with Kevin, but admits that it is not possible to integrate an "Old School" category within the Classe Mini. The already existing presence of Protos and Series being already not obvious to the general public, an additional class for old boats would be difficult to set up.
