1?000 miles with mandatory passing marks
The "qualifier" consists of covering a loop of 1?000 nautical miles, to be completed solo and non-stop, on the boat with which you wish to race the Mini Transat. The 3 compulsory passage marks are :
- The island of Ré
- The plateau of Rochebonne (about 50 miles west off the island of Ré)
- The Cardinal South of Coningbeg (located a few miles from the coast in the south-east of Ireland)
The ministe decides his departure date, starts the loop where he wants and in the direction he wants. There is no time limit, but there is a list of "homework" to be done during the crossing: recording of a SSB weather report, photos of the marks turned, sextant point (meridian and right of height), etc., as well as a technical and human assessment at the end of the qualifier.
Departure of the Turballe for Hugo
For my part, I set off for my qualifier on the morning of 11th July 2020, from the port of La Turballe, heading for Ireland, at 5/6 knots upwind. As expected, the wind picked up from the right at the end of the day, I sent out the small gennaker and passed the island of Groix to leeward at more than 9 knots.
The wind continued to pick up during the night, leaving the Glénans to the north and then the tip of Eckmul, with an average of around 11 knots. In the early morning I pass the cardinal of the breast road and send the max spinnaker (my big spinnaker) to go around the DST of Ouessant by the South.
Arrived close to the Scilly Islands, the wind drops. I was expecting it, so I gennaker again to move forward in the light air, flat sea, dolphins, until the night where I sleep little, close to the DST of Scilly and without a breath of wind to get out of the way of the cargo ships.
But the wind is coming in from the south-west in the early morning, max spinnaker again and I'm sailing at more than 15 knots in the fog towards the cardinal of Coningbeg in Ireland. I arrived there in the evening around 9pm, just at the time of a clearing to take a selfie with the mark. The weather report from the Irish Coast Guard didn't lie, the wind is picking up from the right, so I gybed around the buoy and set off again under spinnaker. After a few hours spent in slow motion, as the new wind is now almost facing the sea, the wind is making it difficult to make progress, I set off again full gadin to the south and pass the Scilly the next morning.
Averages over 14 knots and surfing over 18 knots
The boat reacts perfectly, the round bow makes the boat very manoeuvrable, with the right autopilot setting and the right sail (Code 5, I changed spinnaker during the night when the wind strengthened to between 20 and 25 knots) it surfs almost continuously and I record averages at over 14 knots for several hours. Most dur?? Convince yourself that all this is normal and go and rest indoors (naps of 15 minutes max, the obstacles approach quickly at these speeds) while the boat is surfing at more than 18 knots.
Back to La Turballe before a visit to Ré
I'd only lower the spinnaker at night, after passing the Rochebonne Plateau. I gybe and set course for the Isle of Ré. I slowed down to take the current with me to pass under the bridge. Up until now I've tried to push the boat (and myself) to the maximum, with the limit of not breaking any equipment. I'm not racing, but I want to test myself and the boat, but I've never been under the deck of the Ile de Ré and prefer to do it in good conditions so I can see where I'll be racing.
The bridge is passed quickly and I'm heading back to La Turballe, upwind this time. What a difference, after spending three days surfing under spinnaker with double-digit averages, hitting the waves at 6 knots looks like a punishment. The wind falls during the night and I knit in the soft to arrive at La Turballe on Friday morning, 6 days on the dot and 1?107 miles covered.
I had a great time, the boat is healthy, I learned a lot of things and made a nice job of making a list of things to change/adapt/improve. So now it's off to the do-it-yourself, in 2 weeks time it's my first race.
