On the morning of Sunday, October 29, 2023, competitors will leave Le Havre's Paul Vatine dock to reach the starting line anchored off Sainte-Adresse and Cap de la Hève (north of the harbor exit). At 1:05 pm, the first cannon shot will launch this transatlantic race, which will see the yachts reach the West Indies in Martinique at Fort-de-France.
4 successive starts will be launched with 12-minute intervals between each class, until 13h41. The Ultim trimarans will line up in order, followed by the Ocean Fifty, the IMOCA monohulls and the Class40s.
Contrary to tradition, the boats won't be heading up the coast towards Etretat, as weather conditions are making this a dangerous exercise. Instead, they'll set off on a beam tack towards Le Havre beach, heading west to exit the English Channel. This bay course should be fast, given the forecast wind of over 20 knots.
A well-covered departure
On Sunday, October 29, 2023, national TV channels will be on deck. France Télévision will be on deck with a 120-minute special on France 3 National, FranceTV and TV5 Monde, from 12:55 to 14:50. The L'Equipe channel, Infosport+ and Eurosport will also be broadcasting the start live. Finally, TF1 and BFM are expected to include a special report on the race in their 1 p.m. newscasts.
On the radio side, France Info and France Bleu will also be broadcasting live. RCI, Martinique's leading radio station, will also be present at the start.
As for newspapers, readers can fall back on the L'Équipe and Le Parisien dailies, which will be bringing out special sections with the Saturday, October 28 edition.
Internet users will also be in for a treat, with replays on the organization's website, Facebook account and YouTube channel.
