Guaranteeing safety and similar media coverage
The 30th Transat Jacques Vabre between Le Havre and Martinique will set sail on October 29, 2023. This record edition will welcome 95 boats, compared with 83 in 2021. To guarantee the safety of the fleet, but also to ensure the same welcome for all and the economic spin-offs generated, 4 departures and 4 courses have been created by the organization.
The 5 Ultims, the fastest in the fleet, will leave Le Havre at 13:05. The other classes will then start every 12 minutes. The 40 IMOCA boats will follow at 13:17, the 6 Ocean Fifty boats at 13:29 and finally, the most represented class, the 44 Class40 boats at 13:41.
Francis Le Goff, race director, explains: "95 boats on the same starting line, it's complicated both from a safety point of view, but also in terms of aiming at the line. With this staggered start, we'll be able to hold events close to Cap de la Hève, thanks to an in-port passage between the coast and a marker."
Equal time at sea for all, thanks to 4 different courses
With the aim of spending the same amount of time at sea, and ensuring a grouped finish - around 14 days at sea for all - as Francis Le Goff explains, 4 courses have been designed by the race organization. Already introduced in 2021, these courses, adapted to the performance of each class, will enable everyone to celebrate the finish, but also enable sponsors to expect the same media coverage.
The Ultims, capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots, will have to cover 7,500 miles. The latter will head south to Ascension Island, before heading back up towards Martinique. The Ocean Fifty and IMOCA boats will make a detour via the South Atlantic. The multihulls will pass the island of Fernando de Noronha, while the IMOCA boats will round the Brazilian archipelago of Sao Paolo and Sao Pedro. This route will take them twice through the Doldrums, which are notoriously capricious. In all, the IMOCA fleet will cover 5,400 miles, compared with 5,800 for the Ocean Fifty.
Finally, the Class40s won't be crossing the Equator, staying in the North Atlantic for a 4,600-mile course. They will have to pass through the island of Sal, in Cape Verde.
The fleet is due to arrive in Martinique around November 12. The idea is also to designate 4 winners, and not to favor the fastest boats, inevitably the Ultims.
