In 1993, 13 sailors on 8 monohulls and 5 multihulls took the start of the first Transat Jacques Vabre, including Peyron, Parlier, Gautier and Bourgnon. Leaving from the coffee port of Le Havre, the race was reserved for solo sailors, who had to reach Cartagena in Colombia. From the next edition, in 1995, the race took on the double-handed format we know today.
Over the years, the Transat Jacques Vabre has been hosted in different cities: Cartagena, Puerto Limon, Itajai, Salvador de Bahia and, since 2021, Fort-de-France. It has also seen all types of boats on the starting line, from ORMAs, Multi50s - now renamed Ocean Fifty - to 60-foot monohulls, or MOD70s... to divide the competitors into 4 classes today:
In 2021, with the arrival of Fort-de-France as the new finish city, the organization is taking the opportunity to create several new courses. These will smooth out the different race times and ensure the same visibility for all, with a grouped finish, regardless of the performance of the different classes.
Discover the history of the Transat Jacques Vabre
