Sailing between Port Camargue in Occitanie and Saïdia in Morocco
Gathered in Le Havre for the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, the partners of the MED MAX Occitanie - Saïdia Resorts unveiled the new ocean racing event, which aims to take its place in the calendar of major French and European events. Raced in double-handed configuration, it will take yachts from the Occitan port of Port Camargue to the Saïdia Resorts marina in eastern Morocco, after 9 to 11 days of scouring the Mediterranean. The race directors are proposing a 2,000-mile course for the Class40s and 3,000 miles for the Ocean Fifty trimarans, taking in iconic sites from Bonifacio to Messina, via the Greek islands, Ithaca, Malta and the Aeolian Islands.
Recreate a major Mediterranean race every 4 years
With this new event, the organization intends to recreate a major event every 4 years in the Mediterranean, from which ocean racing has been somewhat diverted in recent years. It will also offer Ocean Fifty and Class40 yachts a major event on the calendar in years without a transatlantic race, be it the Jacques Vabre or the Route du Rhum, from September 29, 2024, and enable them to support their circuits and owners based in the Mediterranean.
Kito de Pavant, a great architect of the project and of Mediterranean ocean racing, sums it up: "There was a lot of frustration about starting races in France and seeing that there had been nothing in our part of the world, in the South, for many years," confides Kito de Pavant, who has been working on this project for a long time. We wanted to create a permanent event, every 4 years, and draw inspiration from all the great events that have gone before us: the Transmed, the Triangle du Soleil, the Porquerolles Solo, Cap Istanbul. The Mediterranean can be a difficult sea, but it's also a fantastic playground. We wanted an adventure that would tell stories, create links, make sense and be appreciated by everyone, racers and partners alike."
