Big ambitions for the blues at Olympic Week in Hyères
Just a few days after the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca, where the French shone with 5 medals, the 2024 World Cup returns to the Mediterranean. From April 21 to 27, over 800 sailors representing 90 different nations will be present in Hyères, for what will be the last major multi-class event before the Olympic Games. This 55th edition will be a special one, with a regatta open to just 2 representatives per nation and per series, in a format close to that of the Olympic Games, while at the same time the Nations, not yet qualified, will be racing for the last Olympic tickets.
Cap Martinique in mourning
On April 17, Philippe Benoiton's body was recovered off Cape Finisterre by the Spanish MRCC . The 63-year-old sailor had fallen from his boat the previous night. The boat was found with the engine running and the tiller broken.
An expanded team for Ocean Fifty Realites
While the Realites trimaran resumed training in February with the Fabrice Cahierc - Aymeric Chappellier tandem, the Ocean Fifty team announces the arrival of three new, seasoned and versatile sailors: Pierre Brasseur and Lucas Valenza-Troubat from Lorient, and Gwen Riou from Finistère.
A Chilean stopover for the Globe40
The Globe40 double-handed round-the-world Class40 race with stopovers has just revealed a new stopover city on its future route. The stopover is scheduled for February 2026, at the end of course 4 from Australia, following a 6500-mile Transpacific race.
While the first competitors in the Niji40 - a race between Belle-Île-en-Mer and Marie Galante - are now making slower progress across the Atlantic, the counters have gone wild in the southwest of the Azores. In the lead, the sailors of Acrobatica - Alberto Riva, Jean Marre and Benjamin Schwartz - broke the Class40 speed record, covering 433.53 miles in 24 hours, at an average speed of 18.06 knots.
Two new AC75s for the America's Cup christened
Alinghi Red Bull Racing officially presented its racing boat BoatOne on April 16 in Barcelona. This important milestone marks a turning point in the campaign, which enters its final competitive phase just over four months before the 37th Louis Vuitton America's Cup. At 2:00 pm, the boat's godmother Chiara Bertarelli broke the traditional bottle of champagne before the AC75 was toasted for her very first contact with the sea. In Auckland, at the Wynyard Point base, Emirates Team New Zealand's AC75 Taihoro was also christened on April 18.
New colors for Sébastien Simon's IMOCA boat
After a three-month refit focusing on onboard reliability and safety, the IMOCA Groupe Dubreuil returned to the water on April 4. She is now flying the new colors of her two airlines. Air Caraïbes on port and French bee on starboard.
Return of the Banque Populaire Grand Ouest Trophy
The Trophée Banque Populaire Grand Ouest is back for a second edition with its 800-mile course around the Ponant islands, starting and finishing in Concarneau, from May 15 to 25. The race, which is now part of the French Elite Ocean Racing Championship, will bring together some thirty crews with two co-skippers.
Success for Massilia Cup Inshore 2024
By introducing free registration, the Massilia Cup Inshore has succeeded in its aim of bringing the regatta to as wide an audience as possible . Over 104 people took part in the race, a 20% increase on the previous edition.
Cap Martinique off to a flying start
On April 14, the 100 competitors in the Cap Martinique amateur transatlantic race left the pontoons of La Trinité sur Mer, bound for Fort-de-France. This transatlantic race is a unique opportunity for amateurs to enjoy a taste of the Route du Rhum as they cross the Atlantic, either solo or as a duo. The first arrivals are expected from May 4. On April 16, after two days of racing, Alexandre Ozon, skipper of Trophée Estuaire Rose, announced that he was retiring from the race due to material damage sustained late in the afternoon off La Coruña.
L'Esprit d'Equipe, second in the Ocean Globe Race
On April 13, 2024 at 20:27 UTC, former Whitbread winner, French boat l'Esprit d'équipe, crossed the finish line of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, after 39 days at sea and 6,768 miles, taking second place honors for the leg. He just missed out on first place in the IRC, won by his French rival Pen Duick VI with a 1:54 lead. By April 18, six boats had completed the race.
