The 40 Imocas entered in the 16th Transat Jacques-Vabre left Le Havre on Tuesday towards Martinique for a sprint-like journey. The largest fleet of Imoca ever lined up for an offshore racing start set off at the gunshot at 08:30 GMT, in beautiful morning light, and headed towards Fort-de-France.
40 Vendée Globe monohulls on the line
40 Vendée Globe monohulls were on the line, “a number never reached”, recalled Monday the director of the “Route du Café” Francis Le Goff, who worked all week with the organization to find this new date . “We have weather conditions that are going to be great. Now, it’s time for sport: there will be a lot of play and the fleet is exceptional,” greeted Mr. Le Goff.
According to race meteorologist Christian Dumard, the pairs of sailors had to set off in a “well-established” westerly wind at around thirty knots (55 km/h) and in manageable seas. After the passage of storms Ciaran and Domingos which tore apart the Atlantic coast last week, the sailors were impatient to set sail. “It was about time. It was a long time, we’ve been waiting for almost 10 days to find a new slot to leave,” Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) commented to AFP on Monday, who set off with a triple winner of the event, sailor Yann Eliès.
“It wasn’t necessarily easy to keep busy and manage the wait, there were some days that were a little sluggish because we were already at sea in our heads. But that’s it, we’re back and up race+ mode and super motivated,” he added.
“It’s always a bit of a special moment for sailors to wait for the conditions to be right to take the start. We’re all delighted to leave, to go racing, to cross the Atlantic: it’s never trivial”, estimated Thomas Ruyant, title holder in Imoca with Morgan Lagravière. Especially since the Vendée Globe monohulls are the last to leave. Faster, the Ultim maxi-trimarans were able to leave on the scheduled date and the Class40 and Ocean Fifty stopped in Lorient, from where they left on Monday.
Shortened route
Due to a staggered start, the organizers have shortened the route to allow the IMOCAs to arrive more quickly in Martinique. While they were initially supposed to make a detour through the South Atlantic with a passage through the Brazilian islands of Sao Paulo and Sao Pedro, for a journey of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 km), the route now resembles an almost direct route.
After leaving the Channel, they will leave the Azores archipelago to starboard to trace their course towards Fort-de-France, that is to say 3,765 miles (6,000 km) to swallow, without passing through the dreaded doldrums. “I like this sprint format towards Martinique,” explained Thomas Ruyant. “It will be less monotonous strategically, with fewer constraints,” he said.
“This race will be interesting and close to a Route du Rhum (…) While the course was initially supposed to last 16 to 17 days, the fastest will finish in 11 to 12 days. The game will be open and this will not “It doesn’t displease me,” said Yoann Richomme.
The first Imoca of the Transat Jacques-Vabre are expected in Martinique around November 17. For the fleet, this is the last double-handed confrontation before starting a “single-handed year” with a view to the next Vendée Globe. Three solo transatlantic crossings are planned between now and November 10, 2024, the departure date from Everest des Mers, in Les Sables-d’Olonne.