Mini Campaign 2009

A race to the Transat

As I was only able to get a boat and start my program in the year of the Mini Transat, its a rush to get qualified and onto the waiting list for the year´s big event. Having completed my qualifying passage I will be on the list after the finish of the Mini Pavois and then the waiting game begins.

In the meantime I will be racing and training with as many people as possible in order to accelerate my learning and preparation.

Pornichet Select 6.50

April 25th- 28th: 300 miles solo

The first race of my season is on home ground as I have been living on my boat in Pornichet harbour since January while training with a group of minis here.

A classic beginning to the season, the Select first ran in 2001 and has since proven to be a suitable way to blow off the cobwebs of winter training and boat preparation. The first miles are tactical sprint in between the rocks and islands off the coast of La Baulle, up between Belle Ile and Quiberon and around the light house of Birvideaux. Traditionally its then a long spinnaker run down past the Vendee village of Les Sables to Port Bourgenay before returning upwind to Ile de Groix off Lorient. From Groix the parcours again passes Birvideaux before threading back through the rocks to the bay of La Baulle.

A 300 mile race, the pressure will be on to come out of the blocks with pace, and sleep will be difficult as the next turning point is always close and the rocks are even closer! Last year the second place finisher fell off his boat after the finish line, leaving him hanging onto the finishing buoy while watching his beloved boat wash up on the rocks. Here´s hoping I can avoid similar embarrassment.

Mini Pavois

May 6th to 17th: 800 miles solo

The 800 mile solo Mini Pavois should be a battle royale for 60 skippers as it crosses the infamous Biscay/ Gascogne twice and finishes with a tight navigation along the rocky Bretagne coast, thereby combining ocean waves and tricky coastlines. Departing from La Rochelle, the start village for the Transat later this year, and heading for the Spanish city of Gijon for a brief stopover the race will cross the continental shelf that is frequently populated by fishing fleets and cargo ships heading for the coast of France and Spain.

After getting their breath back in Spain, armchair sailors watching the fleet trackers will see the boats turn and turn about along the coast, rounding light houses and buoys on the way back south to La Rochelle. Bring the popcorn, it should be interesting!

Mini Fastnet

June 13th- 20th: 600 miles doublehanded

UK Mini Fastnet

July 5th-12th: 720 miles doublehanded>

Mini Transat

Starts on September 13th: 4,200 miles solo