Transat Jacques Vabre - Eco credentials

by Hélène Tzara on 15 Oct 2011 French duo Kito de Pavant and Yann Régniau aboard Groupe Bel lead the biennial Transat Jacques Vabre's pilgrimage of crews to Le Havre.

Entries remain dynamic in Class 40 with a new all-female duo and an American-New Zealand pairing. A few days before the opening of the village, the Transat Jacques Vabre reaffirms its commitment to keynote initiatives to preserve the environment.

Each day brings something new in the Class40, On board 40degrees, British circumnavigator Hannah Jenner will finally race with Jesse Nairmak Rowse. And so the class will have a pair of an all-female duo, since Germany's Anna-Maria Renken will carry a Slovenian teammate Jakica Jesih aboard Gust Buster. Another international crew will be on the line with American Nicholas Halmos and the New Zealander Hugh Piggin (11th Hour Racing). The two men know each other well as they sailed together for a season, maxi racing off the coast of Florida. So now it looks like there will be no fewer than eleven different nationalities, which will cross the Atlantic in November.

Kito de Pavant and Yann Régniau (Groupe Bel) set in train the flow of IMOCA arrivals set to muster in the Paul Vatine basin. After a delivery marked above all by the light airs, they were finally rewarded with a final downwind up the Channel after hours searching for wind.

All the Multi 50 crews are ready. Final training sessions will maybe show that there is some final polish and finesse to be added but all are ready. Aboard Maître Jacques, Loïc Escoffier and Loïc Fequet did some especially acrobatic moves to the delight of photographers!

The focus is on the green initiatives of crews.

Bureau Veritas – Dunkerque Plaisance (Stéphane Le Diraison - Thomas Ruyant) Waste: 'I am super careful that any waste that goes in the sea is bio-degradable. I take special care to keep my batteries (large potential pollutant) in an airtight container to allow recycling on arrival. I carry waterproof bags to neutralize odours and so I keep all the waste over several weeks on board '

Recycling: 'there are plenty of good ideas for recycling racing boats: for example, used sails are an excellent raw material for making bags! '

Energy production: 'the fuel cell has made a return / environmentally very interesting. '

Cleaning products: 'Don’t use detergents and other harsh chemicals. I only use soap made from natural products. '

FenêtréA-Cardinal (Erwan Le Roux - Didier Le Vourc'h): 'Although our boats are not there more ' green ', we are careful to preserve our playground. On land within the site, we practice sorting and recycling and strive to limit and prevent waste. At sea, we do not tip stuff over the side and we respect all the regulations. In everyday life, the strong actions developed by our partners, we increase our awareness and responsibilities in this area. '

Cheminées Poujoulat (Bernard Stamm - Jean-Francois Cuzon). Jean-François: 'Before boarding we think intelligently, to have the least possible packaging. On arrival we only have a small trash bag.'

Bernard Stamm: 'I have less waste to the arrival of double handed transatlantic after one eats at McDonald's with my girls. Of course nothing goes overboard. We try to bring and consume the least amount of diesel fuel and produce the maximum energy by the seas (it is currently the most productive of so-called clean energy). With the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne with whom we have worked since the start of construction within the RIVAGES project, we study in particular the different energy sources available and we are working to improve the productivity of the turbine. Environmentally we have launched a process of taking data and oceanographic surveys. We ship a mini science lab. '

All 'green behavior' of the skippers and their partners can be found on www.transat-Jacques-vabre.com under 'Act for the Earth'.

In 2011, for this edition the commitment of Kraft Foods and the city of Le Havre to sustainable development continues. The event again received the support and recognition of France’s Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transportation and Housing and the support of the Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME). In terms of public awareness transport is especially important and education is at the heart of the initiatives this year, as well as reducing carbon emissions and offsetting them.

Several significant initiatives have already been set up for this 2011 edition:
- 17,900 advance tickets were sold in partnership with SNCF between 22 July to 30 October for the opening period of the race village in Le Havre. Similarly, the organization strongly encourages car sharing.
- On site transport: Biking will be promoted through a partnership with the SABINE (establishment of a security, free minor repairs, locks are available for loan).
- Recycling operations: In partnership with UFarm, setting up a 'farm' using the coffee produced in the village. To learn more about recycling coffee grounds, visit the blog http://www.yenamarc-leblog.com/
- In partnership with Coca-Cola Company, the presence of a recycled garden in the village of the race to recycle ‘live’ all PET polythene bottles used
- Installation of three educational and information terminals in the Start Village
- Operation Ecocup (mugs recorded. Deposit of 1 euro) http://www.ecocup.fr
- The introduction of environmental criteria to specific providers
- The compensation of CO2 emissions
- Virtual Regatta, Inshore Regatta of exhibition races.

On Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 Le Havre, crews will compete in the Inshore Virtual Regatta Exhibition. The skippers will race aboard First Class 7.50 after being divided into four pools. After four fleet races qualifying, the top ten duos will meet in the final.

Virtual Regatta, the Regatta partner of the Exhibition, is launching a competition from October 4 to 15, from which two winners will be chosen. Both winners will be invited to the village of the Transat Jacques Vabre the weekend of October 22-23 to meet the crew for a duel of winners of the Virtual Regatta Exhibition Regatta for a showdown on Sunday 23. This contest is open until Thurs 15 October at 23:59. To date, 5,300 players have already raced 90 000 virtual races!

Make a date -
October 21, 1200 midday: Deadline for arrival of the boat in Le Havre
October 22, 11:00: Inauguration of the Transat Jacques Vabre race village
22 and 23 October: Exhibition Regatta 'Regatta Virtual Inshore'
October 30, 10:45: Dock out of the race fleet
October 30, 1:02 p.m.: Start of the 10th Transat Jacques Vabre
First arrivals IMOCA Multi50 and Costa Rica from November 14, Class40 from November 22

The defending champions 2009 (20 registered)
Imoca:
Safran, Marc Guillemot - Charles Caudrelier Benac
Finished on 24/11/2009 in 15 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds
at 12.46 knots average
Multi 50:
Winner: Crepes Whaou! Franck Yves Escoffier - Erwan Le Roux
Finished on 24/11/2009 in 15 days, 15 hours, 31 minutes and 50 seconds
at 13.41 knots average

The spirit: 'Take the sea and act for the environment.'
Alongside the sporting challenge and the human adventure the Transat Jacques Vabre is also an eco-friendly event that since 2007 has taken, effective measures to reduce and offset its carbon footprint. The reduction of CO2 emissions was a major objective for all teams and stakeholders in the race. A comprehensive sustainable development was established by the organization. Concrete actions have been carried out on transport, energy and water, waste management (384 kg of coffee have been recycled!) The use of recycled or recyclable materials is paramount. CO2 emissions have also been offset (2200 tonnes of offset and -65% emission in 2009 vs 2007) through reforestation operations in tropical forests. Thus, the Transat Jacques Vabre received for this year again, the support of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transportation and Housing. In 2011, this action in favor of environmental progress continues in the same vein and with equal fervor.

Transat Jacques Vabre website