Transat B to B - Vendee Globe prelude

by Transat B to B on 2 Dec 2011 The idea of the Transat B to B was born, some four years ago, so as to provide future competitors in the next Vendée Globe (2012), with a qualifier race taking them back to Europe after the Transat Jacques Vabre. The first edition led the fleet from Salvador de Bahia in Brazil to Port la Forêt in Brittany and saw victory go to Loïck Peyron, tailed by Kito de Pavant and Michel Desjoyeaux. The second edition is offering up an equally choice line-up.

The Transat B to B will lead the IMOCAs from Saint Barts to Lorient. There are eight solo entries and the race acts as a qualifier for the Vendée Globe 2012. It starts on 5 December.

12 to 16 days at sea in wintry conditions is what awaits the solo sailors in the Transat B to B, who view it as an excellent dress rehearsal prior to the next Vendée Globe. Following on from a Transat Jacques Vabre which put both the boats and the men under a great deal of pressure, the sailors have really needed to catch their breath for a few days before launching back into the year's sailing programme and delivering the boats from Puerto Limon to the race start in Saint Barts. In Gustavia, the boats will be nicely berthed, the island boasting a long tradition of playing host to some major oceanic races, such as the Transat AG2R or St Barts Bucket.

Eight competitors will be at the start of this second edition of the Transat B to B. First up is Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3), the brilliant winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Barcelona World Race, who will be keen to demonstrate that's he's not just an expert in double-handed sailing. He'll certainly have his work cut out though with such solid competition as Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire), Vincent Riou (PRB) and Marc Guillemot (Safran). The British contingent will also be well represented with Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss), brimming with renewed confidence after his excellent second place in the Transat Jacques Vabre, and Mike Golding (Gamesa), who is fine-tuning the modifications made to his monohull. For François Gabart (Macif) and Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée), this will be a baptism of fire in the solo sailing domain, but the two young sailors are out to prove that experience isn't everything.

Round the Island - Caribbean style

On Saturday 3 December, those boats and skippers participating in the Transat B to B, who have already managed to make it to Gustavia in Saint Barts, will be putting on a show for the public.

A fabulous viewing platform for witnessing both the start and the finish of the race is Fort Oscar up on the hillside to the West of the harbour, and it is being opened up specially to enable public access. According to the strength of the wind on the day, the start is due to take place at 1130 hours local time. The start line will be positioned out to the West of the Fort, between the island of Le Pain de Sucre and the Les baleines mark, from which point the 60-feet IMOCA monohulls will head off to the South-East in an anticlockwise sprint around the island of Saint Barts, which should take 2 to 3 hours to complete depending on the strength and direction of the wind.

The course will take the boats, their skippers and their guests around the headland of Pointe Nègre, then offshore of the islands of Ile Coco and Roche Roubes. Heading virtually due North, just before Pointe Toiny the fleet will then have to take great care to leave to port a rock known locally (and somewhat intriguingly) as Florence Arthaud, which usually lies just below the surface of the water, only revealing itself at certain states of the tide… Next up, they will leave Les Grenadins islands to port, passing between the islands of Ile Chevreau (locally known as Ile Bonhomme) and Ile Fregate. At that stage they will set a course to the North-Westish, inshore of Ile Pelé and Ile le Boulanger, then leaving the Ile Fourchus to port, before heading back down to the North-West tip of Saint Barts. They will leave the Roche le Boeuf to port along the way before linking onto the home straight, which will carry the monohulls down to the finish line between Le Pain de Sucre and the Les baleines mark.

This short sprint will not only give the public and the sponsors a real taste of the fantastic potential of these 60-feet carbon oceanic thoroughbreds, but it will also enable the skippers to iron out any last issues with sails, electronics, mechanics and the like before they head off single-handed on the Transat B to B two days later. Indeed this latter eastbound transatlantic is of great importance as it will hopefully result in the skippers winning, if not the Transat B to B, then at the very least a golden qualifier ticket to the legendary Vendée Globe, a solo round the world race, which will take place in 2012-13.

Competitors
Banque Populaire - Armel Le Cléac'h
Virbac-Paprec 3 - Jean-Pierre Dick
Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson
Macif - François Gabart
Safran - Marc Guillemot
Gamesa - Mike Golding
Bureau Vallée - Louis Burton
PRB - Vincent Riou

*The first edition of the Transat B to B, a single-handed race reserved for monohulls racing in the Vendée Globe, was held some four years ago, at the end of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2007.

Transat B to B website