24 skippers in the Transat Québec Saint-Malo race!

by Marie-Michelle Gagné on 8 May 2012 Québec City - The preferential registration period for the eighth edition of the Transat Québec Saint-Malo ended April 30. In all, 24 skippers from Québec, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France—each with crews of 3 to 12 people—will start the race in Québec City on July 22, arriving in France 10 to 15 days later! Given the current economic climate, the quantity and quality of registrations reflect the place the race holds in skippers’ hearts.

Quebecers in the race
Among those registered, four Quebecers will rise to the challenge with their faithful crews! Luc Forcier, Georges Leblanc, Robert Patenaude, and Éric Tabardel—just like the Europeans involved in the race—are already thinking about the challenges ahead. 'Launching is always a delicate operation, but everything went smoothly and now we can really begin preparing for the race', says Georges Leblanc, who will sail on the Océan Phénix in the Open class. For his part, Robert Patenaude, in the Class40, won’t arrive in Québec City until July—he’ll be busy competing in Britain’s TWOSTAR transat between Plymouth, England, and Newport, Rhode Island, before returning to Canada in time for the July 22 start. 'I’ll be in Québec City around July 7, getting ready for my second transat in as many months!' he says. Well-known European skippers such as Jörg Riechers (winner of La Solidaire du Chocolat), Stéphane Le Diraison, Fabrice Amedeo, and 2008 Transat Québec Saint-Malo winner Halvard Mabire will also be there.

The first miles along the St. Lawrence
For this eighth edition of the transatlantic race, spectators will be able to keep up with the first miles of the teams’ progress by visiting any of six towns in Eastern Québec, thanks to the 6 towns, 6 buoys circuit. La Malbaie, Rimouski, Matane, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Gaspé, and Percé will all be organizing events to mark the race coming to their shores. The full lineup of events for the Transat Québec Saint-Malo, including events to be held in the six towns on the circuit, will be unveiled shortly.

Skipper	Crew*	Name of Boat	Country
Michel Kleinjans	3	Roaring Forty 2	Belgium
Denis Van Weynbergh	5	Proximedia	Belgium
Luc Forcier	TBA	Sacramouille	Canada
Robert Patenaude	3	Persévérance	Canada
Éric Tabardel	3	Bleu	Canada
Fabrice Amedeo/Armel Tripon	TBA	Geodis	France
David Augeix	TBA	EDF Énergies Nouvelles	France
Thierry Bouchard	TBA	Comiris-Elior	France
Christophe Coatnoan	3	Partouche	France
Louis Duc	3	Avis Immobilier	France
Jacques Fournier	3	Groupe Picoty	France
Bertrand Guillonneau	3	Poèmes Bleus – Planète Insuline	France
Stéphane Le Diraison	TBA	Bureau Veritas	France
Halvard Mabire/Miranda Merron	TBA	Campagne de France	France
Sébastien Rogues	TBA	Éole Génération	France
Benoit Parnaudeau	3	Transport COHERENCE	France
Aloys Le Claquin	TBA	Jack in the box	France
Mathias Blumencron	3	Red	Germany
Jörg Riechers	4	Mare	Germany
Hannah Jenner	3	40 Degrees	United Kingdom

	Skipper	Crew*	Name of Boat	Country
Class50	Érik Nigon	3	Vers un Monde sans SIDA	France
Class50	Erwan Leroux	3–5	FenêtréA Cardinal 3	France
Multi 60	Gilles Lamiré	4	Défi Saint-Malo Agglo	France
Mono 65	Georges Leblanc	12	Océan Phénix	Canada

  

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