Please select your home edition
Edition
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - LEADERBOARD

Classe Minis, mighty Ultims and a newly elected face on US Sailing's Board of Directors

by David Schmidt 20 Nov 2019 03:00 AEDT November 19, 2019
Mini-Transat La Boulangère Leg 2 Day 5 © Marin Avram

While much of the sailing world's attention has been riveted to the doublehanded, 4,335 nautical mile Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV) race, which stretched from Le Harve, France, to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, two other important offshore events have also been unfurling. Interestingly, these two races involve some of the smallest, and some of the mightiest, racing yachts afloat, and while the boatspeeds and technology levels are wildly different between the two events, two common threads that run through both of these races, and through the TJV: offshore adventure and high-level performance sailing.

The first of the events is the two-stage Mini-Transat La Boulangère race, which is contested by singlehanded sailors racing aboard both production and prototype Classe Mini sailboats (two classes, both of which weigh in at roughly 21 feet, LOA). The first stage of this race saw 87 boats depart La Rochelle, France, on October 5, bound for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, while leg two of this transatlantic adventure took the fleet from Las Palmas to Le Marin on the French-flagged island of Martinique.

François Jambou (FRA), sailing aboard his prototype Team BFR Marée Haute Jaune, completed Leg Two in 12 days, 02 hours, 27 minutes and 07 seconds to take the win in this highly competitive event that has historically served as a feeder event for higher-profile events such as the Vendée Globe.

"I feel very moved and I just can't get my head around what I've achieved," said Jambou in an official Mini-Transat La Boulangère media release. "I've made a lot of sacrifices that all seem to make sense with this victory. My whole life has been geared around this, around making it this far. I haven't had a salary for the past year and a half because I stopped working. I haven't really been there for my 3-year-old son of late either. My partner has been behind me all the way and I thank her for that because without her I'd have never been able to do this.

"This victory will change my life," continued Jambou. "There will be a before and an after."

Jambou was joined on the winner's podium of Leg Two in the prototype class by Axel Tréhin (FRA), who won the first leg of this two-leg race, and by Morten Bogacki (GER).

In the production class, skipper Ambrogio Beccaria (ITL) added a win in Leg Two that sealed his overall dominance after also taking class line honors in Leg One. Beccaria was joined on the leg-two production-class podium by Nicolas d'Estais (FRA) and Benjamin Ferré (FRA).

Impressively, Beccaria, sailing aboard his production build, beat Bogacki, sailing aboard his prototype design, across the finishing line.

"I've been working towards this for the past five years," said Beccaria in an official event press release. "I feel very emotional. That's it now, I've done it! I haven't got a true grasp of what's happened yet, it's really a dream come true. I was leading the whole time, but out on the water it wasn't easy."

As for how he managed to claim victory in both legs of this competitive race, Beccaria revealed that fear-management and vessel-management both played key roles, especially on Leg Two. "My boat is simple," he said. "I reckon they must have frightened themselves more in the prototype fleet. I didn't think it would be possible to compete with the top prototypes."

In terms of overall results, Jambou claimed victory in the prototype class, followed by Trehin and Bogacki, while Beccaria claimed the overall win in the production class, followed by d'Estais; third place had not yet been established at the time of this writing.

Jumping from the Mini-Transat La Boulangère to the triple-handed Brest Atlantiques race involves swinging one's focus from 21-foot monohulls to massive trimarans. The 14,000 nautical mile Brest Atlantiques race, which saw a four-strong fleet depart from Brest, France, on November 5, is raced aboard the mighty Ultim fleet and performs a figure-eight course in the North and South Atlantic Oceans.

While teams have been dealing with their shares of mishaps, collisions with unidentified floating objects, and challenging weather patterns, as of this writing, co-skippers Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier, sailing aboard Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, were leading the hunt, followed by Francois Gabart and Gwenole Gahinet, sailing aboard Trimaran Macif, and by Thomas Colville and Jean-Luc Nelias, sailing aboard Sodebo Ultim 3.

These three boats are being stalked by fourth-placed Actual Leader (Yves Le Blevec and Alex Pella), but given that there's a lot of ocean left to negotiate before this race is over, these results are far from indelible.

Sail-World wishes all of the Brest Atlantiques sailors, as well as all singlehanded sailors still competing in the Mini-Transat La Boulangère race, safe and speedy passage.

Finally, much closer to home, word broke last week that former Olympian and champion-level sailor Briana Provancha has been selected to serve as Sailor Athlete Director on US Sailing's Board of Directors. Provancha was elected to this position by US Sailing's Sailor Athletes.

"I am extremely honored to be nominated for a position on the Board of Directors as a representative of the Sailor Athletes," said Provancha in an official US Sailing press release. "It excites me that US Sailing is providing opportunities for younger, active racers in the management of our sport, and it means a lot to me to give back to a community that has made such a positive impact on my life."

Sail-World wishes Provancha good luck in her new role, and we wish all U.S. flagged Olympic-class sailors good luck as they prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt

Related Articles

The Ocean Race Europe Video Preview
We speak to Phil Lawrence, Peter Rusch & Pip Hare to find out more The Ocean Race Europe will take place between 10 August & 21 September, following a debut event in the summer of 2021. The racing is in IMOCA yachts, the same as the Vendée Globe, but this time with 4 crew and an OBR who will document the action on board. Posted today at 1:30 pm
Foiling Frenzy at Fraglia Vela Malcesine
The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! Regardless of where sailors are in their careers, or the reputation they have, everyone wants to be there and have a tilt at the title. Posted on 7 Jul
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?! Posted on 6 Jul
The power of tech
What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? Posted on 2 Jul
Some thoughts on provisioning for distance sailing
A new perspective on provisioning and time spent at sea One of the great joys of distance racing unfurls the moment that the dock lines are untied. Suddenly, the myriad packing lists that inevitably define most trip-planning efforts become about as relevant as a tax return from eight years ago. Posted on 1 Jul
Jazz Turner completes Project FEAR
Drama right to the end in her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles Jazz Turner has completed Project FEAR, her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles in her Albin 27 yacht. A flotilla of supporters met her in Seaford Bay, which grew and grew the closer they came to Brighton Marina. Posted on 1 Jul
A brief history of marine instrument networks
Hugh Agnew has been involved since the outset, and continues to develop at the cutting edge One man who has been involved since the outset, and continues to develop at the cutting edge, is Hugh Agnew, the Cambridge-educated mathematician who is one of the founders of A+T Instruments in Lymington, so I spoke to him to find out more... Posted on 25 Jun
Sailing and the summer solstice
Celebrating sailing and the longest day of the year If you love long evenings and early mornings, this is one of the best times of the whole year, as the summer solstice (Friday, June 20) and the entire rich expanse of summer are about to burst into bloom. Posted on 17 Jun
Video Review: The Amazing Cure 55
Composite Construction meets Cruising Convenience It was two years ago at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show that I talked to Dave Biggar about his ideas and plans for the Cure 55. At the 2025 show I got to step on board the yacht and see how his ideas became reality. Posted on 17 Jun
The Big Bash
Every summer the tournament rolls into town. A short format of the game. Fun and excitement abound. Every summer the tournament rolls into town. Local and international players. A short format of the game, run over a relatively compact six-week season. Posted on 15 Jun
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERNavico AUS Zeus3S FOOTERMaritimo M50