After a summery Prologue last Saturday, 82 crews, 137 men and 27 women, set off from Douarnenez on the afternoon of Sunday 13th June, heading south, towards the BXA, still under the great anticyclone that dominated the whole of France. The tension on the line and the desire to fight it out were palpable, so much so that a general reminder  preceded the start to this 35th Mini-Fastnet without the Fastnet.

The passage of the Raz was already a test for some. The lack of wind left some of them stuck just before  the Bay of Audierne. We even wondered if all of them would pass with the tide.

27 women were at the start, and it was they who took the first places on this first night of the race. Chloé Le Bars and Lina Rixgens on the 1007-Association MJ pour l’Enfance in the Series and Nolwen Pébelier with Frédéric Moreau on the prototype 787 – DECOSAIL were leading the race on the morning of June 14th. This was followed by a long and hot day in light downwind conditions to sail down to Yeu. Irina Gracheva and Mickael Ryking moved up to the front of the fleet, while Pierre Le Roy and Cedric Faron took a good option that put them at the head of the race, and 914-Velotrade, 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site and 893-Groupe Adre found themselves in the leaders of the Series category for the descent towards the BXA. It was on this descent to the south that Tanguy Bouroullec and Guillaume L’Hostis on the POGOFOILER made up the deficit on the frontrunners, and it was also at this point that the prototypes numbered 12 at  the head of the race, which delighted many.

From Tuesday morning, after the passage of the BXA, the race became a giant speed test over 200 nautical miles to the tip of Brittany. After 17 hours of close-hauled racing, the Chaussée de Sein was a merciless judge and on a bad tack, the 1019 TeamWork prototype, which had resisted its pursuer up to that point, let the POGOFOILER escape and went straight to victory. In the Series, the match was very tight and everyone was watching each other closely  during the ascent to Sein. “We didn’t sleep as much as in a solo race,” said race winners Gaël Ledoux and Julien Pulvé on the 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site.

There may not have been a Fastnet, even if some said that the weather at the finish reminded them of it, but even so it was  a really good  race full of adventure and suspense.

Have a great summer and good luck to the chosen  ones in the Mini-Transat 2021.

See you next year!

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr