MINI BOAT, BIG RACE
The “Mini Transat” inspires 90 brave souls to race across the Atlantic solo on the smallest sailboat, totally unassisted.
The race consists of 4050nm done in two legs — 1350nm from France to the Canaries, followed by 2700nm from the Canaries to Guadeloupe.
The first leg can prove quite challenging due to headwinds and chance of gales. The second leg is all about playing with the trade winds — and whether to go with the northerly rhumb line or find more pressure south.
To top it off, this is done on a 21ft sailboat with no external assistance or contact with land (aka no phones or satellite communication).
The first Mini Transat took place in 1977 when Bob Salmon wanted to create a serious offshore race that was accessible to anyone. He was disgruntled by the rising costs of big offshore races like the Whitbread, which is even more the case today. The small size of the vessels and the minimal technology onboard allows people to participate on a small budgets. The class is also a breeding ground for innovation, which ends up being adopted in bigger classes.