Mini favourite may not make it

With time running out Nick Bubb is still on the waiting list for the Mini Transat

The biennial Mini Transat sets off from La Rochelle on Saturday week, 7 September, and looks set to be one of the most incredible singlehanded offshore races ever. No less than 70 Minis are entered in the race from La Rochelle to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil via a stopover in Puerto Calero in the Canaries. 70 boats represents one of the biggest fleets ever seen in the Mini Transat and features some extremely tough competitors such as double Olympic medallist Jonathan McKee and regular French winners such as Fred Duthill, designer Sam Manuard and Armel Tripon.

And there will definitely not be less than 70 entries because a major issue with the Mini Transat at present is the waiting list...

As of today one of the extremely tough competitors who may not be on the start line is British race favourite Nick Bubb.

Bubb has built a new boat especially to race in the Mini Transat, has put the necessary funding in place to take part, has competed in all but one of the races this year, has finished regularly in the top five, has completed the necessary 1,000 mile solo passage and 1,000 miles of Mini racing - but, incredibly, has yet to get a place. And time is running out very quickly.

Frustratingly Bubb is at the top of the waiting list and has been for the last week since French race favourite Armel Tripon managed to squeeze in when one of the boats in the 'Series' fleet withdrew. Eight names are currently on the waiting list of which five are non-French - remarkable considering the French majority within this fleet. Aside from Bubb, they include Swede Eskill Degsel, Tobias Hochreutener from Switzerland, Ari Huusela from Finland (racing Andrew Cape/Sam Davies' old Mini) and Walter Ussai from Spain. If there is a way to promote Mini sailing overseas, then this is not it...

Aside from these gentlemen there is heated debate going on between the organisers of the Mini Transat and Kiwi competitor Chris Sayer. Sayer finished the 1999 Mini Transat in third position and has built a new Brett Bakewell-White design especially for this year's Mini Transat. Again he has had to scrimp and save and raise sponsorship to get the boat built and then shipped to Europe. Because he was building in New Zealand the organisers had granted him a special means of qualifying which Sayer maintains he fulfilled. Yet the Mini Transat's organisers think otherwise and despite persuasive letters from a number of influential parties including the New Zealand Minister for Sport, Sayer's name is not even on the waiting list...

Liz Wardley, who was also attempting to sail in this year's Mini Transat, running her campaign alongside Sayer's, was unable to complete the qualification because she dismasted.

Crunch time for Bubb, Sayer and the others is believed to be this Saturday when the 42 mile prologue race for the Mini Transat from La Rochelle down to Royan is set to take place. "At the moment they are saying we can’t do the prologue and if you don’t do the prologue you can’t do the race because it is in the Sailing Instructions," says Bubb. "So if there is a big accident in the prologue or someone breaks their leg before the race starts then I still can’t do the race because I won’t have done the prologue."

In the past those on the waiting list have been allowed to take part in the proIogue but this year they are not, possibly because of the likelihood that Bubb and French competitor and yacht designer Tanguy de laMotte stand a chance of doing well in it (Bubb has won most of the prologues to the major races this year...)

Speaking to Bubb about his predicament he seems remarkably calm. "It is an unfortunate situation. No one has changed the rule - I always knew what the situation was. I know the race organisation are getting a lot of hassle from a lot of people." He is trying not to be one of them and instead has been concentrating on wet and drying the underside of his Mini, which one imagines must now have the most mirror-like of finishes... "I am really keen not to come across as moaning about the class and saying it’s not fair, because it is fair, it’s the way it’s always been done...

"One hope I have is that in the Mini Fastnet there were 84 boats allowed to do the race because there were seven accompanying boats and according to the Affaires Maritimes we are allowed 12 boats per accompanying boat," continues Bubb. "So in theory we are allowed 72 boats for this race [there are six accompanying boat]. I have mentioned that quite a few times..."

One of the problems with the Mini Transat is the qualification system. This is run on a first-come-first-served basis rather than on a championship-type system where only the 70 best Mini sailors get to race in the Mini Transat. Part of the reason for this is the class' desire to maintain a Corinthian aspect to their race, although in this day and age this seems outmoded.

Bubb thinks it is wrong that those who have done Mini Transat before don't have to sail the 1,000 miles of Mini racing required to qualify. "Physically there was no way possible I could have qualified any faster and I’d sailed Minis before which gave me an advantage. So it is 100% impossible to do a Mini campaign in one year. Our whole campaign went perfectly and it hasn’t been possible so far."

Meanwhile Bubb has been making contingency plans. Originally his plan was going to stick with the class and take part in the 2005 Mini Transat if he couldn't get into the 2003 race. "Basically I have sold my boat. My aim is to do the Vendee Globe in 2008 which isn’t that far away and I can’t afford to still be sailing Minis at the end of 2005. That would give me more chance to do Mini sailing but I’ve kind of got the hang of these 500 mile races now… there’s other stuff I need to start doing. And to do the Vendee Globe it is huge money and you have to go and prove yourself against the good guys.

"There are good guys in the Minis and I have regularly been in the top five. It might be good for my ego to stay in the class but I don’t think for the future it will be good for what I am trying to achieve."

In the shorter term Bubb's plans for taking part in the Figaro next year are moving forward at speed. "That is definitely going to happen," he says. "I’ll be chartering the boat but I’ve found someone to buy a boat that I can charter off. And I’m not going to find a sponsor unless I’ve got a boat. And there is not much time. If I order it by the end of September I won’t get it until November time, then I’ve got to fair it all up, do all the mods so I won’t be in the water until January and the Transat AG2R is in April. So if I don’t get into the Mini Transat, I’ll be in better shape to do that."

The step beyond the Figaro he hopes will be racing in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2005.

In the meantime it is fingers crossed that either the Mini Transat's organisers capitulate like they have in previous years (two years ago the entry list suddenly expanded from 50 to 55 during the week before the start) or - the less desirable option - that someone with a place is forced to withdraw in which case Bubb will be in.

"I’ve had such a good season and I’ve done all the races, I feel this is a missed opportunity, not something which is going to hold me back," says Bubb philosophically. "And we’re going to go straight into the Figaro stuff and I’ll be doing a Figaro at the end of April and I’ll be in a much much better situation financially and more organised for next year. So there are some positives to come from it."

Without Bubb, British representation in the Mini Transat will be down to Ian Munslow and James Bird (who we will be featuring in the next couple of weeks on The Daily Sail).
Entries

	SKIPPER	Boat name	Designer/year	Hull no	Nat
		WILD CARD ENTRIES
1	Jonathan Mc Kee	TEAM MC LUBE	Roger 99	247	USA
2	Daniel Schaffer	MINILIT	Berret - Racoupeau 02	416	ISR
3	Adam Seamans	SPIRIT OF AMERICA	Pogo 97	175	USA
4	Gustavo Pacheco	EPSILON	Mauberret  85	34	BRA
5	Donald Wright	RUSSE NOIR	Finot-Conq 98	227	NZL
		PROTOS
1	Thomas Valentin	THOMAS HAWK	Rolland 97	185	FRA
2	Isabelle Magois	SPOT	Lang 91	444	FRA
3	Pierre Rolland	CAMELEON	Rolland 01	347	FRA
4	Frédéric Duval	SOJASUN	Magnen - Nivelt 00	304	FRA
5	Richard Mérigeaux	BON PIED BON OEIL	Lombard 99	260	FRA
6	Alessandro Zamagna	ARKE	Fiorenzi 01	342	ITA
7	Jaime Mumbru	ULISSES 65	Teixido 02	385	ESP
8	Arthur Barret	UBAYE	Fauroux 89	29	FRA
9	David Lancry	MENSURA FROST	Cabon 91	121	FRA
10	Ian Munslow	ISHTAR	Owen 00	326	GB
11	Barnabé Chivot	HINANO 3	Seitz 01	335	FRA
12	Pia L'Obry	MORPH'EAU	Rolland 00	316	SUE
13	François Cuinet	REGLISSE	Rolland 95	139	FRA
14	Enrico Podesta	DIABOLO / SLAM	Magnen - Nivelt 00	303	ITA
15	Frédéric Duthil	ALL MER	Magnen - Nivelt 99	265	FRA
16	Bruno Garcia	SALADINO	Finot-Conq 01	354	ESP
17	Willy Garcia	ZINGARO	Finot-Conq 01	353	ESP
18	Peter de Smedt	MERITORIUS	Fauroux 91	36	BEL
19	Marc Gascons	TIP-TOP	Manuard 99	258	FRA
20	Arsène Ledertheil	AILES DU DESIR	Foucaut  89	333	FRA
21	François-Jacques Jauffrineau	VENDEE PRISMA	Lucas - Raison 99	277	FRA
23	Pascal Doin	NIGHT FEVER	Villenave 00	312	FRA
24	Jean-Baptiste Pesquet Dejeanty	PURPLE HAZE	Dejeanty 00	321	FRA
25	Luis Irisarri	SELWO	Finot-Conq 99	352	ESP
26	Ghislain Gendron	TI PUNCH	Magnan 91	102	FRA
27	Cian McCarthy	TOM CREAN	Owen Clarke 02	393	IRL
28	Sébastien Roubinet	ADRENALINE	Manuard 01	346	FRA
29	James Bird	ATOMIC	Berret 91	56	GB
30	Gaspard Franeau	ZACK	Bertrand 93	109	BEL
31	Alex Pella	SAMPAQUITA	Lombard 99	240	ESP
32	Samuel Manuard	TIP TOP TOO	Manuard 03	431	FRA
33	Stéphane Ayrault	GOUDURIX3	Finot - Conq 95	135	FRA
34	Armel Tripon	MOULIN ROTY	Finot - Conq 95	151	FRA
		WAITING LIST
35	Nick Bubb	JOHN MERRICKS SAILING TRUST	Magnen 03	419	GB
36	Tanguy de Lamotte	CHEEKYTA	De Lamotte 02	424	FRA
37	Tobias Hochreutener	TI WAÏ	Mergui 02	386	SUI
38	Eskill Degsel	CLASSIC	Lombard 03	429	SUE
	Erwan Sudrie	GWENN HA DU	Bouvet-Petit 91	93	FRA
39	Xavier Bluy	AVENTOUS	Fauroux 91	78	FRA
40	Ari Huusela	KYSYMYSMERKKI	Cape 99	276	FIN
41	Walter Ussai	MAN@WORK	Cossutti 02	420	ESP
		SERIES BOATS
1	Erwan Abalain	NEMROD	Pogo 1 99	282	FRA
2	Laurent Jaunin	ALMUKANTAR	Super Calin 01	329	SUI
3	Lionel Rubio de Teran	SEMELLE DE VENT	Pogo 1 99	269	FRA
4	Brieuc Maisoneuve	SIM INTERIM GRANVILLE	Pogo 1 99	250	FRA
5	Bernard Morin	LOUPIOT	Coco 86	47	FRA
6	Yann Riou	BLEIZIG	Pogo 1	318	FRA
7	Christophe Dary	YELLOW SUBMARINE	Pogo 1	373	FRA
8	Rémy Malburet	SOEUR MARIE THERESE DES BATIGNOLLES	Coco 88	89	FRA
9	Eric Schmitt	LA LIMULE	Pogo 1	262	FRA
10	Gilles Guillerm	BLUE BOSSA	Pogo 1	322	FRA
11	Jean-Pierre Balmes	ORYX	Super Calin 01	330	FRA
12	Yves Niort	DEMI-CLE	Pogo 02	388	FRA
13	Bertrand Lecharpentier	WAKE UP	Pogo 1	209	FRA
14	Juan Carlos Sanchis Mari	ALFIN	Pogo 1	371	ESP
15	Jacques Valente	ACTION INNOCENCE	Naus 6,50 01	355	SUI
16	Patrick Bot	TY MOUMF ECOLE NAVALE	Pogo 1	245	FRA
17	Manuel Castilla	VISION ORIGINALE	Pogo 1	167	FRA
18	Rémi Beauvais	TAQUET MAX	Pogo 1	340	FRA
19	Cécile Poujol	FIFRELIN	Pogo 1	345	FRA
20	Tiphaine Vrignault	MITSUBISHI POUR MECENAT CHIRURGIE CARDIAQUE	Super Calin 00	328	FRA
21	Caroline Vieille	POUR LA FONDATION JEROME LEJEUNE	Mistral 6,50 02*	405	FRA
22	Francis Hueber	SHAITAN	Pogo 1	404	FRA
23	Michel Mirabel	GWALARN IV	Pogo 2	421	FRA
24	David Raison	RAYON LIQUIDE	Pogo 2	440	FRA
25	Fabrice Guillerm	LILOU	Pogo 1	168	FRA
26	Vincent Volk Leonovitch	GOUDURIX 2	Pogo 1	273	FRA
27	Erwan Tymen	POGO 2	Pogo 2	426	FRA
28	Henri Gourmelon	TOBABOOTS	Pogo 1	360	FRA
29	Gonzalo Botin	DON VITO	Pogo 1	381	ESP
30	David Sautret	PENNEK	Pogo 1	295	FRA
31	David Sineau	POLISSON	Pogo 2	428	FRA