Another course change

May's Mini Pavois now to return to La Rochelle

The Board of Governors of the La Rochelle Grand Pavois have decided to modify the course by no longer sending the boats off around the northern tip of Brittany. While the start will take place as planned in La Rochelle at noon local time on Saturday 14 May, the finish will now also take place off the famous town with its twin towers. The new course set up by the Race Director, Denis Hugues, will be 460 miles long (counting as 500 miles for the Classe Mini) and will be limited to the islands of Ré, Yeu, Belle-Ile, the Glénans and Lesconil.

While the northernmost waymark in this new round trip  will be less than two miles off Lesconil, the route around the islands of Ré, Yeu, Belle-Ile, Groix and the group of islands making up the Glénans will leave a lot to play for and be very interesting from a tactical perspective. In fact, while several waymarks are planned, the return leg from Lesconil to the Isle of Yeu will be left open and the sailors will be free to choose the optimum route. It will be interesting to see whether the Mini skippers will opt to pass inside or outside the islands, windward or leeward, sheltered or not.  As far as the estimated race time is concerned, it would be reasonable to believe they will finish in four or five days of sailing depending on the weather conditions.

To date 49 sailors have signed up for this 2005 edition of the Mini-Pavois - 35 in prototypes and 14 in series boats. Several of the current top names will be present, including Corentin Douguet, Stanislas Maslard, Aloys Claquin, Didier Le Vourch, Cyril Ducros, and we must not forget the two women in the race, Isabelle Joschke and Marine Chombard de Lauwe.

11 non-French participants will also be lining up for this important single-handed racing event, including six Englishmen, two Slovenians, one Irishman, one American and one Spaniard.  We must stress the fine performance by the Slovenian Kristian Hajnsek, who finished in third place in the latest Ulysses Odyssey and who will be present for the 2005 Mini Pavois.

As for the English competitors, we will be seeing Stephen Simpson on Blue One (prototype), Nick Bubb on Whittlebury Hall (prototype), Charlie Hope-Lang on Hornet (prototype), Nikolas James on Stormy (prototype), Phil Sharp on Les Pas Holding (prototype), Andrew Wood on Solochallenges.com (prototype) and Richard Smurthwaite on Crean in among the series boats. One Irishman has also signed up in the form of 2003 Mini Transat competitor Cian MacCarthy on The Tom Crean (prototype) and one American with Adam Currier on Sabita (prototype).

-The Mini-Pavois 2005, will start in front of Fort Boyard (near La Rochelle) on Saturday, 14 May 2005 at 12.00 pm. The boats must be in La Rochelle from Tuesday, 10 May 2005 at 12.00 pm local time at the pontoon #14 in the 'Minimes' Harbour. The finish is estimated to be on 18 May 2005 in La Rochelle.

The course: Fort Boyard / Yeu on Starboard / Belle-Ile on Port / Groix on Port / Glénans on Starboard / Lesconil / Yeu on Starboard / Sablaire on Port / Belle-Ile on Starboard / Cardinale W des Poulains on Starboard / Cardinale N des Poulains on Starboard / Kerdonis on Starboard / Ré on Starboard / Ré Island bridge / Finish line