Fleet expands

12 more boats to race Mini Transat this year

30 years after the Mini Transat was created, the 16th edition of the race now known as the Transat 6,50 Charente-Maritime / Bahia 2007, will leave from La Rochelle on Sunday 16 September. The event is proving victim of its own success with 141 skippers currently registered for it. Unfortunately 72 skippers are allowed to cross the start line.

Facing the normal situation which the Board of Directors of the Classe Mini has found themselves, itself ie “perfectly aware of the often legitimate questions and doubts of the skippers who are in the waiting lists but also of other members”, the Grand Pavois association, which has organised the biennial race since 2001 decided at first to increase the number of entries allowed to compete to 75 , and then to 84. Thus this time around 12 more boats will set sail compared to 2005.

To cater for the added numbers, the Board of Directors, under the chairman Alain Pochon met on Wednesday 17 January and decided to add one more support ship accompanying the next Transat 6,50. Six boats (one for every 12 Minis) were necessary to shepherd the fleet two years ago and thus there will be seven in 2007. To enlarge the race to 84 boats represents an important decision for the race organsiation because that increases the already considerable security and logistic issues surrounding the race.

The Transat 6,50 Charente-Maritime / Bahia starts off Fort Boyard, La Rochelle on Sunday 16 September bound this year for Funchal, Madeira and then on to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil for the second leg. The overall distance of the race is 4,200 miles. Boats are obliged to be in the race village from 6 September.