Ocean race for midgets

Today 60 21ft ocean going skiffs will set off across the Atlantic from France to Brazil

Transat 6.50 Charente Maritime-Bahia

This year the course has been changed. It now starts in La Rochelle and for the first time it takes the yachts into the southern hemisphere to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. For those like me with a basic grasp of geography this might seem like a much, much longer course but in fact due to the large bulge on the east coast of Brazil the course is only around 300 miles longer than the old course to Martinique. However it will involved the boats crossing the Doldrums and while this might seem straightforward in modern yacht racing, with no way of picking up forecasts other than that transmitted by the French radio, specifically for the fleet, there will be none of the internet satellite photos of the area available to them and potential the crossing of this awkward patch of water just north of the Equator could be much prolonged.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the Mini Transat is just how popular it is. An early tally on potential entries showed 150 people interested in taking part. Unfortunately the entry restrictions have undergone their bi-annual tightening and the maximum number of competitors was limited to 50 with 5 wild cards (entries allowed at the discretion of the race committee). Competitors also had to undergo a stringent qualification process involving the completion of a 1,000 mile qualifier and 1,000 miles sailed in races sanctioned by the Mini class. Entries were taken on a first to qualify and pay the entry fee basis, but this still left a handful of competitors, including Britain's Ian Munslow, on the waiting list.

The race is technically illegal under French law, which deems that Minis are not largely enough to sail offshore and is only run thanks to a special dispensation granted by the French Affaires Maritime and their equivalent of the Ministry for Transport. Following the carnage that took place during the early stages of the event four years ago, the event was nearly banned (not for the first time). After considerable negotiation the French authorities agreed that the event could be staged again but the limit on entries would have an absolutely ceiling of 55. Thankfully in the last few days they have raised this limit to 60 allowing Ian Munslow to take part.