Change of course for the Mini Transat

All new for the 2013 edition of the singlehanded race

The organisers and route of the next two Mini Transats are to change, it was announced at the Salon Nautique today in Paris.

Proposals have been put to tender this year and following a board meeting of the Classe MIni yesterday, it was Douarnenez-Courses which has been selected to organise the Mini-Transat in 2013 and 2015. This represents a bold change of direction following the six editions of the race having been run by Grand Pavois Organisation in La Rochelle with a course running to Salvador de Bahia.

After a long and careful study of the proposals, the board had a difficult choice searching in them a respect for the values ​​of the race.

"By choosing Douarnenez-Courses, we're choosing an alternative with a new team and new route," said Olivier Avram, President of the Classe Mini. "Not that the work done by GPO since 2001 does not meet the expectations of the Classe Mini, but the time for change has probably come."

Classe Mini prasies the efforts of the Grand Pavois Organisation, which has run their class' premier event for the last decade.

And so, the 19th Mini-Transat to take place in 2013 will start from Douarnenez on a more classic course across the Atlantic to Pointe-à Pitre, Guadeloupe, with a stopover in the Canary Islands.