La Boulangère Mini Transat: Top riders in command, competitors shaken by breakage
Max Gasser
· 06.11.2023
For five days, the sailors in the 24th edition of the La Boulangère Mini Transat had been sailing with a north-easterly wind before a radical shift occurred last night. The soloists further north in the field are the main beneficiaries of the south-easterly current that now prevails. They are making significantly more speed on a direct course towards Guadeloupe with a better angle. The tension in the classification thus remains high, as the southern route had previously had the advantage.
The first to benefit from this wind shift were Federico Waksman, the leader of the Protos, and Carlos Manera, currently in second position and on course for overall victory. However, with the third-placed Frenchwoman Marie Gendron, the first and only woman in the top ten, sailing a very strong race, the closest competition is positioned over 150 miles to the south of them. Due to the strategic advantage of the northern group, their current gap of 94 nautical miles to first place is therefore likely to widen further.
Due to technical problems, it will also be difficult for many to attack the top again. The conditions with several squalls a day are demanding and put a strain on the equipment. Among other things, there are frequent sunshots. At best, everything remains undamaged, but the bowsprit can also break and the cloth tear. Among others, Uros Krusevac, who stormed to the front with a very old design, lost his bowsprit. Frenchman Gaby Bucau in seventh place is also handicapped not only by a broken rudder, but also by a broken bowsprit. The same fate also befell Victor Mathieu, who is now in tenth place.
Mini-Transat 2023: Anything left for Carolin Boule?
"In the immediate future, the aim of the game is above all to move quickly and make the most of this beautiful trade wind, which is well established," surmises Christian Dumard, the event's weather consultant. He also speaks of almost perfect conditions. Carolin Boule with the only full-foiler in the field is also currently benefiting from these conditions. She is currently the fastest in the field - for more than four hours she has been logging over 13 knots of boat speed. This means she is currently making up a lot of ground after her technical problems shortly after the start, but is still lagging behind expectations in 13th place.
Similar to Waksman and Manera in the Protos, the leader of the series standings, Luca Rosetti, is almost ideally positioned for the remaining 1,000 miles. He is also likely to make up further ground, although the field is much more compact. Among others, Swiss rider Felix Oberle still has a chance of winning the stage; he is currently in third place. However, the competition in both classes still has hopes for the final spurt on the approach to the finish, when the cards could be reshuffled. Meanwhile, as on the first stage, Austria's Lisa Berger is still not getting going and is in 49th place.
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Max Gasser
Editor Test & Technology
