Preparing for the mini-transat: "Unfinished Business" - a thousand miles in the Mediterranean alone

The countless uncertainties are as much a part of the Mini-Transat as storms and lulls, but one thing is certain: after the race is before the race. As soon as the last offshore regatta is over - in which Melwin Fink sensationally finished third in the series boat classification in autumn 2021 - preparations begin for the next edition of the Mini 6.50 endurance test, which takes place every two years.

Boats change hands, training plans are written, miles are collected and the hope is that it will be enough for one of the coveted starting places in the end. There are usually 84, sometimes more - and always too few for everyone who wants to be there.

On course for the Atlantic in a tried and tested boat

One of them is Lisa Berger, who set off on her thousand nautical mile qualifying race today. After the 2021 Transat, the Austrian took over the boat from Christian Kargl, who is the only Austrian to have completed the race so far - twice. Berger rechristened the "Maxi 650" from 2019 as "Mojo" and has already raced in the mini Mediterranean regatta "Solo Med" this season. On the first leg from Barcelona to Mallorca, she sailed to 13th place out of 30 boats, but had to abandon the second leg due to a broken forestay card - a bitter pill to swallow for the 32-year-old mini sailor.

She now has a thousand miles of sailing alone through the western Mediterranean ahead of her. From Barcelona, where the regatta ended, she will first set her course towards the Golfe du Lion and the Italian coast, then back towards Corsica and Mallorca until Barcelona is in front of her bow again.

Excited about the new experiment

"I'm excited," says Berger in an interview with YACHT online shortly before setting sail. "I've never travelled this long alone before." She had already made her first attempt at a qualification race in 2020, but had to abort after five hundred nautical miles north of Mallorca. A collision with a tree trunk and roots in the water caused a crack in the bow, which meant she was unable to continue sailing. "In this respect, this qualifier is unfinished business for me," says Berger.

The thousand-mile solo trip is one of several criteria that skippers must fulfil to qualify for the Mini-Transat. It is also a prerequisite for participation in the Azores race in July. Two course variants are specified by the Classe Mini class association: one in the Mediterranean and one in the Atlantic. However, other routes can also be sailed on request.

Lisa Berger estimates that she will be travelling for a good ten days. She has respect for the Mediterranean weather in April. "Worrying about the mistral is definitely an issue," she says, "which is why I'm trying to leave the Golfe du Lion behind me as quickly as possible." Unlike the mini-transat across the Atlantic, however, the sailors are allowed to have their mobile phones with them during the qualifier and use them to receive weather reports or get advice - an option that Berger intends to make use of.

Two soloists on course for qualification

A little bit of regatta fever could already arise on this long solo trip: Two days before Berger, on Sunday, the German mini skipper Axel Solbach has already set sail for his qualifying race in Barcelona. Solbach sails a Pogo from 2003, one of the older Minis with the number 473 ("Dopamini"). He also started in the Solo Med in April and finished 24th and 19th on the two legs.

"I hope to make up some distance on him along the way," says Berger. Together with the German, she waited for a suitable weather window to set off - she originally wanted to start on Sunday too. But she had to wait for a replacement part - the new wind sensor only arrived on Monday. It is now installed and the skipper is on her way.

Lisa Berger's solo cruise can be in their tracker (click).