Before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, France's best and their international challengers have gathered in Le Havre's Bassin Paul Vatine in the northern French region of Normandy. The starting gun for the 15th edition of the world's longest two-handed race across the Atlantic will be fired here at 13:27 on 7 November. For the first time this year, the race will head to Fort-de-France in Martinique. However, the courses for the four classes will be of different lengths: the shortest course will be completed by the Class40 fleet with 4600 nautical miles, while the longest course will be tackled by the Ultime projectiles with around 7500 nautical miles. This means that the boats will be challenged according to their speed potential and the final in the Caribbean will be somewhat more compact. Nevertheless, the race is expected to last between 14 and 23 days for the entire field.
First organised in 1993, the transatlantic race is one of the great French classics and has always been held in odd-numbered years since its premiere. Monohull yachts (Class40 and Imocas) and multihulls (Ultimes, Ocean Fifties) are invited to make the leap across the pond. This year, all the big names in the offshore scene have mobilised for the event. The hosts' superstars include Vendée Globe winners Yannick Bestaven, Armel Le Cléac'h and François Gabart as well as America's Cup sailor Franck Cammas and Volvo Ocean Race winner Charles Caudrelier.
The Imoca field: Vendée Globe reloaded
One of the best-known international starters is the Brit Samantha Davies, who is taking her leave of her Imoca "Initiatives Cœur" for her seventh Transat Jacques Vabre participation with Nicolas Lunven at her side, as she will then be focussing on her new build. The German-French Isabelle Joschke has also found a strong sailing partner in Fabien Delahaye on "Macsf". The Davies/Lunven and Joschke/Delahaye duos are two of five mixed teams in the Imoca class with a total of 22 boats in the race.
Swiss rider Justine Mettraux and top British navigator Simon "Sifi" Fisher ("11th Hour Racing Team - Alaka'I") are also among the favourites. Eric Tabarly's daughter Marie Tabarly and Louis Duc ("Kostum - Lantana Paysage") and Alexia Barrier and Manuel Cousin ("Groupe Setin - 4MyPlanet") will also be competing in the mixed doubles. The top favourites in the Imoca class are Charlie Dalin and Paul Meilhat on "Apivia". However, Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt on "Charal", Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière on "LinkedOut" and several other top contenders are also expected to be in contention for the podium places.
The Class40 fleet: favourites in series
Picking the favourites in the Class40 is more difficult than in the Imocas. According to sailors and experts, up to 15 of the 45 teams in total are in contention for a podium place. These include Mini-Transat winner Ian Lipinski with Julien Pulvé on "Crédit Mutuel" as well as Antoine Carpentier and Pablo Santurde on "Redman" as leaders of the Class40 season ranking, Axel Tréhin and Frédéric from the Rescue Ocean Project as winners of the spring Normandy Channel Race and many more. With Amélie Grassi and circumnavigator Marie Riou on "La Boulangere Bio", Julia and Jeanne Courtois on "Saint James - Biscuiterie de L'Abbaye") and Morgane Ursault-Poupon with Julia Virat on "UP Sailing Unis Pour La Planète", three all-female crews will also be racing in the Class40 alongside three mixed teams.
Ocean Fifties and Ultimes: lots of stars, no women
With smaller fields, but larger and more spectacular boats, seven Ocean Fifty trimarans and five Ultime giants complete the Transatlantic fleet. It is striking that none of the 14 women taking part in this year's Transat Jacques Vabre are competing in either of these two divisions. The Ultimes in particular are in the international spotlight as state-of-the-art high-tech racing yachts. But there is also the question of whether they will be able to bring their projectiles, built to the limits and beyond, across the Atlantic without technical setbacks.
The Ultime tamers Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier on "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild", Armel le Cléac'h and Kevin Escoffier on "Banque Populaire XI", François Gabart and Tom Laperche on "SVR - Lazartigue", Thomas Coville and Thomas Rouxel on "Sodebo Ultim 3" and Yves Le Blevec and Anthony Marchand on "Actual Ultim 3" are in demand. Co-skipper Charles Caudrelier had this to say about the soul of double-handed sailing on the giants of the seas: "It's very simple in doubles - 90 per cent of the time you're sailing solo. When one is asleep, the other pushes the boat forwards." His team-mate Franck Cammas says: "It won't be a journey into the unknown for our competitors. We've already trained together. We all have nice boats. In terms of speed, nobody can dominate outrageously."
What remains to be seen. Click here for the race homepage with all the latest information (please click!). The start will be broadcast live on Sunday. German fans can follow the action on YouTube and elsewhere.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
