Much of what Hendrik Lenz before his first mini start on 21 September actually came true on the first leg to Santa Cruz de La Palma, which started on Sunday. There was this sentence: "From 24, 25 knots, we'll blow everything." With this statement, the 31-year-old smiled as he weighed up the pros and cons of his Vector Mini and summed up one of his favourite aspects. It was precisely this that was extremely helpful for the small boats in the crisp opening phase of the big race.
Attack on the podium in the mini-transat
From a top 20 start Hendrik Lenz has launched a serious attack on the podium after three nights at sea with one of the best average speeds in the series boats. On the night of 24 September, Lenz was already in third place among the series boats. Early on Wednesday morning, the "Monoka" skipper was still battling for third place, almost level with Deniz Bagci on "Sonmez Global". Less than half a nautical mile separated the German and the Turk.
Hendrik Lenz had positioned himself to his "Flyer" on the outer lane west of the mooring line in the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma. Bagci was almost on the same course, but a little to the east of Lenz across from the Portuguese to the south. Both were chasing the series leader Amaury Guerin on "Groupe Satov", who was a good 30 nautical miles ahead, and Paul Cousin on "AFP - Biocombustibles", who was around 20 nautical miles ahead of them. The fast Frenchmen thus continue to fulfil their role as favourites.
Before the start of the race, Hendrik Lenz said of Amaury Guerin and Paul Cousin: "Both are sailing their Raison-Maxis at the limit." Hendrik Lenz also stated before the start of the race that he believes Amaury Guerin in particular is capable of "anything" over long distances. The picture that the German Vector soloist had already painted in words many weeks ago has become reality.
One Swiss woman in the top ten
This also applies to Lenz's Vector companion, training partner and friend Nicolo Gamenara. In sixth place, the Italian showed that he was also able to coax some speed out of his boat in the tight conditions at the start. Alicia de Pfyffer has achieved a strikingly strong position as the most successful soloist in the series boats to date. Born in Zimbabwe and raised in Tarifa, the Swiss woman grew up on and with the sea. In the long term, she has her eye on the Vendée Globe.
Alicia de Pfyffer already has more than 35,000 nautical miles under her belt as a crew member on maxi yachts. She had sailed more than 8,000 nautical miles in the Figaro Circuit as co-skipper to Eddouard Golbery in 2023 before deciding to take part in the mini-transat and qualifying. She finally made it to the starting line with the help of a crowd-funding campaign. Now Alicia de Pfyffer is realising her dream of the Mini-Transat on her maxi "Wallaby", sailing to an impressive eighth place and the best woman in the top ten of the series boats on Wednesday morning.
For the proto-sailors, however, it is No surprise that foiling favourite Benoït Marie gallops ahead of the field. The "Nicomatic - Petit Bateau" skipper held a lead of just under 30 nautical miles over Alexandre Demange from Team DMG Mori Sailing Academy on Wednesday morning. The Swiss Felix Oberle on "Big Bounce - Beltrona" has moved further ahead and has now taken third place.
Attack by Thaïs: Jean Le Cam's daughter shines
Thaïs Le Cam impresses as the best proto soloist on "Frérots Ad", just 60 nautical miles behind Benoït Marie in fourth place. In her third Mini season, the daughter of Vendée Globe veteran Jean Le Cam, who joined the Mini class at the age of 28, is putting the pedal to the metal on her Raison design.
For others, however, the race is already over. Thomas Biasse and Thomas Hamparian have lost their masts. Torn spinnakers, broken bowsprits, ripped off jibs, defective autopilots - the list of early damage after the pressurised opening conditions is long. It emphasises the high sporting pace of this 25th edition of the La Boulangère Mini-Transat.
Some soloists also had to contend with seasickness in the squalls and thunderstorms of the opening stage on the course from Les Sables-d'Olonne to Santa Cruz de La Palma. The majority of them will only be able to comment on their experiences after crossing the finish line of leg one, as the sailors are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world during the mini-transat.
Mini-Transat: Series boat bests heat up Protos
By early Wednesday morning, the fastest Minis had already passed Porto just off the Portuguese coast and around 550 nautical miles to the Cape Verde Islands. Remarkably, series boat leader Amaury Guerin was hot on the heels of proto high-flyer Benoït Marie, who was considered unbeatable. Click here for the tracker, which is updated every four hours.
It will be interesting to see whether the winds, which are expected to ease towards the end of the leg, have what it takes to shake up the previous pecking order. Benoït Marie still had around 790 nautical miles to go to Santa Cruz de La Palma in the early morning of 24 September. The fastest series boat sailor, Amaury Guerin, still had 812 nautical miles to go at the same time. This meant that he was travelling faster than the second-best proto-sailor Alexandre Demange at the time.
