A Raison-Maxi from 2019 has won the Mini-Transat in the series boat category. Frenchman Paul Cousin completed the race in 14 days, 23 hours, 39 minutes and 24 seconds. The winner left 3304.74 nautical miles actually sailed in his stern water on the theoretical 2606.38 nautical mile course. He mastered this with an average speed of 9.2 knots.
The top ten series boats: only Raison-Maxis
Paul Cousin crossed the finish line a good five and a half hours ahead of Quentin Mocudet on "Saveurs et Delices". Amaury Guerin brought "Groupe Satov" to the finish line three quarters of an hour after Mocudet and completed the all-French podium. After the Swiss victory coup by proto sailor Mathis Bourgnon on Saturday, the top ten decisions in the second Mini-Transat division have now also been made.
In the meantime, after the Winners' party for the proto-sailors on Saturday and the Sensational victory for Mathis Bourgnon the first ten soloists at the finish. The most striking phenomenon: all ten boats are Raison-Maxis! Paul Cousin won the race on "AFP - Biocombustibles" with a Raison-Maxi from 2019, followed by Quentin Mocudet on "Saveurs et Delices" (2019) and Amaury Guerin on "Groupe Satov" (2020).
The best non-Frenchman in the series boats was Joshua Schopfer from Switzerland, who brought his 2021 Raison-Maxi "Mingulay" home in fifth place. The most successful soloist was Alicia Anna Pfyffer from Altishofen, who came into the race via crowd-funding and achieved a real coup with tenth place. She also sailed a Raison-Maxi with "Wallabys" (2022). Only the second female skipper in the mini-transat series boat classification was able to break the raison-maxi dominance in eleventh place with "Eki". After a strong performance with a D'Ubaldo WIP 650, the Italian skipper scratched her way into the Raison top ten.
Serial winner in the Mini-Transat: Paul Cousin
Paul Cousin could only rave about his boat at the finish, saying about the condition of the six-year-old Mini: "I have a torn spinnaker, that's all. To be honest, it's in top condition: the boat has no problems. Now I have to look under the boat and check that everything is in order."
Cousin said after crossing the finish line in Saint-François on Guadeloupe: "There are a lot of emotions that you don't expect. I'm very happy to have crossed the finish line in first place. I'd been expecting it for a few days given the standings, but you always think of the worst-case scenario to play it safe." Commenting on his race, the Frenchman said: "I think I drove a good race, I'm happy with myself. I've never sailed so well in an ocean race. It was close, you wanted to win at all costs: not sleeping, not eating, going at the same pace as in a regatta."
The only thing he was missing on the Atlantic was "the overview of the game - knowing who was doing what". The race was "a solo until the end". You shouldn't let yourself go crazy, said Paul Cousin, who admitted that he struggled with the communication that is traditionally not allowed in the Mini-Transat: "It's a mental challenge. In the season races you always have the AIS. You can see your rivals. Here you can't see anyone."
Mini-Transat: Lenz still in the top fifteen?
His key to success? Paul Cousin said: "You can't give up. It's a pretty special transatlantic regatta because the first leg was cancelled. The first leg went well, but I wasn't particularly happy with myself. I made some mistakes - especially downwind - which I was able to correct on the second leg."
Things went differently for Hendrink Lenz from Düsseldorf, who still had around 60 nautical miles to go on the morning of 10 November and attacked Pierrick Evenou, who was ahead of him. The German soloist crossed the finish line off Saint-François in sixteenth place, falling short of his own hopes. Lenz was third in the mini-transat when the first stage was abandoned, but the first section will not be counted this year following the cancellation.
Hendrik Lenz's minimum target was a place in the top ten. The season's results had given him and his fans hope of a top result in the mini-transat series boats. The Lenz report after crossing the finish line will show what hurdles stood in his way as he made the leap across the Atlantic.
Let's get after it: David and Huuk under emergency rigging
The German-French sailors Victor David and Thiemo Huuk were brutally hit on their mini-Transat premiere: both sailed towards the finish under emergency rigging after breaking their masts. Victor David still had 520 nautical miles to go on his Pogo "Ich bin en Solitaire" on Monday morning, Thiemo Huuk still had 885 on "Europe". Click here to track the La Boulangère Mini-Transat.
