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Breeze On in Mini Transat

Davy Beaudart’s Flexirub leads a group of Minis departing Lanzarote on October 31.

© 2015 Jacques Vapillon / Mini Transat Îles de Guadeloupe

After one of the longer scheduled stopovers in recent memory, the 20th edition of the Mini Transat — one of the most extreme ocean races on the planet — is back under way, having started on Saturday. After sailing 1,250 miles from Douarnenez, France, to Spain’s Canary Islands in the first leg, the fleet spent nearly a month in Lanzarote before departing for the 2,764-mile second leg to Îles de Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. With skippers immediately stepping out into challenging breeze-on conditions, risk management and finding the right balance between speed and safety was the rule of the day, with many sailing in survival mode while others pushed hard to make up miles lost during the first leg.

Despite vowing to sail conservatively with the chief goal being not to break the boat, the race’s overall leader has unfortunately done just that. Sailing his revolutionary and unique scow-bow prototype, Frenchman Davy Beaudart, winner of the first leg aboard the Raison-designed prototype 865 Flexirub, has retired with a blown medium spinnaker and hull delamination issues on the transom.

Another view of Flexirub shows the proto’s blunt, bowl-shaped bow.

© Jacques Vapillon / Mini Transat Îles de Guadeloupe

While the odds-on favorite limps to port, Frenchman Frédéric Denis has begun to open up a commanding lead on Nautipark, a Marc Lombard-designed prototype, which was abandoned and eventually salvaged during the notorious 2013 race.

Frédéric Denis’ Nautipark, with a more conventional bow shape, has taken over the lead from the stricken Flexirub.

© Jacques Vapillon / Mini Transat Îles de Guadeloupe

In the Series division (production boats), after a shake-up in the rankings during the initial stages of the second leg, Frenchman Ian Lipinski has worked his way into a narrow lead on his Etienne Bertrand-designed Ofcet 6.50 Entreprise(s) Innovante(s). After two years of hard work, training, boat development, and solid results, Lipinski and his 21-ft weapon have solidified themselves as the favorite in the Series division, having already claimed victory during the first leg.

Ian Lipinski on the Ofcet 6.50 Entreprise(s) Innovante(s).

© 2015 Jacques Vapillon / Mini Transat Îles de Guadeloupe

While the breeze has backed off from the start four days ago, the fleet is still making incredible progress, with the leaders reeling off upward of 270 miles made good in a 24-hour period, an incredible pace for solo skippers on 21-ft boats! As the fleet passes the Cape Verde Islands off Africa, the North Atlantic remains quite active, creating a compression of the isobars and an elongated high pressure to the north that should continue to provide consistent easterly trade winds of 15-20 knots, perfect to push the fleet to Îles de Guadeloupe in rapid fashion.
 

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