The 4200 mile single handed race from La Rochelle in France to Bahia in Brazil is known as one of the most extreme single handed races, not only because it is the longest Transatlantic Race but because of the size of the boats competing.
At 21 feet in length, the boats are the smallest in ocean racing (that’s only a little longer than your average family car) and although they are small, they punch well above their weight, using systems similar to their bigger brothers the Open 60’s and Volvo 70’s and are capable of speeds well over 20 knots. The Mini Transat is commonly known as the starting bed for most of the worlds top Solo Sailors, including French ledged Michel Desjoyeaux the last Vendee Globe winner and is also where the top Anglo Solo superstars made their names, including Dame Ellen MacArthur, Sam Davies, Brian Thompson, Andrew Cape, Nick Moloney and Nick Bubb. The Race is widely regarded as one of the toughest in the world, Brian Thompson described it as “Second only to the Vendee Globe in terms of difficulty”. It has this reputation because of the diversity of the conditions encountered, from the notorious high winds of the Bay of Biscay, through to the fickle winds of the doldrums. It is truly a race that only the experienced and well prepared skipper can stand a chance of winning. With only 20 minutes of sleep at a time, sleep deprivation with the resulting physical and mental exhaustion puts huge stress on the competitors as they try to make the best tactical decisions. Hallucinations are common as the skippers try to push their boats and their bodies to the extreme, with one goal in mind, to win.
