The Transat - Launches And Qualifications

In France winter refit work is drawing to a close for the 60ft trimaran teams with their first grand prix of the season looming on 29 April-2 May in La Trinite-sur-Mer, Brittany. Around this time the boats will also have to complete a 1,000 mile qualification passage for The Transat.

Twelve of the ORMA 60 multihulls are entered in The Transat and aside from their preparations to get ready and testing any new technology added over the winter, the boats are also gearing up to go single-handed offshore racing again. The Transat in June will be their first single-handed race since the Route du Rhum in November 2002. No one wants a repeat of the devastation seen in that race when hurricane-force winds caused all but three of the 18 ORMA 60 starters to retire.

In the Route du Rhum competitors usually encounter some bad weather due to the start being in northern Europe in the depth of winter, but otherwise the rest of the race is on a more pleasant trade wind route. In contrast, The Transat has such a fierce reputation as its course is upwind against the prevailing winds and takes the boats much further north. It is colder, there is the possibility of encountering icebergs drifting south on the Labrador Current and the probability is high that somewhere between the start and finish they will have to tackle gale force headwinds. To ensure that the competitors are adequately prepared to take on this challenge all must complete a qualifier.

Those who have qualified to date are American Kip Stone on his 50' monohull Artforms and Frenchman Marc Thiercelin on his Open 60 Pro-Form.

Launched this week has been the new Gitana XI. As of this year, Gitana will be the only two boat team. Two boat teams are a feature of America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race elite level sailing allowing for fast lane development of gear and, in particular, sails and in acquiring their second boat the Gitana team are taking the ORMA class to a new level. The Gitana Racing Team acquired the successful van Peteghem Prevost design Belgacom previously skippered by Jean-Luc Nelias last December. Since then the boat has been refitted and repainted in the Gitana team colours and on Tuesday this week was formally renamed Gitana XI. The boat is to be skippered by Lionel Lemonchois in The Transat, while former Biscuits la Trinitaine skipper Marc Guillemot will take over the helm of Gitana X.

2003 ORMA 60 World Champion, Franck Cammas, returned his winning multihull back to the water last week in Lorient. Although Cammas had a new multihull constructed over the winter, the team will be using the existing Groupama to race in The Transat and the following solo Quebec-St Malo race.

SECOND EDITION : 1964

The second OSTAR in 1964 was the launch pad for the most influential figures in the history of single-handed sailing, the development of sailing as a sport in France and in offshore race boat design. In 1960 Francis Chichester had managed the crossing in 40 days, 32 year-old French naval lieutenant Eric Tabarly won the 1964 race taking just 27 days aboard his 44ft ketch Pen Duick II.

Publicity from the first OSTAR turned the second race into a media circus
with a number of competitors signed up by national newspapers. Tabarly, the only Frenchman in the race, was the sailor's favourite for the race with the advantage of sailing the largest boat and only one purpose-built for the event. He had also carried out an in depth study of the weather and
physically was very fit. Arriving in Newport, Rhode Island he had no prior
knowledge of his win - he had not used his radio during the race - and almost as a passing comment let slip that his self-steering system had only worked for the first 8 days of the 27 days it took him to complete the course.

At a depressed time in France, Tabarly became an overnight hero and for his endeavour was presented with his country's highest honour, the Legion
d'Honneur by President de Gaulle. Tabarly went on to inspire several
generations of French sailors many of whom sailed with him, among them
Philippe Poupon, winner of the 1988 race and his reach extends to contempary sailors in the current fleet for The Transat, such as Michel Desjoyeaux, Roland Jourdain and Jean le Cam, all of whom sailed round the world with him. France's present dominance in single-handed offshore racing probably would not exist where it not for this great man, who returned to win the OSTAR again in 1976.