Worldwide horizons
Out of the 70 solo sailors of Les Sables – The Azores – Les sables race, whose start will be on Sunday, July 30th at 1.02 pm local time, more than a third come from foreign countries, even from the antipodes. A tendency that have been increasing with the years since the creation of the Minis in 1977.
Back to the sources, or globalization phenomenon ? When, in 1977, a British man, Bob Salmon created the Mini-Transat, there were already a Polish, a Spanish, two British, a German, a Belgian, a lot of French….out of 23 boats at the start. With the different editions and the Mini Races that have filled out the Mini circuit thanks to Jean-Luc Garnier as soon as 1984, the phenomenon have snowballed and solo sailors now come from Czech Republic, United-States, Sweden, Israel, Brazil, Cape Verde, Finland, Canada, New-Zealand… because the size of this 6,50 metres boats, the limited cost to participate, the human dimension, the solo ocean course, attract sailors from all other the world.
On the starting line, on Sunday, July 30th at 1.02 pm local time, there will be twenty-four foreigners from fourteen different nations : two Australian, three Spanish, two British, one Polish, two Slovenian, three German, two American, two Belgian, two Czech, one Singapore girl, one Portuguese and a Swiss. But they had to be motivated to arrive to the pontoon in Les Sables d’Olonne, because, even if it is not a fighting course, the candidates to the Ocean have anyway to spend three months or more preparing their machine, qualify, test their solo abilities before they can hope to conquer the world. The word of mouth, the nautical magazines, internet now have led to vocations. “I come from Singapore where I was sailing on Mumm 30 and Farr 40, very technical crew mono-hulls. A friend of mine talked to me about these boats : I went to La Rochelle and I’ve found out the Minis… I loved the atmosphere, because all the skippers are like a big family. I have chosen a production boat built in Spain for the race Les Sables – The Azores – Les Sables in order to prepare next Mini-Transat because last year, everything was new for me : boats, people, solo racing, the Ocean…” tells us Elaine Chua.
For the Australian, Mark Bloom, everything started with a round around the world trip with his parents : When arriving in Europe, he discovered these mini sea rockets, then has decided to start the adventure in the Mediterranean Sea with the «Course des Lions » in 2005. “As I like competition, I’ve decided to invest myself in this category that allows us to sail far and single-handed. I have raced a first race in The Mediterranean sea last year and I’ve bought a prototype this year. My experience is above all on Dinghies and it is the first time I will go to the Azores. I work as a merchant marine officer so I know the sea and I often see sailboats crossing. This time, I change parts ! »
More focused on the discovery and the envy of sailing offshore, the Belgian Alexis Hupin has quit the half-tonner he had bought in Croatia during one of his missions for the United Nations to initiate to solo racing, even if he thus has to quit temporarily his wife leaving in Sweden he just married two weeks ago. “Sailing in Mini teaches you more than navigation : one has to be able to fix the electricity, the sails, anything that can break on a boat… And on top of it, you are the manager of the project, have to find financial partners (I did not succeed in that). It is going to be my first important solo crossing, the first time I pass the Cape Finisterre, the first time I visit the Azores. A great discovery ! Obviously, I am a bit anxious to know how it is going to be and I am going to react…”
Different ways for the two inseparable Slovenian who sail together, have been working together for years in the same enterprise, Adria, specialised in camping-cars and caravans. Andraz Mihelin and Kristian Hajnsek first decided to try the mini renting the old prototype of Yves Parlier built in 1985 ! In 2002, they have competed in two official Mini races, then persuaded their employer to let them share their time between racing and projects development. They then have built together two exact sister-ships and launch themselves in the 2005 Mini-Transat, their first Ocean experiment. “Mini races offer a good competition level, with a personal adventure, and all this for not so much money. I have started sailing on big boats in the Adriatic and now that I am older, I am doing Mini… It is a paradox ! Last year, we have finished the Mini-Transat but we lacked some preparation. Thanks to the race Les Sables – The Azores – Les Sables, we are going to progress because it is a mix between sprint and offshore racing. We will have to drive hard the boats as soon as the race starts ! Because, the first time, you do everything for the survival of the project, second time you need results….”
DBo. & AM.
 samedi 29 juillet 2006
|
Fabienne Robin est arrivée
RSS feeds