One Girls Ocean Challenge

Wednesday November 6, 2013

After reviewing their options and consulting with the competitors, the Mini Transat committee has decided to run the race as a single leg. It will start off Puerto de Sada (cape Finisterre) to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe. The race will start Tuesday November 12.

There will be a gate off Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Competitors who wish to make a quick stop, may put into Puerto Calero to effect any repairs before continuing across the Atlantic. With the gate, the leg becomes 3,600 miles, the longest in Mini history.

This route change raises some logistics challenges. Minis are a very weight sensitive boat. Anything Diane didn’t need for the Douarnenez to Lanzarote leg didn’t get onto the boat. Like many competitors, Diane sent gear onto Lanzarote – food, clothes, batteries, computer, cell phone & everything else needed to cross the Atlantic – or like the cell & computer, get forwarded, in turn, from Lanzarote onto Guadeloupe.

Diane and several competitor friends, pooled their resources into a van for delivery to Lanzarote. Expect Sada is in every regard a hospitable place. I’m just not sure their retailers will have in stock three weeks of long life (freeze dried) foods for a whole fleet of mini sailors. Diane and friends are trying to get their equipment and supplies re-directed to Puerto de Sada.

Actually, Diane and friends are delivering their boats from Gijón to Sada. The background buzzing you hear are logistics parts of the shore teams burning up the telephone lines & eMails, getting things sorted. I’d thank S by name, but she’s probably busy. Cross your fingers they get through to the van before it boards a ferry to the Canary Island.

Speaking of the Gijón to Sada boat delivery, some left last night and the rest of the fleet departed this morning. It’s Tim blogging again today. My post yesterday, understated the conditions. The official weather forecast and routing briefing called for closer to 30 knots, on the nose with 4+ m seas. Heading out into that at 6pm last night, or spending another night in Gijón and heading out in today’s calmer conditions is what split the fleet. Expect most will arrive in Sada  sometime Thursday.

Communications in and out out of Gijón have been challenging. Thus my (Tim’s) blogging although Diane is ashore. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share this very telling detail from Diane’s pre-departure email:

The longest single leg in the Transat in history!  I am seriously stoked for this.  It´s going to be an epic run of endurance.

Go Diane!