Mini-Fastnet After Action Report
600 nm of double handed racing across the English Channel and Celtic Sea
[Note: A close shot of 837 at 50:30 and the start at 55:00]
Early on the morning of Sunday, 12 June, we woke up for a quick breakfast and final check of the weather. At 0530 we turned in our phones to the race organization and by 0600 ready for a tow out of the harbor. It was a quick departure for such a large fleet. There was a 0800 planned start for favorable current out of the Bay of Douarnenez.
Leaving the dock just after sunrise on Sunday morning
Yannick Lemonnier and I were prepared for a 600 nautical mile (nm), double handed and unassisted, race from France to Ireland and back with a fleet of 85 boats. We were to depart Douarnenez, cross the English Channel, pass between the Isles of Scilly and Land’s End of England, cross the Celtic Sea, round Ireland’s Fastnet rock and Lighthouse, then sail back to Douarnenez.
600 nm Mini-Fastnet Course: red areas are restricted Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS) reserved for large ships to control the flow of traffic.
That morning we were ready. By now I had sailed over 4,000 nm on Terminal Leave, fully qualified for the Mini Transat, and this was my seventh race between two seasons. Yannick, my co-skipper, was more than prepared as well. He had sailed on the boat twice now and spent countless days in between helping improve the boats performance. I cannot thank him enough for his dedication and support to my campaign.
Yannick is the owner of Quantum Ireland sail loft (West Sails) located in Galway and is an accomplished sailor. Originally from France, he has lived in Ireland for the past few decades. It is worth sharing a snapshot of his bio here:
Yannick has sailed in excess of 90,000 miles, mostly single or double handed and has competed in 5 “Solitaire du Figaro, 2 transatlantic race double handed “AG2R”, won 2 French National Student Match-racing championships, won French National Student Cruiser/Racer titles, Won twice the Round Ireland Race double handed, (setting a double handed record). Yannick has competed in many “Tour Voile”, Spi Ouest France, Cowes Week (TP52), Fastnet Race double handed, and 4 Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Races.
Yannick also completed the 2021 Mini Transat on his proto and has years of experience with the Classe Mini. His experience and local knowledge of the waters would prove extremely valuable.
Rigging the boat early on the morning of the race
Going into the Mini-Fastnet race it was forecasted to be light and variable winds with periods of rain. Yannick moved his flight right a few days, and we added more food and water to the boat.
The fleet is a mix between series (production) type boats that are of fiberglass construction, like Terminal Leave, and prototype (proto) minis made of carbon fiber with canting keels and taller masts. The two different kinds of boats are scored separately, but all start together.
After a brief postponement (delay) for boats late getting to the starting area due to light winds, the race went into the starting sequence around 0815 that Sunday morning. The starting line was positioned for a starboard tack reach with the code 0. A few minutes before the start the wind started to decrease. We positioned 837 on the right-hand side of the line towards the race committee boat. Most of the fleet positioned themselves on the race committee third of the line so the pile up formed in slow motion.
Click HERE to watch the start (fast forward to 55 minutes)
One of the challenges with starting by the race committee boat while on a reach is making sure not to foul the boats to leeward. This starboard layline is at a much larger angle and the last thing you want to do is foul a boat, be over early, or get forced out and circle around.
As you can see the video, we slowly sailed in, found a hole, and maneuver the boat to keep clear. We dropped the jib briefly to slow down, but once the gun went off we were only a couple boat lengths below the line. This allowed us to head up right after the start, clear our air, and hoist the code 0. For such a large fleet, we were in an excellent spot on the correct side of the course and towards the front of the pack.
Start of the Mini-Fastnet Race
Shortly after the start
The racing was close. Every tenth of a knot of boat speed mattered. With the code 0 flying in light air, it was all about keeping your air clear, sails trimmed perfectly, and weight forward in the boat.
Within the first thirty minutes, the fleet began to spread out. You can see how the tracker image looks compared to the picture (both below). I also wanted to call this image out from the live video recording, because it shows what the newest Classe Minis look like now. 1046 is a brand-new prototype with a scow bow design. This wider area provides significantly more volume in the bow which allows the boats to keep more sail area hoisted in higher winds and leads to more boat speed. As a proto, this boat is also made entirely of carbon fiber, with a canting keel, dagger boards, lifting rudders, a longer bow sprit , and water ballast.
This first leg was 10 nm leading out the Bay of Douarnenez. The code 0 was flying for most of it and briefly hoisted the A3 reaching spinnaker for a few minutes in the middle to work back down towards the first mark.
Rounding the first mark in approximately 22nd place (based on the tracker) felt good and was encouraging. Boats were only separated by a few meters and places were frequently swapped. The next leg was 13 nm of sailing upwind in open water and just off the coast. Yannick and I had Terminal Leave dialed in on the long starboard tack. We were sailing higher and faster than the competition around us. Boat by boat we starting moving up.
That afternoon we sailed through a small stretch of water about eight miles long and less than two miles wide at its narrowest point. The wind increased to 15 kts, we had mostly sunny skies, and there was favorable current pushing us through. It was wonderful sailing conditions and Terminal Leave remained fast. With wind against the tide, however, the deeper water in the channel became very choppy with some serious waves. The minis were tossed around in all directions as they shot through this cut. After each tack, boats were changing position on the leaderboard based on how much time they could spend in the deeper water with more current.
Terminal Leave in 11th place! (Series is blue, Protos in Gold)
By 1545, we were starting to head offshore with the mainland to our east and the island of Ushant (Ouessant in French) to our west. This island is the farthest west part of France and marks the entrance to the English Channel. The area is known for fierce sea conditions with the wind and tide. Sitting in 11th place and the leaders less than 2 nm away (in visual range), we were feeling great! After 35 nm of racing, we were in the top pack! However, we knew there was still a long way to go…
Keep an eye out for part 2 of this blog post!
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This racing is only possible with donations from supporters. Want to help my mission to race in the 2023 Mini Transat to raise awareness for U.S. Patriot Sailing? Please donate through my GoFundMe page here: https://gofund.me/dc565273
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