Time to Race!
The first race of the 2023 Season starts today. Jane and I are in Lorient, France ready to participate in the Plastimo Lorient Mini, a 250nm double-handed race.
New this year, it is a requirement that each team per boat must be made up of one female and one male. There will be 85 Classe Minis on the starting line today, a mixture of prototypes and series boats.
The Plastimo Lorient Mini is the first race of the Atlantic Classe Mini 6.50 racing season and is serving up some very interesting sailing conditions. Due to a low pressure system that traversed over the Atlantic and into France last night, the system created and sustained a large sea state with high winds. With another large low pressure system expected to make landfall on Friday, it too is bringing wind speeds in the mid to high 30 knots (with gusts in the 40s) along with 8-11 ft seas. Due to this forecast, the race organizers have decided to move the start to 1000 Thursday 13 April from the previously scheduled 1700 start and change the course. The course will now start with a 50nm race out from the coast and back with the possibility of a second race starting on Saturday (the second start is still TBD).
TODAY the fleet of 85 mixed gender teams will take off on a fairly quick 50 nm coastal race. Our routing is currently showing this will take us about 8 hours to complete, just in time to make it back to the pontoon for a hot dinner and a nice rest at the airbnb for the night. While not the original plan for this offshore race, we will certainly make the most of this sprint. The goal is to complete the race (must complete one race the year of the Mini Transat!) and focus on performance while surrounded by such a large fleet.
To follow us along, please click the link below!
https://solusport.solustop.com/miniplastimo/carto
We appreciate everyone's continued support and are proud to be representing the US, as the only Americans in this fleet. Huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated! Were are making great progress on the GoFundMe page and through the U.S. Patriot Sailing website, but still need more help. Remember: You can now donate directly through the U.S. Patriot Sailing team website! Check it out here https://www.uspatriotsailing.org/page-18221 , click DONATE, and make sure to check the box for “PGN’s Terminal Leave -Mini Transat”.
