The 40th Transat 6,50, also known as Mini Transat, went into its second round: On November 1, 2017, the 84 participating sailors started the second leg of the race and left Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In the following two weeks, they cross the Atlantic Ocean in order to reach their destination in Le Marin in Martinique after 2,900 miles. The winners of the first leg are Ian Lipinski (protos), who crossed the finish line with a lead of only 113 seconds, and Valentin Gautier (series-minis).
Head-to-head races and being in a calm during the first leg of the Mini Transat
After Léopold-Léger had been at the lead with a distance of 30 nautical miles for three days, he was already regarded as the winner of the first leg. However, this changed abruptly when Ian Lipinski took advantage of the northeastern trade wind and was able to overtake Léopold-Léger. With a lead of only 113 seconds, Lipinski was the first to reach the finish line after nine days, 23 hours and 22 minutes of the race, and is – together with his boat "Griffon.fr"– the winner of the Mini Transat‘s first leg.
A similar situation happened in the series-minis: Clarisse Crémer, who had set on an eastern course, fell back from the first to the eleventh place due to a lull, and was partly unable to go faster than 1.1 knots. In the end, she was placed third. Valentin Gautier was the first to reach the finish line in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
During the second leg of the Mini Transat, the sailors cross the Atlantic Ocean to Martinique
On November 1, the sailors set off for the second leg of the Mini Transat. In the next 15 to 20 days, they will cross the Atlantic Ocean and will reach their destination at Le Marin in Martinique after 2,900 miles. Due to a storm front between the Bahamas and the Azores, it was necessary to divert the route towards Cape Verde in order to go past the disturbances at the south.
The two winners of the first leg, Lipinski and Gautier, will have a hard time while trying to keep their tight lead. However, Lipinski was able to extend his lead in the protos on 30 miles on the third day of the race. Valentin Gautier has a gap of 36 miles and is currently in the 9th place.