Mini Transat - Douarnenez To Sada Leg Is Abandoned

• Conditions have deteriorated on the tip of Galicia
• Conditions are challenging for the organizers
• A decision motivated primarily by the safety of the competitors

Without doubt the Bay of Biscay wins this year. Although the Mini Transat fleet had eaten up nearly two-thirds of the Bay of Biscay, the grib files are showing a further deterioration in conditions compared to those expected at the time of the start. At 19.00 tonight the Race Director took the decision to cancel the first leg to allow competitors to reach port safely.

Several parameters were involved in the final decision. First was the concern to preserve the security of the slower competitors (who are often also the least experienced), during the course of the morning the Race Director advised those boats who were still a long way from the finish line to proceed south towards the Cantabrian coast and Gijon where conditions should be much more manageable.

In doing so, nearly forty competitors immediately decided to proceed to the Asturian port. Under these conditions the sporting fairness of the leg might be undermined. Moreover, although the leading prototypes were almost assured of reaching Sada before the arrival of bad weather, the situation was much more critical for the group leading the series boats, which were located about 90 miles from the entrance to the Sada estuary at 16.00.

Once all boats are safe in the Cantabrian ports, the organization will take the most appropriate measures to provide a new start to Lanzarote at the first available opportunity.

NOTE TO READERS

Dates
Prologue "Tout commence en Finistère" October 6, 2013.
Start from Douarnenez originally planned for October 13, 2013 at 13.00. Departure postponed due to severe weather conditions on the race course.
Start from Canary Islands November 9, 2013. Arrival in Guadeloupe between 23 and 30 November 2013.

Douarnenez Courses: organizer of the Mini Transat 2013 and 2015
All associations have mobilized Douarnenez with the support of local and regional authorities under the aegis of Douarnenez Courses: the yacht clubs, Douarnenez and Société des Régates de Douarnenez, the Winches club organizers for many years of Mini races with the Mini Fastnet and Trophy Marie-Agnès Péron as torchbearers, but also the association of the Fêtes Maritimes, the Atlantic Yacht Club, the Fédération Maritime and others who are preparing for fifteen days prior to departure, a festival celebrating the sea and the sailors. Competitors will be welcomed into the Port-Rhu a real jewel in the heart of the city.

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