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Whilst remaining true to its roots, the Transat Jacques Vabre is breaking new ground. Once again it will be setting off from Le Havre, a town resolutely geared towards the ocean. Innovative by nature, it is offering sailors a new course, which culminates with the double-handed crews traversing the Caribbean Sea. Indeed, with innovation at the forefront, a whole host of entertainment will bring the basins of the Norman city to life throughout the week prior even to the start of this epic race. Added to this, a new plan of action will enable the suspense to be further boosted throughout the race. A homogenous line-up The primary feature of this ninth edition: the homogeneity of the line-up, which blends an IMOCA fleet, where the most honed sailors will compete in what already promises to be an exciting battle, and a Multi50 class which will propose a total of three new multihulls at the start. 1/ IMOCA: foreign legion: the relief guard? This latest edition will be marked by the abundance of the foreign contingent, which has high hopes of adding a French race to their list of successes. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Alex Thomson who, like Mike Golding, is more motivated than ever; along with the two Iberian duos, Alex Pella – Pépé Ribes and Guillermo Altadill – Pachi Ribero, who have demonstrated their ability to adapt to a new steed in what will be their first participation in an IMOCA race. The female sailors will be justly represented by two icons, one from the last Vendée Globe and the other from the Volvo Ocean Race: Samantha Davies who will race with Sydney Gavignet and Dee Caffari, who will this time be joining forces with Brian Thompson. These 6 overseas duos will have to compete against big French names such as Michel Desjoyeaux, double winner of the Vendée Globe and recent winner of the Istanbul Europa race, who will be defending his title alongside Jérémie Beyou, who has two stage victories to his credit from the last Solitaire du Figaro. The latter pairing will once again be up against some of some choice adversaries: Roland Jourdain accompanied by Jean-Luc Nélias, Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier, the duo Armel Le Cléac’h-Nicolas-Troussel as well as Kito De Pavant, who will be teaming up with some promising talent in the shape of the young François Gabart. To further boost the French line-up we have Marc Thiercelin and Christopher Pratt, Sébastien Josse and Jean-François Cuzon, who won the Fastnet 2009 in style, as well as Vincent Riou, who will be handing over his Farr design to Arnaud Boissières. In short, it is evident that, given the similar standard of the line-up, any predictions as to the winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre at this stage would be futile. 2/ Multi50: some welcome spoilsports The growing success of the new Multi50 class is also likely to kick up a storm. Indeed, the undisputed king of the series, Franck-Yves Escoffier, teaming up with Erwan Leroux for this edition, will see his vision for the class to get off the ground become a reality as some new, highly competitive projects come to fruition and provide him with some much needed competition. One such example of this comes with the arrival of Yves le Blévec, who will be forming an explosive duo with Jean Le Cam, both anxious to snatch line honours. Another innovative boat is that of Hervé Cléris, who will be sailing alongside an experienced sailor in the shape of Christophe Dietsch. As such, with three new multihulls and three different architects, the confrontation will involve a steep learning curve for all concerned. A new course to an unusual destination To the north of Panama and the south of Nicaragua, Costa Rica is preparing to play host to the sailors competing in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2009. This Central American country is coloured by its controlled eco-tourism policy, evidence of which comes in the form of the famous Tortuguero National Park, an egg-laying site for sea turtles and a protected sanctuary… With the authorities of Puerto Limon going out of their way to offer the very warmest of welcomes to the competitors of the Transat Jacques Vabre, this new course will take the sailors across the Caribbean Sea, which will require both tactics and the ability to adapt. Any option is possible, with just one single requirement: for monohulls to leave the Dominican Republic to starboard and for the multihulls to leave the island of Barbados to starboard. Such a course means that we are likely to expect a bunched finish off Puerto Limon. In total, the course will represent 4,730 miles for the monohulls and 5,050 for the multihulls. The new additions to 2009 1/ A novel prologue: The Le Havre – Paul Vatine Trophy, Saturday 31st October and Sunday 1st November. The stars of offshore racing, on an equal footing in a genuine nautical stadium and the chance to witness and applaud offshore sailors strutting their stuff up close? For 2009, rather than a prologue beneath the cliffs of Sainte-Adresse, the boats will remain at the disposal of the public’s curiosity in the town itself as the sailors do battle on one designs in the Eure basin, right next to the race village. With commentary provided for the races and interviews with skippers and personalities, the atmosphere promises to be a warm one in the week which precedes the start. 2/ Stealth mode At times we sense a certain nostalgia for the age of the first transatlantic races when Eric Tabarly appeared out of the mist as the winner off Newport to great general surprise… Today, the modern means of communication enable the public to trace the courses of those racing, virtually in real time… sometimes to the detriment of suspense. For this latest edition, each boat will have the chance to disappear from the rankings and the cartography for 24 hours. For those wanting to make a tactical option that they don’t wish to reveal, or those with a technical issue that they want to conceal temporarily, each duo will be able to momentarily escape the vigilance of the other competitors in this way. 3/ Live interactive radio sessions Everyday from 1230 to 1400 hours, live radio sessions on the website will enable the events of the past 24 hours to be resumed. With the presence of guests who are passionate about the sea and the chance for the public to ask questions live via the intermediary of an interactive process, the hour and a half of daily radio sessions is a real radio broadcast on the web. 4/ The Virtual Transat Jacques Vabre The Transat Jacques Vabre and Many Players are offering everyone the chance to race the Transat Jacques Vabre from the comfort of their armchairs under the actual race conditions: they will set out from Le Havre bound for Costa Rica at the same time as those competing in the real Transat Jacques Vabre and in the exact same weather conditions. The game will be accessible from the official race website: www.jacques-vabre.com and on www.virtualregatta.com, the world’s number one portal dedicated to virtual offshore racing. For the first time internet users will be able to choose their course (monohulls or multihulls) as well as the boat (Imoca or Multi50). Sustainable development at the heart of the race 1/ Take to the sea, act for the earth For this 2009 edition, competitors in the Transat Jacques Vabre will sign the charter „Take to the sea, act for the earth“ thus testifying to their commitment to conserving the oceans and the planet. As such, the sailors, who are essentially very sensitive about environmental matters due to the fact that they can gauge the harmful effects of the damage to the oceans on each of their crossings, will be able to give concrete expression to their commitment to help stimulate the necessary awareness about this domain. 2/ Sponsoring by the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea The Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea is sponsoring the Transat Jacques Vabre 2009 because it is fully committed to sustainable development, awareness and respect for the oceans. This race is a top level sporting event and a great human adventure, which sports the values of Grenelle de la Mer: a passion for the sea which forces respect and protection. In addition, the organisation behind the transatlantic race is rallying round more than ever before to reduce and compensate for the ecological footprint of this event by committing to reducing CO2 emissions. 3/ Rainforest Alliance Rainforest Alliance is an international NGO whose mission for the past 20 years or so has been to conserve biodiversity, to ensure sustainable means of subsistence by transforming farming and commercial practices, as well as the behaviour of consumers. As was the case in 2007, the Transat Jacques Vabre is supporting the actions of the Rainforest Alliance and its commitment to the service of sustainable agriculture. A major competition, a new destination, an improved communication plan, conserved basic values, confirmed and renewed commitment to the service of sustainable development; everything is in place to make this an exceptional 2009 vintage of the Transat Jacques Vabre. The first large gathering since the Vendée Globe 2008, it promises some high quality reunions between some of the best ocean racers in the world. The Transat Jacques Vabre will also play host to the first large oceanic race of the fast-expanding Multi50 class… Roll on November. |
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