Tintin
Well-known member
Simple question I hope - if I wanted to race in mini transats what would be the way to get involved?
Mini Transat - where to start?
- Thread starter Tintin
- Start date
Woodlouse
New member
The class website www.classemini.com is very good.
I'd have thought the best way to start would be to get a hold of a boat and go sailing to see how you like it. Then see about entering some channel events to get a taste for the racing. If you still like it then get ready to spend a lot of time in Douarnenez.
I'd have thought the best way to start would be to get a hold of a boat and go sailing to see how you like it. Then see about entering some channel events to get a taste for the racing. If you still like it then get ready to spend a lot of time in Douarnenez.
bbg
Active member
There are boats for sale on the classe mini website. There are likely to be a lot of boats for sale after this year's mini transat. A lot of people do the race then sell the boats.
First thing to consider is whether you want to sail proto or series. Proto can be very expensive or very inexpensive (but much slower). Series boats are simpler to sail.
To qualify for the big races (transatlantic or Azores and back) you need to qualify. 1000 nautical miles non-stop solo, and 1000 miles of racing including at least one solo race (some are double-handed). It is possible to do it all in one calendar year but is easier to spread over two or even three years.
If you want to get involved without buying a boat, you might try looking at the unofficial mini forum and start getting involved.
http://www.minitransat650.com/simple/
There may also be boats for sale there.
Some people do train out of England, then take their boats to races in France. The largest centre for minis in Atlantic France is Lorient. Other centres in no particular order are Douarnenez, La Rochelle, possibly Pornichet. I trained out of Lorient and I found it excellent. All the boats are dry-sailed, and there is a great infrastructure in terms of sailmakers, chandlers, electricians (I can give you the name of the best electrician), boat builders etc. etc. etc. One of the local boatbuilders just won the first leg of this year's race in a proto. The guy that did my boat work has a shop just next door and is also very good. There is a lot of ocean racing based out of Lorient so it really is, in so many ways, the place to be.
If you want more info feel free to PM me. I did the race in 2011. It isn't cheap.
Edit - I see my old boat #529 (a Pogo 2) is for sale for EUR 34,000 in France, after the Transat.
http://www.classemini.com/?titre=&mode=petites-annonces&fiche=85
That seems to be a pretty good price, and has obviously had a lot of upgrades since I sold it in 2012. The design is getting a bit dated now. The current trend seems to be fuller bows and chines, but the Pogo 2s are still very popular, from what I see.
First thing to consider is whether you want to sail proto or series. Proto can be very expensive or very inexpensive (but much slower). Series boats are simpler to sail.
To qualify for the big races (transatlantic or Azores and back) you need to qualify. 1000 nautical miles non-stop solo, and 1000 miles of racing including at least one solo race (some are double-handed). It is possible to do it all in one calendar year but is easier to spread over two or even three years.
If you want to get involved without buying a boat, you might try looking at the unofficial mini forum and start getting involved.
http://www.minitransat650.com/simple/
There may also be boats for sale there.
Some people do train out of England, then take their boats to races in France. The largest centre for minis in Atlantic France is Lorient. Other centres in no particular order are Douarnenez, La Rochelle, possibly Pornichet. I trained out of Lorient and I found it excellent. All the boats are dry-sailed, and there is a great infrastructure in terms of sailmakers, chandlers, electricians (I can give you the name of the best electrician), boat builders etc. etc. etc. One of the local boatbuilders just won the first leg of this year's race in a proto. The guy that did my boat work has a shop just next door and is also very good. There is a lot of ocean racing based out of Lorient so it really is, in so many ways, the place to be.
If you want more info feel free to PM me. I did the race in 2011. It isn't cheap.
Edit - I see my old boat #529 (a Pogo 2) is for sale for EUR 34,000 in France, after the Transat.
http://www.classemini.com/?titre=&mode=petites-annonces&fiche=85
That seems to be a pretty good price, and has obviously had a lot of upgrades since I sold it in 2012. The design is getting a bit dated now. The current trend seems to be fuller bows and chines, but the Pogo 2s are still very popular, from what I see.
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MissFitz
Member
I've been Mini obsessed for several years & have done a few double-handed races but it's difficult to find places/opportunities unless you're fairly experienced (as a quick look at the small ads on the Classe Mini website will show, dozens of hugely experienced & energetic young French people looking for crewing spots). Paying up usually isn't an option either as most Mini sailors don't have the time or inclination to take pupils/customers. Plus they are (nearly) all in remote bits of France. There is a fairly new Mini base in Italy, run by Marco Nannini, where you can (very cheaply) book for a weekend or longer of Mini training, or to go on races. However, things didn't go entirely smoothly when I went there earlier this year. Basically, you need to be able to afford your own boat. As bbg says, Pogo 2s - which are the top choice by far of the second generation Minis - have come down significantly in price since the third gen Minis (& particularly the Pogo 3) started coming out. At a slightly lower level, the Tip Tops are supposed to be decent boats & there's one going for €19k on the Classe Mini website at the moment. You can get a first generation Pogo 1 for a bit less, but they are very slow in comparison. Protos can be even cheaper - I think Marco bought up for less than £10k & is now racing it in Italy (he was talking about chartering it, that might be an option to have a try out).
Don't know if that's any help - as you can probably tell, I've put a lot more time into researching Minis than sailing them (unlike bbg). Still, if there's anything I can help on please do PM.
Don't know if that's any help - as you can probably tell, I've put a lot more time into researching Minis than sailing them (unlike bbg). Still, if there's anything I can help on please do PM.
tsekul
Member
Do people crane in and out, or do people launch from there trailer , if they have one?
thanks
Tim
bbg
Active member
Cradles get picked up and transported to the crane, and in they go. A lot of the boats have lifting straps and those will stay permanently attached while the boat is ashore, so they just have to be put on the hook on the crane. Basically you call the boatyard on Wednesday, say you want to sail on the weekend and when you arrive the boat is in the water. Leave it at the lift-out pontoon on Sunday evening and it gets lifted out on Monday.
Boats draw 1.60 m or 2.00 m, so probably not very easy to launch by trailer.
steveej
Member
Hello Mini Transat,
This is the first and probably most detailed post I've come across so far.
Two years on, and I was wondering what is the latest update on the scene. Is there a scene in the UK as such?
I know a lot of the racing is in France but what I am trying to assess is how much it costs to get a reasonable boat that is 80% ready to go, and how much time commitment in terms of days per annum (weekends and normal 27 holidays a year plus UK bank holidays).
I work full time, am married and have two young kids 3 and 2. I am trying to reinvent myself from a former mountain climber who has spent 20 years climbing in the himalaya, 3 ascents of el capitan in yosemite, kazakhstan, alaska etc. Although not sailing it means the suffering on a small boat is not a problem for me, I am reasonabbly young, fit and a capable human.
I have spent the last 2 years all my money and time on sailing and now a commercially endoresed YM offshore, not fast track, just chipping away at it.
I bought a small 22ft boat and sailed it all around the bristol channel last year but have now sold it.
I need a new project. Is this one a goer?
This is the first and probably most detailed post I've come across so far.
Two years on, and I was wondering what is the latest update on the scene. Is there a scene in the UK as such?
I know a lot of the racing is in France but what I am trying to assess is how much it costs to get a reasonable boat that is 80% ready to go, and how much time commitment in terms of days per annum (weekends and normal 27 holidays a year plus UK bank holidays).
I work full time, am married and have two young kids 3 and 2. I am trying to reinvent myself from a former mountain climber who has spent 20 years climbing in the himalaya, 3 ascents of el capitan in yosemite, kazakhstan, alaska etc. Although not sailing it means the suffering on a small boat is not a problem for me, I am reasonabbly young, fit and a capable human.
I have spent the last 2 years all my money and time on sailing and now a commercially endoresed YM offshore, not fast track, just chipping away at it.
I bought a small 22ft boat and sailed it all around the bristol channel last year but have now sold it.
I need a new project. Is this one a goer?
MissFitz
Member
Sad to say, the Mini scene in the UK seems to have died out over the past two years. The UK Mini Fastnet has been removed from the class schedule, which means there are now no official races in this country & I'm not aware of anyone racing Minis seriously in other offshore series. There is still a lively scene in northern Italy, which might be more accessible than France depending on where you're based, but otherwise it's western Brittany, which is a very long trek from most parts of the UK. I decided I couldn't make it work & I don't have kids. On the other hand, you're clearly a lot more motivated & organised than me, so maybe you can!
Gwylan
Well-known member
After you've had your head examined and your pockets deepened?
Ingwe
Active member
The Mini Transat is seen primarily as a way to make your name if you want to move up the scale as a professional offshore racer - I would politely suggest that if this is what you want to become you will not have a wife by the time you make it there as you will need to be sailing pretty much full time if you want to get to the front of the fleet (and most of that time will be in France).
If you were thinking of doing this more for the challenge of racing offshore solo but aren't looking to do this professionally look at the SORC scene in the UK with a view to then moving on to doing races like the azores and back / round britain and ireland race, to build up to the OSTAR race or the Transquadra (you need to be over 40 for the Transquadra).
If you were thinking of doing this more for the challenge of racing offshore solo but aren't looking to do this professionally look at the SORC scene in the UK with a view to then moving on to doing races like the azores and back / round britain and ireland race, to build up to the OSTAR race or the Transquadra (you need to be over 40 for the Transquadra).
bbg
Active member
I disagree that the Mini Transat is seen "primarily" as a way to make your name. Some people certainly use it for this, and for those people 100% commitment and long hours is really important.
For most, though, it is a challenge. It is like climbing Everest - something you can look back on and say "I did that". When I did the race there were perhaps 10 skippers in each category of proto and series that were serious contenders for the win. About half the fleet had no real expectation of winning, but wanted to sail the Atlantic solo.
