© Vincent Olivaud / The Transat CIC

Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) finishes 4th in The Transat CIC! 

Charlie Dalin crossed the finish line this Tuesday at 04 h 14 min and 28 sec (French time). The skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance took 4th place in the race after 8 days 14 hours 44 minutes and 28 seconds. At the end of a particularly breathless race, he completed The Transat CIC at an average true speed of 15.76 knots and finished 7 hours 50 minutes and 56 seconds behind the winner, Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa).
 
Dalin reported last night, "I have just crossed the finish line of The Transat CIC with MACIF Santé Prévoyance. The race went well. It's been quite intense since leaving Lorient. I was really happy with my departure. I made very good tactical and strategic choices throughout this first phase. It was the boat’s very first transatlantic crossing and my first solo since the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. I had a lot of things to put back in place and discover on this boat but it’s super interesting. I took lots of notes. We will be able to work well with the team to achieve even better results. In any case, I took great pleasure in getting back into competition and reuniting mysefl with MACIF Santé Prévoyance which I missed a lot last year. It was great to cross the Atlantic from the north and have rather favorable conditions. I had some small technical problems. Nothing too bad. A piece of rudder is missing on the port side for a while I think. And I had autopilot problems downwind which made steering complicated, with a wind sensor that no longer worked. And I went heavy in the first phase of strong northeast wind. I lost my mainsail traveler but I managed to find a solution with my team and repair it 24 hours after the event. It didn't bother me too much. I'm happy to discover New York by sea!"

© Vincent Olivaud / The Transat CIC

MAXIME SOREL (V AND B - MONBANA - MAYENNE) FINISHES 5TH IN THE TRANSAT CIC!

Maxime Sorel crossed the finish line this Tuesday at 05:04:03 (French time). The skipper of V AND B - MONBANA - MAYENNE takes 5th place in the race after 8 days, 15 hours, 34 minutes, and 3 seconds. The Cancale navigator completes The Transat CIC at an actual average speed of 15.51 knots and finishes 8 hours, 40 minutes, and 31 seconds behind the winner, Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa).

"Here we go, the finish line of The Transat CIC is crossed for the IMOCA V AND BE - MONBANA - MAYENNE and myself, not without difficulty to cross the Atlantic in less than nine days. It was incredibly fast but filled with obstacles. I loved the course and what we encountered: both upwind and downwind, so it's great because I didn't expect us to work on so many things on this northern route. I'm thrilled for the rest of the program. There were a lot of good things. I feel better and better on the boat. I'm getting more and more comfortable even in rough weather, so it's really cool. Overall, it's a race that demands commitment, not having to think too much about what to do depending on the conditions we encounter. We experienced a lot of strong wind areas with rough seas. It's true that if you doubt a little, you struggle. Here, we didn't have a choice. And of course, I inevitably got into the ranking game as always. At times when it was a bit tough, I put the boat on 'safe' three times, forgetting about the ranking and the race. It adds up a lot, especially since they could last between 3 and 6-7 hours. I managed to be at the forefront, to come back before being left behind, to come back again until, maybe 10 hours before the finish, I could have taken the 3rd place. It was a bit crazy. There wasn't too much damage to the boat. We'll have to do a structural check, but compared to what it endured, it's pretty cool, except at the end where I hit something a few hours before arriving. I wasn't going very fast, but it damaged the starboard foil, so we'll have to see what we do next. Otherwise, overall, I'm very satisfied to have held my own against the IMOCA Class elites. I did it a bit in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe but there were a lot fewer competitors. Here, there were almost everyone. I'm happy, proud of the work of my team. It's not easy to start a transat a month after a significant yard launch. It's the last winter yard before a world tour. There were a lot of systems to restart, a lot of things to test. It was essential to have a boat as ready as possible for a challenging race like this, but it still had to be done. This 5th place is for my entire technical, administrative, and communication team behind me. And all my partners. I hope they are delighted. I haven't been able to exchange with them yet, I've just arrived. I can't wait to be ashore because it's a bit strange to cross the line so far from land, but I can't wait to see everyone again. We still need to remain vigilant for another ten hours and tomorrow: coffee, maybe not croissant here but a little cheesecake!"

 

YANNICK BESTAVEN (MAITRE COQ V), 6TH IN THE TRANSAT CIC IN IMOCA (BEFORE JURY)

Yannick Bestaven crossed the finish line this Tuesday morning at 08:08:16 (French time), after 8 days, 18 hours, 38 minutes, and 16 seconds of racing. Arriving 11 hours, 44 minutes, and 44 seconds after the winner Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA), the skipper of MAITRE COQ V, who completed the race at an actual average speed of 15.56 knots, clinches the 6th place in the 15th edition of The Transat CIC.

"Here we are, we crossed the finish line of The Transat CIC at 6:12 AM UTC. I finish in 6th place in a very close finish. After 8 days and about ten hours, we finished with Maître CoQ V, thanks to everyone who supported us and to my entire team. Even though there were a few small issues with the foils, the boat reacted incredibly well, and we'll be ready for the Vendée Globe! Now heading to New York!"

© Arnaud Pilpré / Studio Marlea / The Transat CIC

JUSTINE METTRAUX (TEAMWORK - TEAM SNEF), 7TH IN THE TRANSAT CIC IN IMOCA (BEFORE JURY)

Justine Mettraux crossed the finish line of The Transat CIC this Tuesday morning at 09:11:20 (French time). The Swiss navigator, who completed the race 12 hours, 47 minutes, and 48 seconds after the winner, Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA), finishes 7th in the 15th edition of The Transat CIC after 8 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes, and 20 seconds at sea. She will have completed the race at an actual average speed of 15.19 knots.

"Overall, I'm really happy with the race, it was very challenging, very demanding! I didn't make any big mistakes, it's mainly the equipment that gave up, especially the aerials. I'm satisfied with how I handled the boat, made the right compromises between performance and the choice to go all the way. We'll assess everything upon arrival at Moonbeam but I've really learned a lot! Right now, I'm sailing back to New York with Yannick Bestaven who was really kind to wait for me. Since I lost some of my equipment at the masthead, I no longer have the OSCAR camera or VHF antenna to be able to see the other boats on AIS. So, I'll be able to tuck in behind Yannick for a safe return. Thanks to him and Maître CoQ for making this effort at the end of an already challenging race!"

© Arnaud Pilpré / Studio Marlea / The Transat CIC

DAMIEN SEGUIN (GROUPE APICIL), 8TH IN THE TRANSAT CIC IN IMOCA (BEFORE JURY)

Damien Seguin finishes 8th in the 15th edition of The Transat CIC. The skipper of Groupe Apicil crossed the finish line this Tuesday at 16:59 (French time). He thus takes the 8th place in the race after 9 days, 3 hours, 29 minutes, and 32 seconds of racing. He completed the legendary transatlantic from east to west via the northern route at an actual average speed of 14.73 knots. He finishes 20 hours, 36 minutes, and 0 seconds behind the winner, Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA).

"Regardless of the final position, you always feel good at the finish. It's the end of what we've undertaken and here, of a crossing of the Atlantic, which is no small feat. I feel like I've had a good transatlantic. It's difficult to summarize the race in the heat of the moment. There was rhythm, it was not easy, we went through different weather systems that we're not used to encountering in classic transatlantics. There were two passages of depression, one upwind and one downwind. On these types of boats with large foils, if you're not ready, you get swallowed by the machine. You have to be ready, physically and mentally. Some moments are not pleasant, others are less... You have to be ready for anything on the IMOCA boats today."

 

© Thomas Deregniaux / Qaptur / The Transat CIC

LOUIS BURTON (BUREAU VALLÉE), 9TH IN THE TRANSAT CIC IN IMOCA (BEFORE JURY)

"I've just crossed the finish line of The Transat CIC 2024 in 9th position after a 24-hour duel in very light winds with Damien Seguin. Congratulations to him! It was a great race, super intense from start to finish. The start was a bit tricky before weaving along the Brittany coast around the Glénan Islands and an option that took us to the west of Ireland quite far north with Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme. It was not bad. I had a small technical issue afterwards with the J3. I'm very happy with the added performance following the major boat modification project. Four and a half days ago, I collided with a wooden ball, I think, which caused a leak at the port rear of the boat. I didn't communicate about it, but it forced me to slow down a lot regularly because we were taking in about 400 liters of water per hour. I attempted several repairs to try to plug it, which I didn't manage to do completely. It was quite handicapping for the second part of the race, but it's part of our sport. And now, it's time for a little delivery trip towards New York City!"

 

© Alexis Courcoux / The Transat CIC

Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) is 10th on The Transat CIC in IMOCA (before jury) 

A bitterly tough end to last season with The Ocean Race winning IMOCA - he stopped into the Azores with power problems on the Retour a La Base and then lost his mast within sight of the finish. But Seb completes a decent race to qualify himself for the Vendee Globe and validate some of the changes made through the winter. He rues lack of pre time and says he started tired, but nevertheless the Solitaire du Figaro winner from Les Sables d'Olonne is happy and ready to recover for the return race

“I left the start exhausted after working a so much on the boat this winter. I felt that I was not 100% but I kept the goal in mind which was to finish. Overall, my 16th transatlantic went well. I had a little damage to the J3 furler at the start of the race. It penalized me a lot because I then spent a night without a headsail near the start of the race. Obviously, it went slower. On the other hand, it is a positive to see that the boat is able to go through conditions as harsh as those we experienced and that it finishes in this state. We did well to put all our energy into being in this transatlantic race, it is close to my heart. We had the option not to do it. We have now met the qualification for the Vendée Globe and were really lookng to see if all the work done on the boat this winter is validated, whther it can still be improved or needs to be modified."

© © VINCENT OLIVAUD

 

Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) 11th on The Transat CIC en IMOCA (before jury)

A straight, mostly problem free race for Le Turquais who showed his resolute mettle last year restarting the Transat Jacques Vabre six days after the fleet after his IMOCA was holed. He finished more than 100 or so miles clear of the next best daggerboard boat on Lazare -previously Groupe Apicil - and bettering his best IMOCA rescult to date which was 13th on the last Route du Rhum. 

"It's May 8th, it's 10:30 AM UTC, and I've just taken the 11th place in The Transat CIC before the jury. It was truly an exceptional race. I've been dreaming of doing it for years, and now, it's done. We spent almost ten days at sea with exceptional conditions, a lot of downwind sailing. I expected to do a lot of upwind sailing, but the conditions were extremely favorable, which allowed for a fairly fast race. I treated it like a sprint and maintained a fairly high pace until the finish, which means I'm quite tired! I slept very little these past two nights where there was a great match with Isabelle Joschke and Alan Roura. In terms of intensity, it resembled a leg of the Figaro. You had to be on top of the settings, on every wind shift, keep the boat moving all the time... I had a lot of fun on my boat, which is very reliable, its last race before the Vendée Globe! So, a very positive assessment, it will remain a very good memory!"

© Thomas Deregniaux / Qaptur / The Transat CIC

Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) 12th IMOCA on The Transat CIC (before jury)

Steady and consistent Isa is more making a name for herself for her stamina and drive, more a marathon racer than a sprinter as she proved on the last Vendee Globe. A good result for the Franco German skipper who does not like the cold, pleased to have nipped in ahead of Alan Roura.....

Isa said, “I’m super happy with my race. Obviously, I am happy with this finish, happy to have gained a place on Alan at the end even if I was pleased for him that he had such a good race. Overall, I stuck to my objectives which were not to put myself in the red, to be careful and in particular not to tear my sails because my mainsail started to tear the first time I took a reef as the first front passed. I managed to do all this without getting too tired while sailing cleanly and having a great race. I am happy with myself. I see that I can get through this. It was a race full of lessons because we had very different weather conditions from the other transats. I have learned a lot of things in terms of cold management. And there are technical things to do with the boat and operations with my team on land. There are lots of things that gave me the motivation to make sure I leave even better prepared for the Vendée Globe. I'm delighted to have done this race, very happy to be able to look back and see everything that happened during the race which went by quite quickly."

Alan Roura (Hublot) 13th on The Transat CIC in IMOCA

Roura is pleased with his race considering he had little training time with the boat this year after they only launched at a week before the start. He suffered a damaged port foil a few days before the finish and lost out a little in the light but Alan is happy to have felt more in the match....something to build on as he heads for his third Vendee Globe at the age of just 31....His finish is one place better than his RALB in a stronger field.

 “I am so happy and proud to cross the line in 13th place, not a place I was expecting two days ago, but it is part of the job in a mechanical sport to be fixing things, but it doesn’t matter Here I have proven I am in the match, in the game with the others, and I am really happy considering the little time we have got between the putting the boat back in the water and the start of the race. I am happy, I am so tired, it is a short race, intense, every day still there was something different challenge but the boat is in good condition other than the broken port foil. I am looking forwards to attaching the lines to the dock and getting a bit of rest.”

© ©PILPRE ARNAUD/STUDIO MARLEA

Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB), 14th in the IMOCA class of The Transat CIC (before the jury)

Certainly expected to be one of the key contenders for a top five on this race Nico Lunven’s challenge was compromised severely when he lost the bowsprit of Holcim PRB. Since then he was unable to fly any code sails and struggled to find speed and dropped places.

“I had a pretty promising start to the race. I think I was pretty much in the game. It took me maybe a little bit of time to find the right set-up, but I was still quite well on the pace of the race from the start, rather in the right package until the moment of the damage which happened with quite challenging conditions. There was wind and sea, it was more upwind or reaching. That's pretty positive. I felt pretty good on the boat. There was wind, sea. It was more upwind or reaching. I was in contact with Paul Meilhat, Sam Davies And in the north there was MACIF and Paprec Arkea. I felt good on the boat. There was the discovery of this damage to the bowsprit. That's the stupid thing. One of the sail tie down pads that broke off in the bad weather was hitting it for several hours. The system we put in place to prevent this is not infallible. From that moment on, the race took another turn. I was in a bit of delivery mode because I was deprived of all the headsails. But it wasn't a cruising to twiddle our thumbs either because we had quite challenging conditions with strong downwind winds and short seas that were not very easy to negotiate. It was interesting to sail in these conditions for several days in a row to possibly try and discover small points to improve. Apparently, there aren't that many. That's the big positive on our the balance sheet. There are a few small areas of improvement that you only discover when you're offshore. I'm a bit frustrated that I wasn't able to do the whole race in competition mode. It's disappointing but I'm happy to arrive in New York. It's a great adventure to have crossed the Atlantic on the north face on this boat. It's not the easiest thing."

© Vincent Olivaud / The Transat CIC

Japan's Kojiro Shiraishi 16th IMOCA on DMG Global One (before jury)

It was a delighted Kojiro Shiraishi who crossed the finish line of the Transat CIC this Thursday morning at 04:23:22 (UTC) (00:23:22hrs local NYC) to take 16th place. The only minor disappointment for the Japanese solo skipper was missing out on finishing on his 58th birthday which was on Tuesday. But for being slowed for nearly 36 hours in the light winds of a high pressure Koji might have made it. His 16th matches his finish on the Vendée Globe in 2021 and in fact is his best result on an IMOCA ocean race since then. But the key for Koji is the finish qualifies him for the Vendee Globe and that was his main goal on this race. 

"I’m really glad I was able to finish this race. We were able to test many things. The new J3 and the new J4 tack worked well. All the small improvement we did during this winter worked well and that was positive.  I made a few mistakes. There was a low that Lazare managed super well by staying north of it. I didn't have the courage to be there, it was audacious of him. Well done to him.  And overall I wasn't able to get good routes in the two lows I went through and so I still need to learn more. 
 
The seasickness was bad this time. When I'm in that state, I don't have motivation, it can get dangerous. I took some medicine but it did not really do anything
 
Everytime I start I am in the near last position, ( this time as well) . And slowly as I get better, I start  sailing well. But by that time the first guys are well ahead because I only was able to manage to have the boat going in the right direction while I was seasick and not really able to push hard. These races are too short for me.
 
Overall I made a few mistakes, and I'm a little disappointed of my position because I felt I could have done better.  When you ask me when I felt the boat the best, there were a few moments where it went well. But globally, I was able to test many things. For the Vendée Globe, a good thing was that I finished this race to get the qualification miles, but also I felt the boat in her entirety and I got more confident that the boat will be able to endure the harsh conditions of the Vendée Globe.
 
I didn't have any big problems like the few previous races when for example (on the Retour a La Base) I had a ballast tank empty all its water in the cabin. This time I Just had the usual small problem every day that happens as a single handed sailor.  That was a positive thing....."

Violette Dorange (DEVENIR) has finished 18th in The Transat CIC !

At 23 years old Violette is the youngest skipper in the race and she sails the Farr design which is perhaps the most travelled IMOCA, Jean Le Cam's Hubert on which the veteran took fourth on the last Vendee Globe. The boat was built for and won the 2008-9 race as Foncia. She is backed by three partners through Devenir a social responsibility program in Brittany including McDonalds and she really is proving a redoubtable competitor who has now finished all four from four Transats since her debut in the Route du Rhum 2022. She finished on a charge, just 12 minutes after Guirec!

What is your feeling as you cross the finish line of The Transat CIC?
 
"I am relieved. It was one of the hardest races I have been in. I'm so happy to have made it to the end without breaking anything. That was my first goal. And then I fought until the end with Guirec. Even 20 minutes before crossing the line we had a big wind shift in the wind and we were fighting to get the boat back upright. It was cool to be able to fight until the end, and it was hard. I am proud of myself."
 
How was this first transatlantic race for you by the north face?
 
“It was super sporty. Crossing big depressions four times with wind steady at 35 knots with gusts to 45 and big seas. It wasn't always easy but I tell myself that now it's done. It gives me confidence for the future in big, strong winds, and in my boat, and my ability to manage the situation. And now I know the limits of the boat, it’s reassuring.”

 
What have you learned about yourself?
 
“A lot, especially in the strong wind when I got scared. At the time, it’s really not fun, but afterwards, I really learned about myself and now I’m able to stay 20 hours in strong wind, even if it’s scary.”
 
Is Hubert a good companion to go round the world on?
 
“For 10 days, the boat banged, creaked, cracked… You really wonder how it’s holding up! I asked myself that question a lot when the second depression passed. But, the boat is really strong. Jean Le Cam redid the bottom of the hull after the last Vendée Globe and the technical team refurbished the boat this winter… This confirms my confidence in Devenir and it is an asset for the round the world." 

© QAPTUR

Anglo-American James Harayda (Gentoo Sailing Team) finishes 19th in IMOCA before jury

Young British-American solo skipper James Harayda sailed his IMOCA Gentoo Sailing Team across the finish line of The Transat CIC at 15:08:26hrs local time NYC (19:08:26hrs UTC) to clinch an excellent 19th place.

After missing most of last year’s key races which were an important element in his build up to this year’s Vendée Globe because of a technical problem with the rig of his IMOCA, this is a very accomplished result with numerous past Vendée Globe top 10 finishers behind him.

Despite his lack of training and racing time on his 2007 British built Finot Conq design – which was originally Hugo Boss – the 26 year old Harayda has now completed two very good solo Transatlantic races from two starts on a shoestring budget. “As soon as I sailed with James I could see had something a bit special and so it is great to see him making good progress towards the Vendée Globe.

Considering how little solo sailing he has actually done and how little IMOCA sailing he has actually done this is a good result for him. Most of all right now he is learning to manage himself better and better on these races and he is dealing with daily problems which are such a big part of this kind of racing on a tight budget.” Enthused Dee Caffari, past IMOCA racer and world record holder who mentored Haryada and helped with a lot of his formative training… 

James said after finishing, "I am delighted and relieved. This is a great step towards many things, first to get another race under my belt and of course miles towards Vendee Globe qualification, that is a huge thing and within the team now I now we have these things to do. I am really, really happy. It was pretty challenging, we had everything. It was a big step up from the Route du Rhum which is a tough race in itself but it is a warm race when you get south...there is a lot of trade winds sailing. But this whole race was tough. We had our fair share of challenges on board, I had a foil problems, I had lazyjack problems, I have leaks in different parts of the boat, so I had a lot of sea coming in...so it is pretty challenging to handle the boat when it is like that, but it is about learning how to push it, when I can get away with pushing it very hard and finding the limits. I feel like I deserve a beer and a shower. I think one of the toughest parts was sailing really, really fast in 90 to 100 TWA and it was hard. I was that close to the edge, falling everywhere. I have sailed this boat in some tough conditions before but that was a nightmare, everything was soaked, everything was full of water. From a technical point of view it was bad too as my hydrogenerator broke so I could not charge and I had only 40 to 50 per cent battery and that was pretty stressful. Again, though, all good learning....."

 

© ©PILPRE ARNAUD/STUDIO MARLEA

Source : The Transat CIC