31-01-2020 - News
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With 100 days to go until the start of The Transat CIC, we look ahead at what we have to look forward to for the 60th anniversary edition of the race.
Not only is it the world’s oldest solo sailing race, first held in 1960, it is also considered one of the toughest. It charts a 3,500 nautical mile course across the north Atlantic from Europe to the United States that tests the best solo sailors in the world to the limits.
The 2020 edition of The Transat will start on May 10th from Brest in the Brittany region of France. This is the first time that the four-yearly classic race will start from a French port.
In another first, the race will finish in Charleston, South Carolina. One of America’s oldest cities, Charleston is a port city located midway between New York and Miami on an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean.
The 2020 edition of The Transat will be sailed in four classes – Class40 monohulls (40ft), IMOCA 60s (IMOCA Class 60ft) and Ultime multihulls (60ft+). Each class will be treated equally and the race will have four winners – one from each division. At least four boats will be required to enter in each class for the class to be allowed to take the start.
The Transat attracts some of the world’s greatest solo sailors and for the IMOCA class, will serve as an early form test for many of the entrants in the 2020 Vendée Globe solo round the world race.
The race is expected to attract a field of around 30-35 boats and include many of the world’s top ranked solo skippers.
The current monohull record is 12 days, 11 hours and 45 minutes set by Loick Peyron racing Gitana in 2008. The multihull record is 8 days, 8 hours and 29 minutes set by Michel Desjoyeaux on board Geant in 2004.
For more information, head to https://www.thetransat.com/