{"id":5422,"date":"2023-10-20T14:44:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T12:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ibsasailing.com\/?p=5422"},"modified":"2023-10-25T12:31:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T10:31:43","slug":"9-days-to-the-start-of-the-transat-jacques-vabre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibsasailing.com\/en\/9-days-to-the-start-of-the-transat-jacques-vabre\/","title":{"rendered":"9 days to the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As French navigators say, \u201cJ-9 to the <\/em>Transat Jacques Vabre\u201d, which means 9 days to the start of the last and most important regatta <\/strong>of the 2023 calendar of the Class40 IBSA <\/em>and her skipper, Alberto Bona. On board with Bona, for the Transat Jacques Vabre<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 the 4,500+ mile oceanic crossing from Le Havre (France) to the Caribbean \u2013 the co-skipper who accompanied him for most of the year: the Spaniard Pablo Santurde del Arco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Le Havre, the village is ready<\/strong> to welcome the hundreds of visitors and enthusiasts who will flock to the docks<\/em> in the days before the start to greet the crews leaving for the so-called Route du Caf\u00e9<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (\u201cCoffee Route\u201d); the official inauguration of the village \u00a0is scheduled for Saturday, October 21, followed by a week of preparatory events and activities, including meetings dedicated to skippers, safety and weather briefings and the official launch of some of the registered boats, many of which have been built in the last six months and are at their first ocean crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the starting line \u2013 exactly like a year ago at the Route du Rhum<\/em> \u2013 the four classes<\/strong> which have always thrilled ocean sailing enthusiasts: Class40<\/em><\/strong>, Imoca60<\/em><\/strong> and the great oceanic trimarans Ocean Fifty<\/em> <\/strong>and Ultim<\/em><\/strong>, for a total of 95 boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Departure is set for Sunday, October 29, from Le Havre<\/strong> (Normandy, France), with four separate starts, depending on the class, to ensure the safety of participants and a better control of the starting procedures on the part of the race committee. Spaced about 10 minutes apart, the first to start will be the Ultim <\/em>class, at 1:05 pm, followed by Ocean Fifty<\/em> at 1:17 pm, then Imoca<\/em> at 1:29 pm and finally Class40<\/em> at 1:41 pm. A single starting line for all, but four different routes, to ensure that the arrival in Martinique is homogeneous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n