All lights are on green now: beefed up the missing miles from the race calendar and finished successfully my 1000NM single handed qualification course. So officially I met all the requirements to participate in this year's Mini Transat. However, I am on the waiting list as there are more eligible competitors than there are open spots. So for the moment I have to remain patient. Keep fingers crossed.
All in all, the last weeks were quite intense. In a period of 3 weeks, I covered about 2300 miles that included the Mini en Mai , the single handed qualification course and the Mini Fastnet. It was definitely a great preparation from a technical and human perspective for the transatlantic race. And I have to admit that I do really feel ready to take up this challenge. There are certain hick-ups that I may need to address, but there is still sufficient time left to deal with them before the big departure.
The single handed qualification course was so far the most memorable sailing experience. Being for more than 9 days out on the sea on your own really shows how you can push your own boundaries beyond ordinary. All the experiences - the negatives and the positives - have contributed to consolidate my knowledge about the sea, to master the technical aspects of the boat and to balance out my daily needs onboard.
On the day of departure in Trinité-sur-Mer, I actually did not feel like leaving. In my head there was still so much to prepare before taking the big leap. But I think this is a common thing for boat owners, there is always stuff to be done. The weather window for the next days was actually great. A mild depression coming from the east would have allowed for a single tack on a close-hauled/ reaching course to Ireland and back. I re-evaluated my preparation and came to the conclusion that actually all the critical and essential aspects that would allow or a safe trip over several days were given or could be easily solved on the sea if anything might happen. So GO GO GO... The first night I had great downwind conditions with 10-15 knots towards Point Penmarc'h. The wind flattened down afterwards and made it especially tricky to get through the Point de Raz et le Four on time. Here the currents can become pretty strong and you want them definitely on your side while crossing this area. Crossing the English Channel is also an experience on his own. When passing at night, it does not allow for much sleep given the high density of cargo ships passing through that area. The trip up north went pretty smooth and on Day 3, I finally reached the Coningbeg buoy at the south-eastern tip of Ireland. The way back south, the weather conditions started to become more sturdy. 20-25 knots of wind with peaks up to 30 knots and sea building up steadily made it a bumpy ride. Days 5 and 6 on the way to the Ile de Ré via the plateau de Rochebonne were rather a mixt of mild winds and partially no winds, which made it hard to make substantial progress over those days. On the way back, direction Douarnenez (could have got back to my starting point in Trinité but decided to join immediately the Mini Fastnet) winds were pretty weak and came from the north-west meaning I had to cross upwind for 2-3 days which make it feel an eternity to get back to the most western point of Britanny. On the 9th day, I finally arrived in Douarnenez. Especially the last night was painstakingly slow - with basically no wind - and I was mainly carried by the currents.
I had one major shock moment right at the end of the trip. I fell asleep for more than 5 hours instead of the planned 30 minutes and came dangerously close to the coastal line. Luckily a fisherman detected my boat on time and woke me up by knocking on the boat. I immediately crawled out of the cabin and was imply awed to find myself that close to the coastal line. Luckily weather conditions were smooth and the tides were high allowing me to get out of this situation without any damages.
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