Jacques Vabre Transat Carnage

Transat Carnage Puts Multihulls in Question by Bruce Gain This year’s Transat Jacques Vabre was often more about survival than it was about racing. Fortunately, there were no tragedies. But the crews and boats certainly took a beating, especially in the Multi 50 class. Only two of the six Multi 50 entries that set out from Le Havre, France, made it to the finishing poles off Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Click here to read the full article in Sailing World: http://www.sailingworld.com/blogs/racing/transat-carnage-puts-multihulls-in-question

Risk, Voyeurism, and Near Disaster

Risk, Voyeurism, and Near Disaster

by Bruce Gain

© Alexis Courcoux

The 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre started two days late due to very strong winds and rough seas.

The weather report was ugly. With less than 48 hours before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, sailors were looking at heading into the Atlantic from Le Havre, France, in steady, 40-knot side winds with 60-knot gusts and confused seas of well over 30 feet. There was a chance the fleet of Multi 50s, IMOCA Open 60s, and Class 40s could've slogged through the nastiness and made its way across the ocean to Costa Rica, but that was far from certain.