Finistère – After the prologue Everything starts in Finistère the Minis have found their place in the Port Rhu. For one short week Douarnenez becomes the final launch pad before the soloists make their leap across the Atlantic. However, many of these Ministes will not be totally alone, as their loved ones are involved in the adventure.
It’s a fact: the Mini Transat is not a technical competition. It is always a human adventure, often financial, which requires each sailor to have obtained the consent of relatives. A number of sailors in the Mini Transat are fathers and have a life outside of the Mini, and yet they did not hesitate to sacrifice much of their free time to devote to their preparations. For example, the Belgian Jonas Gerkens, moved with his wife and children to settle in the Morbihan to spend maximum time training. Similarly, Giancarlo Pedote’s partner has she followed him to Lorient to allow him to enjoy the virtues of the Lorient Grand offshore group and the advice of Tanguy Leglatin. And we can find many other examples of relatives who have accepted the uprooting of their lives, sometimes have even abandoned their job, to follow their companion on these uncertain adventures.
It’s in the blood
Others the Mini Transat is a matter of heritage. In the family of Arthur Leopold Leger, racing is racing in the blood. Seeing the Ministes waiting in the basin of La Rochelle has sewed in him the seed of an idea. So his family came together to find the necessary support, his parents are involved in the communications for this young man. In short! This small family business is fully committed to allowing Arthur to race in the best possible conditions.
Louis Mauffret shares much for the pleasure in having built his boat himself for the adventure of competition. In the Mauffret family, the sea and beautiful boats are all part of the family genetics. Yann’s brother, Louis, is one of the founding architects of Chantiers du Guip, well known in the world of maritime restoration for their attention to detail and care in the renovation of Notre-Dame de Rumengol, the 1945 dandy rigged Raid de Brest coaster and Biche a 1933 Île-de-Groix tuna fishing boat.
And we must not forget Gwénolé Gahinet , the son of Gilles double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, together with a Transat Lorient – Lorient – Bermuda anthology . These days it is Gwénolé who is better known thanks to his regular presence in first place in many of the races … there is no better tribute a son can pay to his father than to be able to build his destiny independently.
Of father and daughters
It is unusual but it happens that sometimes it is the children who initiate the dreams of their parents. In 2005 Marine Chombard de Lauwe took part in the Mini Transat. She returned conquered by this rite of passage and the following year she sailed with her father Pascal for an attempt at the Mini Fastnet. Which in turn inspired another adventure in 2010, first on the Les Sables – Azores – Les Sables and then in Mini Transat 2011. For this 2013 edition, Lucile Chombard de Lauwe, sister of Marine, will bring a significant photo exhibition which records the faces of the single handed sailors and the insides of their boats, taken at the start of the race and at the finish. The exhibition, which is on display at the competitors’ tent in the Race Village, shows just how much this race marks the competitors’ bodies and minds. To have a sense of family is also a good way to cope when the loneliness begins to weigh too heavily.
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