Annals of Adventure–Transat Jacques Vabre: Starting Saturday, 76 world class sailors will set out in 38 boats to race across the storm-strewn Atlantic. The Transat Jacques Vabre only comes along every two years, and it is without doubt one of the most compelling, dramatic…and potentially catastrophic races on the calendar. The cream of the fleet consists of 17 Open 60 monohulls and 14 60-foot trimarans. These boats are the thoroughbreds of the ocean racing world, and their two-handed crews will fight the weather and each other tooth and nail from Le Havre to Salvador in Brazil. The monohull Open 60s will leave Saturday, and sail a 4,340 mile course: across the Bay of Biscay, down through the tradewinds, across the Equator and on to Brazil. The turbo-charged 60-foot tris–which can cruise at 20-30 knots, with everything but the leeward hull out of the water–are scheduled to leave Sunday. They will sail a longer course–5,300 miles–that requires them to leave Ascension Island in the South Atlantic to starboard. The Atlantic is conjuring up its usual witches brew to greet the sailors, with an intense storm scheduled to hit the French coast over the weekend. The Open 60s will get off alright, before battening down offshore to weather the blast. The trimaran start may have to be delayed, however, because race organizers fear the spindly craft will be beat into flotsam if they venture out on schedule. A similar race last year sent the trimaran fleet through heavy weather, and the result was carnage: most of the fleet capsized or broke into very expensive chunks of carbon fiber. Delay or no, there’s no getting around the fact that racing shorthanded across the Atlantic in November…with just two crew….who will get barely any sleep for the next two weeks….while trying to keep the world’s most overpowered sailboats under control…is some crazy sh*t. People can die–and have–doing this. So settle back and prepare for some spectacular racing. But be prepared to cover your eyes. This race can get ugly, and the Wetass Chronicles will be bringing you regular reports……..



“Alors, Jean-Luc! I know this lightens the boat, but there’s no way I’m going all the way across the Atlantic like this…”

(Photo: Yvan Zedda)