Its journey in the North Atlantic confronts sailors with headwinds and difficult weather systems. “It's a complicated deckchair. I've never taken this northern route, it's a great first. It's difficult because we are leaving at the end of April, we will be against the winds and currents but that is part of the beauty of this transatlantic. This is undoubtedly the most difficult transatlantic race to complete in an Imoca. We are very excited at the prospect of setting sail for New York. We finish the little things. I just bought some chocolate, it's usually the last thing on the list, so we're really ready.” underlines Denis Van Weynbergh.
Careful preparation
This Transat CIC is the first offshore race of the season. The Walloon Brabant sailor is continuing his journey towards qualifying for the Vendée Globe with his 60-foot D'Ieteren Group monohull. The start of this 15th edition will be given in Lorient this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for 48 competitors competing in Imoca, Class40 and Vintage category who will have to reach New York over approximately 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km), without any obligatory passage (waypoint). An arrival in New York within the allotted time would more than likely qualify Denis Van Weynbergh, 56, for the Vendée Globe, a solo round-the-world trip, without stopovers or assistance, which will start on November 10 in Les Sables-d'Olonnes. “We will play our qualification in this race. This is why we prepared the boat as best as possible and why I prepared myself physically and mentally,” adds Denis Van Weynbergh who must complete a transatlantic race in a time less than 1.5 times that of the winner in 2024. He therefore has the opportunity to finish on time on The Transat CIC or on the New York –- Vendée , on May 29, which will be the return transatlantic race and the last before the start of the Vendée Globe,
The 2023 season was rich in lessons for the Belgian skipper who took advantage of the winter break to optimize his boat for three months at the Eole Performance shipyard in Port Bourgenay, in order to be ready for the 2024 season which promises to be busy. And Denis Van Weynbergh specifies: “We did not make huge changes as we had done in the past, we were really in a phase of validating and perfecting everything that had already been done before. On the other hand, as far as painting is concerned, we stripped the hull and bottom of the boat because we had never done it since I acquired the boat.”
Mild conditions for attacking the North Atlantic
As for the weather conditions during the first hours and days of sailing, the situation is quite clear even if choices will undoubtedly have to be made in the middle of the week. All the skippers at the start experienced almost all the configurations at the start. Virulent, very tonic conditions, rain or on the contrary relative calm. This Sunday, there should be clearings, sunshine and a light wind with 10 to 15 knots of westerly wind. The start will probably take place by rolling reaching but this will allow for a gentle start. In the process, the competitors should head towards the northwest and pass close to Ireland. Apprehension will therefore wait a little throughout this very demanding race. The mood was also light this Saturday morning during the last briefing before departure.
