Note in your diaries that a new edition of the Defi Atlantique reserved for Class40 crewed boats will be proposed by Grand Pavois Organisation with the support of Class40, starting from Guadeloupe, at the beginning of April 2023, to La Rochelle (France), via a stopover in Horta (Azores - Portugal). This Atlantic return race officially registered in the Class40 calendar will allow the competitors of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2022 to make a return to the race, with a minimum of two crew members on board.
In the important timing to note, the Class40 registered for the Defi Atlantique will take the start on Saturday, April 1. A stopover is planned in Horta in the Azores in order to optimize the weather conditions for the arrival on the Atlantic coast and will allow the skippers to change, if they wish, their crew members (note that it will be proposed and possible to take a journalist on board as a crew member for the second leg in order to live a last leg in race and live). The scheduled arrival date in La Rochelle will be between Friday 21 and Sunday 23 April. A specific welcome device will be set up Bassin des Chalutiers, as during the last edition of 2019 organized by Grand Pavois Organisation.
Halvard Mabire, President of Class40: "defi Atlantique, second edition. Class40 is delighted with the announcement of the second edition of the Atlantic Challenge. This event, reserved for Class40 only, proved its relevance during its first edition in 2019 and is now a regular part of the Class40 program. Indeed, what better way for Class40s to return to Europe after the Route du Rhum?
The return by sea is becoming more and more important. On the one hand, Class40s are ocean-going boats made for sailing, and on the other hand, returns by cargo are becoming more and more expensive and complex, and also less and less compatible with a certain ethic of ocean racing, which wants to be as virtuous as possible on the environmental level. Therefore, a race back from the West Indies represents a great opportunity to transform what could be a simple individual delivery into a thrilling event, capable of attracting a good part of the Route du Rhum fleet, as well as some boats based in the West Atlantic and willing to come and do the European season 2023.
The start of the Defi Atlantique at the end of March allows to take advantage of the Caribbean waters after the Route du Rhum and to participate in some of the events of the Caribbean season. The finish in La Rochelle, around mid-April, anticipates the races of the Class40 2023 program: Normandy Channel Race, Les Sables Horta, Fastnet, Transat Jacques Vabre...
Also, the course of the Defi Atlantique, with a stopover in the Azores, in Horta, offers the opportunity to the crew to discover or to find with pleasure a place appreciated by all the sailors, but also authorizes changes of crew and possibly a better adaptation of the chronology of the race according to the weather conditions. Good luck to the Defi Atlantique, soon a "classic"... "
The notice of race and the participation file will be available in October 2021 from Etienne HARDY of Grand Pavois Organisation ehardy@grand-pavois.com.
Source: Grand Pavois Organisation
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