FR
ENThere was considerable excitement around the Bassin Paul Vatine to send the ten Ocean Fifty boats on their way, docking out from = 1300hrs today. The bright sunshine gave a slightly surreal feel to this breakaway of the twenty co-skippers who were happy with the 24-hour early passout given by the TRANSAT CAFE L'OR Race Directorate. "Bringing forward the start reassures everyone. Tomorrow's forecast wasn't very reasonable for our boats, but the first night is still going to be hairy," said Basile Bourgnon, who is new to the open oceans in his Ocean Fifty.
Ocean Fifty started
Ocean Fifty
Départs
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25 October 2025 - 16h58
The ten Ocean Fifty set off this afternoon in good shape, leaving from their line at 1630hrs local time (1530hrs UTC). Large crowds enjoyed a Saturday bonus start, lining the sunny quays of Le Havre in the early afternoon for their final farewells.
Like the co-skipper of Edenred 5, many multihull rookies are setting sail in this class. For ten of the twenty sailors, this transatlantic race is a first in a multihull, and fans, family, and friends alike, are there to see them off. Swiss IMOCA skipper Justine Mettraux came to hug her sister Elodie Jane (UpWind by Mer Concept), Gildas Morvan watched Gaston, his champion son, set off with Pierre Quiroga on Wewise, and we also saw Loïs Berrehar and Tom Laperche, who came to cheer on their pals.
30 knots in the gusts
At 1:00 p.m. sharp, it was Lazare X Hellio, skippered by Tanguy Le Turquais and Erwan Le Draoulec, who cast off their lines. The pink trimaran was soon winding its way towards the Eure basin where the ULTIMs are moored, and where the public could see in the background the imposing Artemis, an 81-meter sail powered cargo boat that had arrived in Le Havre on Friday. A few minutes later, the Ocean Fifty were back in action, heading for the start zone, anchored 3 miles northwest of Cap de la Hève.
With a 1.5-meter swell and a 20-knot wind that was strengthening to 30 in gusts as the procedure began, the ten multihulls set off under one or two reefs in the mainsail and a small jib. All had taken a little extra time to avoid missing the early start. Lazare x Hellio and Wewise were the fastest to set off in a golden sun light with large cumulonimbus clouds on the horizon, evidence of sustained atmospheric activity. And so there is no shortage of tension as the Ocean Fifty look to find the best routes in the Channel tonight, hoping for a respite by Sunday evening off the Bay of Biscay.
