“Participation by cargo sailboats is unprecedented in ocean racing and they will race in an exhibition category. This new initiative is promoted by OC Sport Pen Duick who with the support of the CIC, the Title Partner of the race, aim to shine the spotlight on sail powered maritime transport.”
12.01.2023
The Transat CIC, the oldest single-handed transatlantic race, makes a long awaited comeback next spring. The 15th edition of the historic race
The route of the “Transat Anglaise” sends competitors on a 3,000-mile course across the North Atlantic, with no course marks between leaving Europe and arriving in North America. It remains a demanding course against the prevailing currents and winds.
The race remains loyal to the philosophies which underpinned its creation in 1960 but this time the race will be open to cargo sailing boats this year.
For Daniel Baal, general director of the CIC, “Associating our sporting partnerships with a societal objective is a strong signature of the CIC’s commitment to the world of sailing and offshore racing. As a company with a mission, we have set ourselves solid objectives. Supporting initiatives promoting decarbonization is one of them, and we are proud to see The Transat CIC innovate in this area and use its media prism to highlight the great initiatives of French companies present in all our territories”.
“There are many links between maritime transport and ocean racing in terms of people, knowledge and technology, even if these two worlds appear different. In its approach to using the elements and races that we organize as platforms of impact, OC Sport Pen Duick has elected to focus on sail powered maritime transport for the 2024 edition of The Transat CIC.” explains Stéphane Bourrut Lacouture, CSR manager of OC Sport Pen Duick, recalling that the North Atlantic is an important trade route for merchant ships.
“Maritime transport has launched a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions actually currently generates 3% of global emissions. By highlighting cargo sailboats in the race, we want to focus on a still little-known activity, to show that there are solutions, that other options do exist. The logistics are a little different and the crossing time of cargo sailboats is a little longer than a classic cargo ship but it is actually quite reliable in terms of timing,” he continues.
The Transat CIC will also show the diversity of technologies used because, as Stéphane Bourrut Lacouture explains, “some cargo sailboats are powered 100% by sail, while others use sails to reduce their fuel consumption “.
In the race, in which the cargo sailboats will participate in an unofficial category knowing that they cannot be sailed solo, they will be classified according to a formula taking into account their crossing time, their fuel consumption and the quantity of goods transported.
Sailing maritime transport will also be in the spotlight at The Transat CIC Village, which will open its doors in Lorient on April 23, and in which a space will be entirely dedicated to them. The objective: to present the different technologies used to date, to address the subject of training, the advantages but also the constraints of transporting goods by sail.
The theme of maritime maritime transport was addressed during the Club du Large conference, held today, December 19 in the presence, in particular, of François Gabart, who will present his maritime freight project called VELA and Yves Parlier , president of Beyond The Sea.
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