The second leg of the 6.5-metre Mini-Transat offshore solo race, like the first, was not without breakdowns. Patrick Jaffré 's boat broke the rudder blade. Antoine Cornic experienced power failures on board. The least unlucky was Romain Bolzinger who broke his mast.
Bolzinger, who is sailing under a stormy sail at an average speed of 4 and a half knots, will take about 30 days to cover the remaining distance to the finish line. An extra month at sea alone!
This is not a complete list of participants whose boats broke something. Six sailors had to take a pit stop in Mindela (and consequently earn penalty points). Some managed to repair the damaged boat on the move. For example, David Allamelou laminated a damaged bowsprit in the open ocean. Yann Burkhalter also repaired the bearing on the rudder stock. Elodie Pédron also managed to fix the rudder without resorting to a pitstop.
Meanwhile the Mini-Transat leaders are already determined. Prototype division is topped by Ian Lipinski with over a thousand miles to go. In the production boats division leader Erwan Le Draoulec is in a less strong position with a 40-mile lead over Clarisse Crémer.
The Mini-Transat is a 4050-mile regatta on 6.50m offshore racing sailboats. The race consists of two stages. In 2017, the winners of the first leg from La Rochelle to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria were Jan Lipinski and Valentin Gautier.
