One year before the 2024 Vendée Globe, two back to back transatlantic races – the classic double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre race to Martinique, closely followed by the new solo Retour à La Base – set a demanding schedule for IMOCA skippers who are seeking to be on the start line of the round the world race in November.
The inaugural 3,500-mile solo race back from Fort-de-France in Martinique to Lorient La Base, France’s de facto epicentre of IMOCA activity, was a stark contrast to the outbound transatlantic, with its tradewind miles and Caribbean finish.
The eastbound passage gave skippers a chance to really push their boats hard downhill, riding the early winter train of Atlantic low pressure systems which are generated off Newfoundland. The wind and sea conditions of the North Atlantic in winter are very similar to the ‘big south’ of the Vendée Globe, with the option to modulate their level of attack, sailing closer to the centre of the lows to find more wind or dropping south into more manageable conditions. It was not only about finding the limits for the boats – many skippers reported brutal conditions on board, while Sébastien Simon suffered a head injury that required him to staple his own scalp back together mid-Atlantic.
This second transat was also key in the race for miles almost every skipper is chasing to achieve qualification for the oversubscribed Vendée Globe. The Retour à La Base was especially essential for new boats, which have to do one solo race in order to qualify. For skippers
