[EN IMAGES] First departure since 2016: the Transat Québec Saint-Malo back in force

The 10^e edition of the Transat Québec–Saint-Malo officially took off this afternoon on the St. Lawrence River, under the eyes of numerous sailing enthusiasts who were crowded on both banks and on the AML Louis-Jolliet in order to admire this first departure since 2016.

“It’s really a beautiful day. The event is extremely unifying and everyone clearly missed it. In addition, the competition is very strong this year,” says Richard Samson, general director of the event.

Mother nature was also there for the return of the event, with the exception of a short but intense downpour which forced the postponement of the start by around fifteen minutes.

“We have a meteorologist following us and he warned us that a storm cell was coming. We had no choice but to delay the departure because it could have been dangerous. The boats no longer even saw each other,” explains race director Michel Fortier.

“The best”

Among the 25 Class40 yachts were several extremely talented racers such as Vincent Riou, winner of the Vendée Globe in 2004-2005. He had then completed a round the world race alone, in a 60-foot IMOCA monohull yacht, in 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes, improving the record by almost 6 days.

“We really had the cream of the crop of riders. It’s really hard to predict who’s going to win because we have some excellent riders and it’s going to be an exciting race,” said Mr. Fortier.

The crews will cover a total of 5,635 km during which they will only sleep for 30-minute periods. The arrival of the sailboats in Saint-Malo is scheduled for around July 9, or about ten days.

They will also pass through Rimouski, Matane, Gaspé and Percé, where prizes will be awarded to the first vessels to bypass the buoy installed in each of the municipalities.

Several Quebecers

Many Quebecers also participate in this popular transatlantic yacht race, such as skipper Georges Leblanc, aged 72, who set sail for his final crossing on Sunday.

Rimouski’s Gwenn Duval also left the port of Quebec in the afternoon aboard the Femina Ocean Challenge, whose crew is entirely female.

After some minor problems at the start, they were in 23rd position at the time of writing. Mr. Leblanc was in last position in his category due to a sail problem at the start.