Mini Transat sailors seek shelter to avoid hurricane Gabrielle

Mallorcan sailor Hugo Ramón, aboard the “Cristalmina Majorica”, seeks shelter in the Portuguese coast after the suspension of the first stage of the Mini Transat, due to the closeness of the 4-stage hurricane, Gabrielle.

The organization of the regatta has decided cancelling the route between Les Sables d’Olonne and Santa Cruz de La Palma before the risk that the hurricane, which advances towards the east faster than expected, reaches the fleet in the next 36 hours with up to 60-knots winds and waves from six to eight meters. 

Ramón, who participates for the fourth time in this oceanic test in solitary, is currently the participant who is situated more to the west, out of the 90 registered ones, which turns him into the most exposed one to the evolution of this meteorological phenomenon. 

He’s 190 miles away from the continent and it’s estimated that he could take from 48 to 50 hours to reach land, around the area of Lisboa, before the hurricane’s tail reaches Portugal next Saturday. His coach, Marc Claramunt, has signaled that he has limited time, since this afternoon he sailed with little wind at a 4-knots speed.

The Boulangère Mini Transat, which set sail last Sunday, is one of the most demanding regattas of the international calendar. The participants face a journey of 4.000 nautical miles alone in 6’5 metres long boats and without the possibility of keeping contact with land, which makes them take tactical decisions only with basic data aboard and two generic meteorological reports a day. In this edition, the first stage had to unite Les Sables d'Olonne (France) with Santa Cruz de la Palma (Canary Islands), and the second one had to be a crossing from the Atlantic to Guadalupe.

“The meteorological situation is very clear and the hurricane is expected to be devastating. Our priority is the security of the competitors and the support boats”, explained Emmanuel Versace, organizer of the test, after announcing the suspension. The directorate of the regatta works now with the closest ports to guarantee that all the participants can be welcomed in the best possible conditions while it is evaluated how to go back to the competition while the bad weather goes through”.