Galway sailmaker Yannick Lemnnier finished the Eurochef MinisTransat yesterday (Monday) in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe at 20:37:47 UTC in 16th place in the Proto Division in his 2004-vintage Manuard design Port of Galway tracker here 

To achieve this, he overcame a dismasting in preliminary sailing off the coast of Brittany, and then survived being caught on the wrong wide of an exceptionally severe storm while rounding Finisterre in northwest Spain during Stage 1, to La Palme in the Canaries, where the fleet had to contend with the eruptions of the nearby volcano.

Pierre Le Roy’s super-scow Teamwork finished the MiniTransat 2021 in Guadeloupe on track on Friday with a good lead on the water of almost 12 hours from Fabio Muzzolini, and at noon Sunday the first seven boats of the Proto division are now in port in Saint-Francois. However, with stronger winds waiting at the Caribbean islands for those who had got in front, the gaps have widened, and the leader of the larger Series division - Hugo Dhallenne in YC Saint Lunaire - is still 60 miles from the finish at noon, but with improved speed at 10+ knots.

Ireland’s Yannick Lemonnier - obliged to race on the Proto division as his 2004 San Manuard design Port of Galway was modified for the race - is still 260 miles from the finish, with speed down at 7.9 knots in the lighter winds further at sea. He lies 17th in the Proto Division but is above the halfway mark in the combined 86-boat fleet.

Pierre Le Roy sailing the uber-scow Teamwork has a good lead in the Euorochef Minitransat 2021 as he closes towards the finish at Saint-Francois in Guadeloupe 200 miles away, where he is expected to cross the line tomorrow (Friday) evening.

With nearly a hundred miles in hand on the next boat, Fabio Muzzolinini’s Tartine, he has been benefitting from being first to the fresher winds on the western side of the Atlantic, circumstances which had dictated that the fleet trended well south in search of better pressure in mid-ocean.

Ireland’s Yannick Lemonnier, sailing the veteran 2004 Sam Manuard design Port of Galway, was at one stage showing a class best placing of tenth in the Proto division, but today (Thursday) he was recorded in 17th place, with 750 miles still to sail to the finish.

Race tracker here

As planned, the second leg of the 23rd Mini Transat EuroChef kicked off Friday and Ireland's only entry in the solo sailing race is lying 12th in the Proto division.

As reported earlier, Galway Franco-Irish sailmaker Yannick Lemonnier, racing Port of Galway, took 16th place in the Proto Class in the first leg and in the early days of the crossing - and with the Atlantic Ocean ahead of him - he is hoping to improve on that.

Propelled along by a light NE'ly breeze, the 86 participants still competing in the event left Santa Cruz de La Palma bound for Saint-Francois with a hefty 2,700-mile sprint ahead of them as well as a great many unknowns.

Unknowns associated with the exercise itself which, for the vast majority of sailors, will be their transatlantic debut, but also unknowns linked to the weather. Indeed, in addition to the wind shadows created by the Canary Islands, the solo sailors will also have to deal with some lacklustre trade wind and the great many uncertainties caused by this scenario.

Good wishes for Galway Minitransat sailor Yannick Lemonnier

As predicted, very light airs (between 4 and 5 knots of NE'ly breeze) set the tone for the start of the second leg of the 23rd edition of the Mini Transat EuroChef this Friday afternoon, offshore of Santa Cruz de La Palma. For the next 24-36 hours then, the solo sailors will have to be patient and opportunistic in their bid to escape the Canaries archipelago.

* This Sunday, whilst making headway offshore of the coast fringing the Western Sahara, the fleet competing in the 23rd Mini Transat EuroChef has scattered every which way. Indeed, it now spans over 180 miles in latitude and 130 miles in longitude, evidence that the 84 competitors still out on the racetrack are each sailing their own race. Some of them have clearly placed the emphasis on heading due south where they can rack up good speeds, whilst others are opting for a compromise by zigzagging their way down the Atlantic so as to gradually reposition themselves over to the west. One other, Australian Christiaan Durrant (1015 - Little Rippa), has clearly targeted the shortest route by sticking as closely as possible to the great circle route, which should logically give him pride of place on the leader board in the near future. A position report which, at this stage of the race, doesn't really give a true indication of which competitors are best placed to hook onto favourable conditions going forward.

Solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier racing Port of Galway finished the first stage of the Eurochef MiniTransat 2021 at 16th in class this afternoon (Saturday) at Palme in the western Canaries, having moved up a couple of places during the final approach to the port of Santa Cruz de la Palme.

While many of the fleet are still at sea, the top performers who managed to avoid the storm-enforced stop in northwest Spain last weekend have now carved out a wellnigh unassailable lead.

But with 85 boats still racing, there is plenty of competition at mid-fleet to provide the French-born Galway-based sailmaker with some excellent boat-for-boat competition in the main Transatlantic leg.

Details here 

While the leading boats in the fleet of 90 racing the Mini Transat 2021 are now passing Madeira and well on their way to their planned stopover in the Canaries (where they may well find that volcanic activity interferes with arrangements), some craft in the main part of the fleet suffered so much from extreme weather and whale attacks off northwest Spain that they were forced to seek shelter and safety in the nearest harbours.

Among them is Yannick Lemonnier in his boat Port of Galway, who got to Baiona near Vigo after a section of the fleet pulled in there to avoid heavy weather and orca attacks. The Minis were being thrown around like dinghies by the orcas, and apparently the substantial aluminium Mini 650 Transat Support Boat was attacked by whales - they had a determined go at his rudder.

Several other boats have been towed to Baiona, while a UK vessel was towed to Vigo and a Swiss boat to Cangas. The activity of the whales is very high off Galicia right now, and the current advice is not to transit these waters until later in October.

As for the situation with the volcanic eruptions on their destination of La Palma, that is “being monitored”.

Race tracker here

Galway solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier is in 15th place in the 25-boat Proto division on the first stage of the Mini Transat Race.

Lemonnier, the only Irish competitor, is 85-miles behind leader Perre Le Roy in a leg that has seen some tough conditions in the Bay of Biscay and one dismasting since starting last Monday (September 27th).

The first 1,350-mile stage takes the fleet over seven days from Les Sables Dolonne to Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands.

Dismasted Frank Lauvray, the skipper of Proto 356 Alice was unharmed and a support boat was rerouted to assist him.

After arrival in the Canaries, next up for the Galway Bay sailmaker is a 3,000 mile Atlantic crossing, without weather routing by satellite or any contact with the land before finishing in Saint-François in Guadeloupe.

Track the fleet here

Irish offshore solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier has pledged to continue his Mini Transatlantic Race campaign after his recent yacht dismasting in the English Channel.

Speaking to Afloat, Lemonnier said he had received such a warm and supportive response from sailors in both France and beyond after the incident that he intended to continue his preparations.

Lemonnier (50), managing director of West Coast Sails, is a five-time Figaro sailor with over 90,000 miles sailed - mostly solo.

“The Mini Transat community is quite small, and I have had so many offers of help and so much assistance and kindness in France, and so many calls,” he said.

He said he planned to set up a GoFundMe page here to help cover the financial cost of repairs and would continue his campaign towards this autumn’s Mini Transatlantic.

Lemonnier had completed the Mini Fastnet race and was on his way back to Ireland when his mini 491 Port of Galway was dismasted off the French island of Ouessant at the south-western end of the English Channel.

He was not injured and SNSM, the French lifeboat service, towed him to Lampaul bay on Ouessant.

Lemonnier and his son Sean are reigning champions of the Cong-Galway race, which takes place this weekend.

As Lemonnier plans to quarantine when he returns home, he won’t be competing – but his son, Sean and his friend Killian Matthieu plan to enter the race in their Dart 16.

Irish offshore solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier's September Transatlantic ambitions have been set back after his mini 491 Port of Galway dismasted, last night around 2h30, off Ushant, a French island at the south-western end of the English Channel.

Organisers of the Mini Fastnet race are reporting the Galway-based sailmaker is 'fine, not injured, except for his morale'.

Lemonnier was on his way back to Ireland, following the Mini Fastnet race he had completed a few days previous.

As Afloat reported previously, the Galway sailor had embarked on the first part of his Mini campaign that features a 600-mile race from Douarnenez in Western France. It's a campaign that will ultimately see Lemonnier (50) compete in the Mini Transatlantic Race this September. 

Lemonnier's boat appeared to be 'drifting' towards shipping lanes, so the SNSM, the French lifeboat service, intervened and took him in tow to Lampaul bay, on Ushant island, according to an update to supporters from Olivier Lemonnier this evening.

He is reported to have secured the remains of his rigging and managed to lower his mainsail that had been jammed after the dismasting.

The break, which is at the level of the second spreaders was mostly likely caused by the breakage of a spreader bracket or the spreader itself.

Lemonnier had to go up the broken mast again to put two halyards in order to hoist the mainsail to the highest reef point and a storm jib.

The wind forecast for the next 48 hours is quite strong, 25-35 knots, so Lemonnier will have to be patient before being able to bring his boat back to a  French port such as Brest, Camaret or Douarnenez to effect repairs.

What better way to get excited for what 2021 has in store by taking a look back at our favourite articles from 2020.

The top five articles from Quantum Sails sites are listed below. They cover a range of useful topics including solo sailing, with our own Yannick Lemonnier from Quantum Sails Ireland.

Other articles cover sail recuts, custom graphics, family sailing and Code 0 use.

For all your sail needs for 2021, be sure to contact us for some advice or a quote. Contact details below for Mark Mansfield and Yannick Lemonnier from Quantum Sails Ireland

1. SOLO SAILING

Short-handed sailing played a big role in many adventures this year, from cruising with a partner to racing single-handed around the world. Quantum's Yannick Lemonnier shares his expertise, tips, and tricks. Getting started with your short-handed sailing here.

2. RECUTS

Are you having a hard time pointing? Overpowered due to stretched or bagged out sails? Precision recuts extend the life of your sails, and now is the perfect time to learn about the process or schedule service.
What You Need to Know About Recuts here

3. CUSTOM GRAPHICS

Make a statement in 2021! Custom sail graphics can be applied to any new or old, upwind or downwind sail, no matter if they're Dacron, nylon, or Quantum Fusion M. Check out the article below to learn how simple the process is and for some inspiration when creating your own design! Custom Sail Graphics are Easier & Cheaper than you think here

4. FAMILY SAILING

Now is the perfect time to plan your 2021 adventures. Here are some reminders to help keep it fun and create lasting memories while sailing with your family. Sailing as a Family here

5. CODE ZERO

Code Zeros are all the rave, and for good reason. They're easy to control, extremely useful, practical, and available for both racers and cruisers. Quantum's Dave Flynn gives insight and details why these sails should be part of your sail plan. Code Zero: Light-Air, Close-Reaching Powerhouse Sail here 

For further information contact:

Mark Mansfield [email protected] ph 00 353 87 250 6838
Yannick Lemonnier [email protected] Ph 00 353 87 628 9854