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Bon Voyage’ to Lizzy Foreman who has just set off on her thousand mile, single-handed qualifying passage for the 2015 Mini Transat.
For safety reasons, every mini sailor who wants to enter the main Mini Transat Event (a single-handed race across the Atlantic), must complete a series of qualifying passages before their entry will be accepted.
This is to ensure that the sailors have a good understanding of their boats and themselves before they are let loose on a transatlantic crossing.
The main qualifier is a circular, 1000 mile non-stop solo passage that has been pre-determined by the Classe Mini. The course can be joined at any point, and can be run in either direction, as long as the full circuit is completed.
The course takes the sailor up to Ireland and around the Coningbeg lightship, then down and around the shallow plateau off the west coast of La Rochelle in France.
The earlier a sailor qualifies, the higher up any waiting list a competitor is placed should there be too many entrants, so it is vital that the sailor completes his or her passage as early in the season as a good weather window will allow.
Currently, it looks like a very good weather window for Lizzy’s qualifier, with a stable high pressure system pushing its way over to the south of Ireland.
We wish fair winds and a safe voyage for Lizzy on her qualifier!
