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The IMOCA Ocean Masters Championship through to the Vendée Globe 2016

A new race setting sail from New York in spring 2016

lundi 11 mai 2015Redaction SSS [Source RP]

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It was in the French Sailing Federation offices, IMOCA Imoca #IMOCA ’s headquarters, that the Annual General Meeting took place to review action undertaken and outline the main routes forward for the Class. The feedback from the past year was positive and plans are already in the pipeline for future advances.

As a preamble, Jean Kerhoas, President of IMOCA Imoca #IMOCA , applauded the Class’s good health with some seven new boats built or being built and a very real prospect of a fleet of twenty-five competitors at the next Vendée Globe. This very encouraging situation mustn’t prevent us from casting an eye to the future and anticipating the various evolutions underway in oceanic racing. Such was the direction of the President’s Report presented by Jean Kerhoas and approved by the General Meeting.

IMOCA Imoca #IMOCA Ocean Masters Championship : maturity

Those at the meeting paid tribute to Jean Le Cam for his IMOCA Ocean Masters World Champion 2013-2014 title. Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre Transat Jacques Vabre #TJV2015 2013 with Vincent Riou, and winner of the Barcelona World Race Barcelona World Race #barcelonaworldrace 2014 with Bernard Stamm, Jean Le Cam’s title serves as a timely reminder that the IMOCA Class administrators are also skippers who sail.

The IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship continues to consolidate its position. For this new 2-year period, which began with the conclusion of the Barcelona World Race Barcelona World Race #barcelonaworldrace , the IMOCA Class has validated a programme that alternates between double-handed and single-handed races. In addition to the traditional events – the Transat Jacques Vabre Transat Jacques Vabre #TJV2015 and the Vendée Globe – the championship will hinge around two events that are taking root, the Rolex Fastnet Race, which will be run double-handed, and the single-handed Transat B to B, which is the return transatlantic sprint back to Europe after the Transat The Transat #thetransat #ostar Jacques Vabre.

An original event prior to the Vendée Globe

Moreover, the IMOCA class has opted to follow through on the suggestion by OSM Open Sports Management – organiser of the championship – to add a new single-handed race between New York and Les Sables d’Olonne to its race programme. This unique event setting sail from the legendary city of New York and finishing in the port that hosts the Vendée Globe is designed as a warm-up race before the competitors take the big plunge in November 2016, with both races involving predominantly downwind conditions. Finally, the arrival on Vendée soil should be an opportunity to rally together a substantial public whilst the skippers get a taste of the journey up the channel into Les Sables d’Olonne.

Jean Kerhoas re-appointed as President and Jérémie Beyou a new administrator

Finally, the General Meeting also saw the election of the new administrators : three outgoing advisors were reappointed, namely Jean Kerhoas, Alex Thomson and Marc Guillemot. Jérémie Beyou joins the Executive Committee as a replacement for Bernard Stamm, who after a number of years of loyal service wished to pass his seat to others wanting to steer the destinies of the IMOCA Class.


Voir en ligne : Info presse www.imoca.org


The programme for the IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship

  • Rolex Fastnet Race (double-handed), Cowes – Plymouth (GB), start 16 August 2015
  • Transat Jacques Vabre (double-handed), Le Havre – Itajai (BR), start 25 October 2015
  • Transat B to B (single-handed), Saint Barts – Roscoff, start 6 December 2015
  • Transat New York to Les Sables d’Olonne (single-handed), start 29 May 2016
  • Vendée Globe (single-handed), start 6 November 2016


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