The 2024 race program
February 14th, 2024
For the 3rd year running, the Sogestran Group is supporting the Normandy Offshore Program, a talent incubator designed to give young sailors in Normandy the chance to take up ocean racing aboard a Class40.
Sponsoring offshore racing by supporting the Normandy Offshore Program is about giving young Norman talents the opportunity to prove themselves in offshore racing. It’s about doing in high-level sport what we do every day in our professions: training by valuing expertise, trust, agility, pride, and commitment.
The new Class40 Sogestran-Seafrigo (named after the 2 Le Havre-based partner companies) was launched in July 2023. Her first race was the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2023. Cédric Chateau and Guillaume Pirouelle finished 14th in a race full of twists and turns.
This year’s racing program will give Guillaume Pirouelle and several young skippers the chance to participate in demanding races, benefiting from the experience of Cédric Chateau.
The Caribbean 600 - Antigua
February 19 to 23 - Crewed race
This non-stop 600-mile offshore race weaves around eleven spectacular islands in the central Caribbean. It starts and finishes in Antigua.
The "slalom" race between the Caribbean islands requires numerous maneuvers, wind shifts, and a single straight line of 140 miles out of a total of 600.
Participants need a high level of skill and endurance. They always contend with strong winds, thanks to the trade winds that consistently blow intensely during the RORC season.
The Transat CIC - From Lorient to New York
Departure on April 28th - Solo race
It will be the 15th edition of The Transat CIC, previously known as the "Transat Anglaise".
This race takes place every 4 years and is a true monument of offshore racing. It has changed departure and arrival ports several times. While its departure from Plymouth for many years earned it the nickname "Transat Anglaise," it has set course for several North American cities in various editions: New York, Newport, and Boston.
For the 2024 edition, OC Sport Pen Duick, with the support of CIC as the Title Partner and a major player in the event, will propose a new route between two iconic maritime cities: 3000 miles across the North Atlantic from Lorient to New York.
The 2024 edition will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Éric Tabarly’s victory aboard Pen-Duick II, which marked not only the history of the race but also of French sailing. While Tabarly achieved a double victory by winning again in 1976, this time aboard Pen-Duick VI, Loïck Peyron, who won in 1992, 1996, and 2008, holds the record for the most wins.
"The Transat CIC is an historic race. It is the only transatlantic starting from France to have such a northerly course. It is also the most complicated because at the end of April – beginning of May, there can be quite difficult upwind conditions. This solo race can be challenging and tough, with conditions similar to those that sailors may encounter in the Vendée Globe. It is interesting to reconnect, after the Covid-19 years, with a course quite similar to its original course, which is not done downwind like the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe or the Transat Jacques Vabre – Normandy Le Havre", comments Francis Le Goff, Race Director of The Transat CIC.
To learn more, visit the website of the The Transat CIC
Transat Québec - Saint-Malo
Departure on June the 30th - Double-handed race
The Transat Quebec - Saint-Malo is the only transatlantic offshore race without a stopover, contested from west to east. It takes place every 4 years.
In 2024, the race will celebrate its 40th anniversary and its 10th edition.
Normandy Channel Race - Between Normandy and Ireland
Departure on September the 15th - Double-handed race
The Normandy Channel Race covers approximately 1000 nautical miles in the English Channel and the Celtic Sea, starting and finishing in the city of Caen in Normandy. The skippers navigate from Normandy to Ireland, passing through the southwest coast of England and the Channel Islands.
It is a double-handed race that allows the Class 40 boats to push themselves to their full potential.
The course is diverse:
- Half of it is along the coastal route in France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland
- The other half is an offshore route in the English Channel and the Celtic Sea.
The course is demanding: the boats will sail through complex navigation areas, allowing for various tactical maneuvers, at a very high racing pace - a true one-week sprint.
To learn more, visit the web site of the Normandy Channel Race.