Launching a new transatlantic race could be said to be something of a gamble, especially into a packed IMOCA class calendar. But the first edition of the solo Le Retour à La Base which starts on October 26th has gathered a big, diverse entry of some 40 boats and solo skippers. The race follows hard on the heels of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre but is an important chance for skippers to build racing miles in solo mode on a demanding Transatlantic course. And most importantly it is a key qualifying race for entry to the 2024 Vendée Globe.

That is a bit part of the appeal. The solo race is the last opportunity in 2023 to seal a place on the 2024 starting line up. To be qualified, each skipper-boat pair must have started a minimum of two solo races, one of which is before 2024. And Le Retour à La Base is the only solo race which fits this category. 

"It will definitely be important to finish this race just to be able to be a little more calm in the future,” recognizes Charlie Dalin, whose new IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance was launched at the end of June.

Indeed on the bay of Fort-de-France, on Sunday November 26, almost all the contenders for the legendary solo non stop unassisted race round the world will be on the start line. Among them new boats for Jean Le Cam and Briton Phil Sharp. 

But whilst Vendée Globe qualification is qualification is an essential element of the Le Retour à La Base it will also be a great opportunity for solo skippers to press their machines at full race pace in early winter conditions from Martinique to Lorient across the Atlantic into the hostile Bay of Biscay encountering weather and sea conditions which most likely will resemble stages of the Vendee Globe. 

“In some ways this looks like what we can expect in the Southern Ocean with strong downwind sailng. It’s going to be great expereince to deal with that." enthuses Isabelle Joschke, skipper of MACSF. 

The combined challenge of the two races back to back, the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre followed by the Le Retour à La Base is a big one. There is no time for major repairs between races.
“Everything will depend on the state of the boat at the finish of the Transat Jacques Vabre,” Sébastien Marsset (Foussier - Mon courtier énergie) points out. "For the older IMOCAs which will arrive into Martinique later and the small teams where the skipper needs to be hands on it will be particularly tough!" 

"It will be a very interesting race to follow”, comments Antoine Mermod, president of the IMOCA class. “The objective is ambitious for the skippers and the teams with a technical and physical challenge, to be ready to set off again as well as the extremely high level of competition. We could not dream of better preparation for the pinnacle race that the Vendée Globe is." 

Such enthusiasm is shared by Lorient Grand Large, the organizer of the event. “With 40 IMOCAs entered, we are immediately into the big league,” says president, Jean-Philippe Cau, who predicts “a great battle on the water, with a format very close to the final of the Vendée Globe. And for us it is a chance also for the region and all the people of Lorient to be able to welcome the solo sailors home to our impressive facilities at Lorient La Base. “What region would not dream of having a solo transatlantic IMOCA finishing at home?"