History of the Transat Jacques Vabre

Coffee beans

It will be said at the end of our century that racing yachts rediscovered, one by one, the great oceanic trading routes.. In this spirit the Transat Jacques Vabre retraces the myth of coffee. Implanted in the Caribbean and in South America, the "green gold" has today become one of the leading transatlantic commercial products. Almost 95% of today's coffee is still transported by ship. The association of Le Havre, host port for the start since its creation, stems from the city's maritime heritage. As a hub for the distribution of tropical produce in the nineteenth century, the city nicknamed the "gateway to the ocean" is today the leading port for the importation of coffee. Since 1993, therefore, Jacques Vabre and Le Havre have been passionately associated with the creation of this double-handed race, which is also the longest of all transatlantic races.

In the wake of coffee...
The story of the great Atlantic maritime routes is essentially linked with the formidable economic growth between the continents of America and Europe. But it was not until the 19th century that coffee became an important part of the traffic. The trade of coffee between Latin America and France began humbly as only 80 pounds of beans were disembarked in Le Havre in 1728. Opportunity came knocking for coffee when a serious disease brought about the disappearance of the cacao trees in the colonial isles. Consequently, the colons exchanged the culture of cacao for that of coffee. In Martinique alone the harvest measured 20,000 hundredweight in 1732 and the importations in Le Havre went up from 7,000 pounds to 448,000 pounds in 1736.

Coffee commerce really took off with an order from the French State Counsel, dated 29 May 1736, which allowed the free trade of coffee beans produced in the islands. Until 1850 the tonnage of coffee brought to Le Havre did not exceed 10,000 tonnes. At the time, transport was done using sail yachts made of wood reinforced with copper. In 1840 there were 196 three-mast yachts out of a fleet of 302 vessels. Thirty years later, there were 445 in a fleet of 591, a measure of the tremendous progression made. From 1900 onwards the glory days of the three-mast days had passed: only 14 of them were still moored in the great Norman port. They would finally all disappear between the two World Wars.

Even though the three-mast coffee epic proved short lived, the same was not true for the production of coffee in Colombia. Having been spread by all of the village priests, the production of coffee adopted a far greater role in the national economy. In 1679 Colombia became the 10th largest exporter in the world with 50,000 hundredweight. It had reached second place by 1925.

Likewise, the disappearance of large three-masters did not harm the link that had been created between Le Havre and coffee. The proof is that in 1937 the port of Le Havre was alone responsible for four fifths of all French imports of the product. One can thus quite easily imagine the scale of the maritime traffic linked with coffee between Le Havre and Colombia.

French skipper Alain Colas

22 January 1977...
The idea emerged for a French double-handed transatlantic race during a meeting organised by the magazine Neptune-Nautisme and the weekly magazine Le Point. Following consultation the French skipper Alain Colas defined the main principles of such a race: it should set off from a French port and return there after crossing the Atlantic both ways. At the end of May 1979, 39 yachts set off from Lorient in the first double-handed transatlantic race.

Public followed with passion
Thanks to the use of an Argos satellite tracking system used for the first time ever and the coverage of the French radio station Europe 1, third sponsor of the event, the public followed the race with passion. The hydrofoil Paul Ricard of Eric Tabarly and Marc Pajot was first to round the Bermuda buoy but in the end it was the duo of Riguidal and Gahinet on VSD who overtook to win the race. Only 5 minutes and 42 seconds separated the first two yachts and the race rightly became legendary in the sailing history books.

Two further editions of the double-handed transatlantic would take place in 1983, with the victory of Jean-François Fountaine and Pierre Follenfant (Charente-Maritime) and in 1989 when Bruno Peyron and Jack Vincent were victorious in the Lorient/St-Barthélémy/Lorient race.

"Paulo" victim of a crash

1993 - Birth of a great race with a coffee flavour
Jacques Vabre followed in the maritime wake of the coffee trade between Le Havre and Cartagena. On 31 October 1993, 13 yachts - 8 monohulls and 5 multihulls - set off in this new transatlantic race. Thirteen yachts set off in this new race. Thirteen crews following the great maritime coffee route between Latin America and Europe.

In the multihull class, following a difficult start, Paul Vatine and Laurent Bourgnon take part in an extraordinary duel in virulent trade winds. The Norman records his first major victory after 16 days and 46 minutes at sea, despite crossing the finish line 1 hour and 17 minutes after Laurent. The explanation is that "Paulo", the victim of a crash with an assistance zodiac at the start, is granted 9 hours and 10 minutes of bonus time. In the monohull category the "extra-terrestrial" Yves Parlier negotiates the Azores magnificently. He takes advantage of the high pressures to the south and pulls way ahead of the other competitors. In 18 days, 23 hours and 38 minutes he wins the first transatlantic race between Le Havre and Cartagena, with a lead of a little over 30 hours over Alain Gautier. Another noteworthy event in this transatlantic race is the capsize of the yachtswoman Marie Sergent.

1995 - A new concept is defined for the race
The Transat Jacques Vabre will be run as a double-handed race!Following the success of the transatlantic race organised between Le Havre and Cartagena, the three partners - Jacques Vabre, the City of Le Havre and the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia - expressed a desire to accentuate the special nature of the event and give it an unique character. It was thus decided by the Pen Duick Company, the race organisers, that the Transat Jacques Vabre would be the longest of all transatlantic races and would be run double-handed. During the week leading up to the start, tens of thousands of inhabitants of Le Havre became highly enthusiastic about this adventure.

Following a week of festivities marked by Colombian attractions, the eleven competing boats - six monohulls and five multihulls - set off in summer conditions, beneath a blue sky, with an easterly wind of 7 to 8 knots on a calm sea. In order to salute the departure of the fleet, Le Havre had put on the colours of an Indian summer.

29 October: At 21.35 local time the trimaran of Paul Vatine and Roland Jourdain crosses the finish line victorious in Cartagena. Paul Vatine wins the competition for the second consecutive time. The journey from Le Havre to Cartagena (4,887 miles) has been made in 14 days, 12 hours and 25 minutes, i.e. an average speed of 13.95 knots. Banque Populaire, the trimaran skippered by Francis Joyon and Jack Vincent, finishes 36 minutes later and Primagaz 4 hours and 47 minutes..

5 November: Côte d'Or, manned by Jean Maurel and Fred Dahirel, wins the monohull category of the Transat Jacques Vabre at 17.40 local time. The two yachtsmen had taken 21 days, 8 hours and 40 minutes to travel 4,419 miles, at an average speed of 8.60 knots.

"Primagaz"

1997 - A full-flavoured start!
At the start of the third edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre the best skippers of the day set off from Le Havre to Cartagena, a distance of 4,419 nautical miles for the monohulls and 4,887 miles for the multihulls. The latter had three compulsory markers to pass - Barbados and Martinique to starboard before passing the common marker for both categories, the Pain de Sucre in Saint Barthélémy. Following a tough start the 36 competing yachtsmen soon got down to business. The extremely fast crossing ended with the victory of the monohull Aquitaine Innovations, manned by Yves Parlier and Eric Tabarly, and the multihull Primagaz skippered by Laurent and Yvan Bourgnon who bettered the record set in 1995 by Paul Vatine and Roland Jourdain by 6 hours and 37 minutes. The new record is 14 days, 7 hours, 37 minutes and 48 seconds.

1999 - Innovation:
Different Departure Dates for the Monohulls and Multihulls
PFor its fourth edition the Transat Jacques Vabre looked irresistible. Both the monohull (12 entrants) and multihull fleets (8 entrants) were more evenly matched than ever before. The final transatlantic race of the millennium also had an extra trump up its sleeve - staggered starts for the two fleets! "With two starts and two different routes monohulls and multihulls are at last playing on a level field," rejoiced Gérard Petipas, the race director. "It is a grand premiere that should be repeated in the future."
The monohulls have a route measuring 4,420 nautical miles, with a marker at Saint Barthélémy. The multihulls have some 5,520 miles to cover. They have to leave the island of Barbados to starboard, round the Pain de Sucre rock in St-Barth, then head for the island of San Andreas off Nicaragua before heading directly for Cartagena.

2001 - Promise made and kept
During the four previous editions, the number of participants in the Transat Jacques Vabre has never ceased to regularly increase. 13 competitors in 1993, 11 in 1995, 18 in 1997, 20 in 1999, 33 in 2001… The event is original and attracts the greatest yachtsmen and women both for its sporting interest and spirit of adventure. In this great race skippers can team up with their closest partner and accomplice with whom they will form a united team, sharing the pleasures and pains of the sea across the Atlantic. No further proof is needed. In 2001 the Transat Jacques Vabre took on a different dimension and destination. This 5th edition was exceptional and full of extreme emotions!

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