Twelve double-handed crews in the IMOCA category will set sail in the Transat Jacques Vabre to head for Salvador da Bahia (Brazil), crossing the 4350 nautical miles of the North Atlantic. Who will follow in the footsteps of Vincent Riou and Sébastien Col, winners of the 2015 edition with a time of 17d, 00h, 22mins, 24secs on PRB? It all gets underway in Le Havre on 5th November.

Among those lining up in 2017, there are three mixed doubles: Tanguy de Lamotte and Samantha Davies on Initiatives-Cœur, who already took part in 2015. Louis Burton and Servane Escoffier on their foiler Bureau Vallée 2 (ex-Banque Populaire, winner of the last Vendée Globe) and finally, Isabelle Joschke and Pierre Brasseur on Generali. 
 

© Jean Marie Liot /DPPI / Vendée Globe

Some big names will be competing with in particular Jean-Pierre Dick and Yann Eliès on StMichel-Virbac, Paul Meilhat and Gwénolé Gahinet on SMA, Kito de Pavant and Yannick Bestaven on Bastide Otio, Fabrice Amedeo and the Italian, Giancarlo Pedote on Newrest-Brioche Pasquier, and finally Morgan Lagravière and Roland Jourdain, who want to take advantage of this transatlantic race to atempt to find a new sponsor for the former Safran. 
 

© Martin Keruzoré

List of the twelve crews registered for the 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre (in the IMOCA category)

1 - Morgan Lagravière et Roland Jourdain / Amis Sponsors embarquez avec nous!  

2 - Kito de Pavant et Yannick Bestaven / Bastide Otio 

3 - Louis Burton et Servane Escoffier / Bureau Vallée 2 

4 - Romain Attanasio et Aurélien Ducroz / Famille Mary - Etamine du Lys

5 - Isabelle Joschke et Pierre Brasseur / Generali 

6 - Tanguy de Lamotte et Samantha Davies / Initiatives-Cœur 

7 - Alan Roura et Frédéric Denis / La Fabrique

8 - Arnaud Boissières et Manuel Cousin / La Mie Câline - Artipôle

9 - Fabrice Amedeo et Giancarlo Pedote / Newrest – Brioche Pasquier

10 - Paul Meilhat et Gwénolé Gahinet / SMA

11 - Jean-Pierre Dick et Yann Eliès / StMichel - Virbac

12 - Yoann Richomme et Pierre Lacaze / Vivo A Beira

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Top photo © Stichelbaut / PRB