The route

The Transat Jacques Vabre international sailing race that starts on Saturday 5 November 2005 from Le Havre, France, crosses the Atlantic Ocean to end in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

After leaving Le Havre the two-man crews will first traverse the busy English Channel. They will then head southwards across the fearsome Bay of Biscay. It will take three to five days of tough sailing before the trade winds can be found, then the long surf towards the southern hemisphere can start. The multihulls (catamarans and trimarans) have to sail around Ascension Island before heading west toward Bahia while the monohulls can go directly across the Atlantic.

Crossing the ocean at a speed of over 17 knots for the 60-foot multihulls and nearly 12 knots for the 60-foot monohulls, after about a fortnight at sea the competitors should reach the finishing line outside the harbour of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. In 2003 the fastest 60-foot multihull made it in just less than 12 days, while the fastest 60-foot monohull concluded in 17 days 15 hours.