On Thursday, the last Minis reached the finish line of the Transat, including Markus Burkhardt SUI in 53rd place of the 58 Series Minis who completed the race. As always with the Mini-Transat, the final group is made up of participants who were either thrown back by damage, or who completed the project as a personal adventure with older yachts. In 55th place was 62-year-old Anne Liardet FRA, the third woman to complete a Vendée Globe in 2005 (11th place), and who finished the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2nd place 15 years ago on board a Class 40. ----- The final rankings and the final report with the adventures of the final group.

Meanwhile, 23 of the 29 Protos remaining in the race and 51 of the 59 Series Minis have reached the finish line in Guadeloupe. Markus Burkhardt SUI will be the next to arrive in Saint-François this morning as the 53rd Series Mini. In the overall standings, Felix Oberle SUI finished an excellent 5th, 8 hours behind the leader. ----- The rankings, the race tracker and the reports.

Meanwhile, 16 Protos have reached the finish on Guadeloupe. Benoît Alt SUI will finish the Transat this afternoon in 17th place. Meanwhile, 22 of the 59 remaining minis in the Series have crossed the finish line. This means that leg winner Luca Rosetti ITA is also the overall winner of the series minis, with Bruno Lemunier FRA and Grégoire Hue FRA completing the podium. Felix Oberle SUI missed out on the podium in 5th place by just under 3 hours. The overall ranking, the race tracker and the reports.

This morning at 1.30am CET, Luca Rosetti ITA reached the finish on Guadeloupe as the first Series Mini. It's quite possible that his advantage will also be enough for the overall victory; in the first stage he was 8th, around 16 hours behind the leading trio. Rush hour today in Saint François: 8 Protos have finished the race so far, and the main group of Protos will reach the finish today. Benoît Alt SUI,still 240 miles behind, will follow tomorrow in 20th place. ----- The podium places in the Series Minis will also be awarded this morning: Hugues De Premare FRA is 2nd only 7 miles ahead of Léo Bothorel FRA. Felix Oberle is an excellent 4th, 15 miles behind, and thus also moves up in the overall standings. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

Last night, the Uruguayan Federico Waksman URU reached the finish in Saint-François (Guadeloupe) after 13 days and 6 hours as the winner of the Protos. Carlos Manera ESP finished second, 8 hours behind. The duel for third place is still ongoing: Marie Gendron FRA is just 7 miles ahead of Julien Letissier FRA with 100 miles to go. ----- The Series Minis will be 'on the road' for another 24 hours. Luca Rosetti ITA is 44 miles ahead of Felix Oberle SUI this morning. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

There are only 570 miles to go to the finish on Guadeloupe, where the first ones should arrive on Saturday evening. ----- Frederico Waksman URU continues to lead the fleet of Protos with a comfortable advance of 83 miles over Carlos Mantera ESP. Marie Gendron FRA in 3rd place is already 154 miles behind. ----- In the Series Minis, Luca Rosetti ITA is now 63 miles ahead of Felix Oberle SUI, with Hugues De Premare FRA a further 14 miles behind in 3rd place. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

The fleet makes good progress in the inconsistent northerly trade winds, but the lead keeps changing. ----- This morning, Luca Rosetti ITA was back in the lead in the Series Minis in the north. Felix Oberle SUI is now 29 miles behind in second, and Hugues de Premare FRA follows 5 miles back. There are still 950 miles to finish, which is expected to be reached on Saturday. ----- Frederico Waksman URU is still clearly ahead in the Protos,. His lead this morning is 88 miles. ----- The race tracker, the reports and the Facebook page.

Yesterday, the fleet covered half of the leg distance, and now it's time to go full speed in the trade winds to the Caribbeans. ----- Hugues De Premare FRA continues to lead the Series Minis, with Luca Rosetti ITA just 3 miles behind. Felix Oberle SUI in 3rd place, 8 miles behind, remains in the race ... also for the overall victory: He finished the 1st leg in 12th place, 16 hours behind. Michael Gendrebien BEL, winner of the 1st stage, is now 91 miles behind in 18th place. ----- In the Protos, Federico Waksman URU was able to extend his lead to 98 miles. Marie Gendron FRA is the first pursuer. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

With daily distances of around 300 miles, the fleet is now making good progress in the trade winds. Federico Waksman URU was able to extend his lead in the Protos to 77 miles. In the series minis, the northern group was a little faster tonight, Luca Rosetti ITA moved up to 1 mile in the north to the still leading Hugues De Premare FRA in the south. Felix Oberle SUI is now 3rd, 12 miles behind. Michael Gendebien BEL, winner of the first leg, follows in 17th place, 69 miles behind. The race tracker and the reports.

The Minis are also progressing in the trade winds and are now heading west towards the Caribbean. ----- Hugues de Prémare FRA with his Series Mini set a new 24-hour record of 317 miles. Federico Waksman URU continues to lead the fleet of Protos this morning with a 29-mile lead over Carlos Manera ESP. ----- Luca Rosetti ITA maintained his first place in the Series Minis, followed 15 miles behind by Alessandro Torresani ITA in 2nd place. Felix Oberle SUI, the fastest this morning at 12.5 knots, has moved up to 11th place in the far south and is only 25 miles behind. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

After 5 days, the fleet has finally reached the trade winds and accelerated. The fastest boats are now the southern group with Felix Oberle SUI, who as the fastest in the fleet (13kn) has been able to make up much of his deficit, as 48th is now 85 miles behind. The northern group is still in the lead and is now also making good progress at around 8 knots. New at the top of the series minis is Luca Rosetti ITA. In the Protos, the southern group has already taken command: Victor Mathieu FRA has moved up to the top as the fastest of the Protos. The race tracker and the reports.

The southern group has now definitely reached the trade winds and is twice as fast as the main fleet in the north. They should be able to massively reduce their gap today. Uros Krasovac SLO continues to lead the Protos fleet. At the top of the Series minis is Peter Cools BEL. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

Already on day 3, there is an exciting, perhaps already decisive division of the fleet: A larger group sailing towards the west leads the classification this morning, but in the early hours of the morning today also got into the calm intermediate zone up to the trade winds. A second, smaller group has held on through the calm to the south and lost a lot in the process - Felix Oberle SUI is now 158 miles back in 50th. This morning the southern group has now reached the trade winds and accelerated. For now, Peter Cools BEL, sailing all the way north, is leading the fleet of Series Minis, in the Protos Uros Krasevac SLO - also all the way north is on top. Benoît Alt SUI is all the way north in 22nd place, 58 miles behind. The race tracker and the reports.

Today, the 1st leg of the Minitransat comes to an end in Las Palmas. The main part of the fleet has reached the finish. This morning, there are still two Protos and 7 series Minis in the race, among them Markus Burkhardt SUI as 57th in the Series. ----- The race-tracker and the reports.

A big lull before the finish in La Palma caused some turbulence in the classifications yesterday. ----- Carlos Manera ESP managed to pass the previously clear leader Victor Mathieu FRA and sneak across the finish line first with a 10 minute lead. Julien Letissier FRA was 3rd, 1 hr 15 min behind. 16 of the 29 Protos remaining in the race finished this morning. Benoît Alt SUI terminated the leg in 14th place. ----- In the Series Minis, Michael Gendebien BEL won with a lead of more than 4 hours over Victor Mathieu FRA. The Belgian chose a very westerly route in the decisive moment off the Portugal south coast putting him massively in front. Felix Oberle SUI, part of the leading trio south of Portugal, chose an eastern route and dropped back to 13th place, 17 hours behind. ----- The start to the second, twice as long leg across the Atlantic will take place in two weeks. ----- The race-tracker and the reports.

At 7 a.m. UTC, the editorial deadline today, Victor Mathieu FRA was the first Proto with 5 miles to go to the finish ... but the race is not yet decided ! Only 2 miles behind, Carlos Manera ESP is roaring in, more than twice as fast ! Around 9h, the decision should be known. ----- In the Series Minis, Michael Gendebien BEL leads by 6.4 miles over Justin Baradat FRA with 17 miles to go. Felix Oberle SUI follows in the dense midfield in 14th place, 123 miles behind. ----- The race-tracker and the reports.

Yesterday, the fleet has reached the trade winds, ready for the the final sprint to La Palma. ----- Victor Mathieu FRA, still leader in the Protos now 41 miles ahead of Maël Cochet FRA, was missing 215 miles to the finish this morning. ----- In the Series Minis, the group in the west was first to reach the trade winds, and new in the lead is now Michael Gendebien BEL 10 miles ahead of Bruno Lemunier FRA. Felix Oberle SUI follows 61 miles behind in 11th place. ----- The Race-Tracker and the Reports

After a race week, the Mini fleet has reached the trade winds last night, and a speed race to the finish for the last 460 miles is now ahead. ----- The first Proto is Victor Mathieu FRA moving on top with a more westerly course. His lead over Mael Cochet FRA is 27 miles. Benoît Alt SUI is now 16th. ----- The teams in the west also benefited in the Series Minis. Bruno Lemunier FRA leads by 3 miles over Michael Gendebien BEL. Felix Oberle SUI remained in the East and dropped to 10th place with a gap of 42 miles. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

Also yesterday, light winds prevailed off the coast of Portugal, but today it should freshen up from the north for the final sprint to Gran Canaria. There are still 600 miles to go until the finish. ----- Frederico Waksman URU continues to lead the Protos. Victor Mathieu FRA is now 6 miles back in 2nd. ----- In the Series Minis, Bruno Lemunier FRA has extended his lead to 23 miles. He was the only one of the top trio to choose a westerly course and benefit from fresher winds. However, the two chasers to the east, Luca Rosetti ITA and Felix Oberle SUI (32 miles behind) should be the first to reach the trade winds today. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

Off the coast of Portugal, the trade winds continue to wait. ----- Laure Galley FRA is new at the top of the Protos, and her lead over Frederico Waksman URU is 3.2 miles. ----- In the Series Minis, a top trio has pulled away: Bruno Lemunier FRA leads by 0.1 miles to Luca Rosetti ITA. Felix Oberle SUI follows 2 miles behind in 3rd. ----- There are still 680 miles to go to the finish. Tonight, the fleet should accelerate in the trade winds. ----- The race-tracker and the reports.

After rounding Cap Finisterre, the fleet has finally reached somewhat fresher winds off the coast of Portugal and accelerated to more than 10kn. ----- First Proto now is Victor Mathieu FRA, followed 10 miles behind by Laure Galley FRA. ----- Also 10 miles behind the leading Proto, Luca Rosetti ITA is still first in the Series Minis. 8.5 miles behind, Felix Oberle SUI has moved up to second place. ----- There are still 780 miles (about 4 days) to go to the finish in Gran Canaria. ----- The race-tracker and the reports.

With the winds still light, the fleet rounded Cape Finisterre this morning. Federico Waksman URU has taken the lead in the Protos, with Carlos Manera ESP following 2.2 miles behind in sight. 16 miles behind the leading Proto the first series Mini follows: Luca Rosetti ITA is now in the lead, David Ulysse FRA follows 1.6 miles behind, and also Felix Oberle SUI in 3rd place with 2 miles behind remains in the race for the leg win. There are still 970 miles to go. The race-tracker and the reports.

Still light winds in the Bay of Biscay ! In the past 24 hours, the closely packed fleet continued to make slow progress: Carlos Manera ESP at the head of Protos covered just 138 miles. This morning the fleet will round Cape Finisterre at the north-western tip of Spain. In the series minis, Ulysse David FRA is in the lead, Felix Oberle SUI has moved up to 5th place, 2.3 miles behind. The race tracker and the reports.

Yesterday, too, the conditions on the Bay of Biscay remained flat and the fleet, still sailing close together, made only slow progress. This morning, the 90 Minis are approaching the control mark near Gijon on the Spanish north coast. No hope that the wind will freshen up until tomorrow night when passing Cape Finisterre. ----- In the Protos, Federico Waksman USA is now in the lead 0.5 miles ahead of Victor Mathieu FRA. Benoît Alt SUI follows in 18th place 23 miles behind. ----- Bruno Lemunier FRA now leads the fleet of series Minis by one mile over Luca Rosetti ITA. Felix Oberle SUI moved up to 12th place with a deficit of 4.7 miles. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

In moderate conditions, the start of the Mini-Transat took place in Les Sables d'Olonne yesterday, and the first leg leads over 1350 miles to the Canaries. The fleet has not yet come too far and is sailing close together. ----- Victor Mathieu FRA is leading the Protos fleet 2.3 miles ahead of Federico Waksman USA, Benoît Alt SUI is 16th, 9.7 miles behind. ----- In the Series Minis, Bruno Lemunier FRA is leading, 1.3 miles ahead of Titouan Quiviger FRA. Felix Oberle SUI is 14th, 3.6 miles behind. ----- The race-tracker and the reports.

After the passage of the storm front yesterday, the weather on the Atlantic has calmed down, and today at 13.30h, the start to the first leg of the Mini-Transat will take place. ----- 90 solo skippers from 16 nations are taking part. ----- Light winds are expected to dominate up to Cap Finisterre on the north-western tip of Spain. ----- The preview. The race can be followed live via race tracker.

Due to a storm warning (up to 45kn !,) the start of the Mini-Transat scheduled for this afternoon has been postponed to Monday. At the start are 31 Protos and 59 series Minis from 16 nations. ----- The reports.

Next Sunday, the start to the Mini-Transat will take place in Les Sables d'Olonne. 31 Protos and 59 Series Minis are competing. Switzerland is represented by Benoît Alt SUI in the Protos and Markus Burckhardt SUI and Felix Oberle SUI in the Series Minis. ----- The preview.