The Mini Transat is a solo transatlantic yacht race for Mini 6.50 boats, held every odd year since 1977. The race is divided into two legs with a stopover, typically starting in France (or England in early editions) and finishing in the Caribbean (4,020nm) or Brazil (4,200nm).
The total course length is approximately 4,020 nautical miles (nm) for Caribbean finishes and about 4,200 nm for Brazilian finishes (exact distances vary slightly by edition due to specific ports and weather routing, but are not always documented per year).
Early editions (pre-2001) often had only an overall winner, with categories formalized later into Prototype (Proto, more innovative designs) and Series/Production (Serie, production boats). Winning times are the total elapsed times for the overall race (both legs).
Longest times (times of the last finishers in each category) are not consistently documented in historical sources for all editions. Where available, they are noted; otherwise, they are marked as not found. Data is compiled from Wikipedia, official sources, and other historical records.
| Year | Course (Start / Stopover / Finish) | Total Length (approx.) | Proto (Prototype) Winner (Skipper, Boat, Time) | Serie (Production) Winner (Skipper, Boat, Time) |
| 1977 | Penzance (UK) / Tenerife (Canaries) / Antigua (Caribbean) | 4,020 nm | Daniel Gilard (FRA), “Petit dauphin” (production boat), 22d 18h 10m [1/19] Last Entry 37D NTL 1 | N/A |
| 1979 | Penzance / Tenerife (Canaries) / Antigua (Caribbean) | 4,080 nm | Norton Smith (USA), “American Express”, 32d 08h 10m (overall winner) [1/27] NTL 26 | N/A |
| 1981 | Penzance / Tenerife (Canaries) / Antigua (Caribbean) | 4,080 nm | Jacques Peignon (FRA), “Iles du Ponant” (Berret design), 32d 20h 22m (overall winner) [1/13] NTL 12 | N/A |
| 1983 | Penzance / Tenerife (Canaries) / Antigua (Caribbean) | 4,080 nm | Stéphane Poughon (FRA), “Voiles Cudennec” (Lucas design), 31d 14h 45m (overall winner) [1/16] NTL 15 | N/A |
| 1985 | Brest (France) / Tenerife (Canaries) / Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) | 4,070 nm | Yves Parlier (FRA), “Aquitaine” (Berret design), 31d 20h 37m [1/23] NTL 22 | N/A |
| 1987 | Concarneau (France) / Tenerife (Canaries) / Fort-de-France (Martinique) | 4,020 nm | Gilles Chiorri (FRA), “Exa” (Berret design), 30d 06h 41m (overall winner) [1/22] NTL 14 | N/A |
| 1989 | Concarneau / Tenerife (Canaries) / Fort-de-France (Martinique) | 4,000 nm | Philippe Vicariot (FRA), “Thom Pouss” (Finot design), 28d 07h 33m (overall winner). [1/24] NTL 17 | Loick Blamken, Bi Energie Douarnenez, [1/12] NTL 12 |
| 1991 | Douarnenez (France) / Tenerife (Canaries) / Fort-de-France (Martinique) | 4,090 nm | Damien Grimont (FRA), “GTM Entrepose” (Finot design), 29d 04h 37m (overall winner) [1/24] NTL 8 | Goulven Guillou, Ar Begenn (N’ Au Hasard), 32d 12h 3m, [1/18] NTL 9 |
| 1993 | Brest / Funchal (Madeira) / Saint-Martin (Antilles) | 4,000 nm | Thierry Dubois (FRA), “Amnesty International” (Rolland design), [1/53] DNF 35 | Laurent Vancutsem (BEL), Coco Virus, [1/13] DNF 6 |
| 1995 | Brest / Funchal (Madeira) / Fort-de-France (Martinique) | 4,000 nm | Yvan Bourgnon (FRA/SUI), “Omapi-St Brévin” (Finot design), 27d 07h 21m [1/32] | Erwan Grouhel, NTL (No Times Listed) [1/3] |
| 1997 | Brest / Tenerife (Canaries) / Saint-Martin (Antilles) | 4,000 nm | Sébastien Magnen (FRA), “Karen Liquid” (Magnen design), 38d 11h [1/33] | Erwan Grouhel, Spirit of America, [1/9] |
| 1999 | Concarneau / Puerto Calero (Canaries) / Rivière Sens (Guadeloupe) | 4,070 nm | Sébastien Magnen (FRA), “Team Jeanneau-Voile Magazine” (Magnen design), 24d 15h [1/46] DNF 20 | Christian Bouroullec (FRA), Pogo [1/19] DNF 7 |
| 2001 | Fort Boyard / Puerto Calero (Canaries) / Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) | 4,200 nm | Yannick Bestaven (FRA), “Aquarelle.com” (Magnen-Nivelt design), 30d 00h 23m [1/33] DNF 5 | Olivier Desport (FRA), “My Workplace” (Pogo-1), Not specified [1/27] DNF 3 |
| 2003 | Fort Boyard / Puerto Calero (Canaries) / Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) | 4,200 nm | Armel Tripon (FRA), “Moulin Roty” (Finot-Conq design), 29d 13h 25m 7s [1/39] DNF 7 | Erwan Tymen (FRA), “Navy Lest” (Pogo-2), 31d 13h 46m 3s [1/31] DNF 4 |
| 2005 | Fort Boyard / Puerto Calero (Canaries) / Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) | 4,200 nm | Corentin Douguet (FRA), “E. Leclerc-Bouygues Telecom” (Manuard design), 24d 21h 36m 24s [1/42] DNF 5 | Peter Laureyssens (BEL), “Wellments” (Pogo-2), 27d 4h 2m 20s [1/30] DNF 3 |
| 2007 | Fort Boyard / Funchal (Madeira) / Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) | 4,200 nm | Yves Le Blevec (FRA), “Actual” (Lombard design), 23d 03h 51m 24s [1/46] NTL 2 | Hervé Piveteau (FRA), “Jules-Cartoffset” (Pogo-2), 26d 4h 31m 17s [1/43] NTL 4 |
| 2009 | Fort Boyard / Funchal (Madeira) / Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) | 4,200 nm | Thomas Ruyant (FRA), “Faber France” (Finot-Conq design), 24d 23h 40m 30s [1/36] DNF 4 Out of Time 1 | Francisco Lobato (POR), “Roff TMN” (Pogo-2), 26d 19h 39m 18s [1/49] DNF 3 |
| 2011 | Fort Boyard / Funchal (Madeira) / Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) | 4,200 nm | David Raison (FRA), “Teamwork Evolution” (Raison design), 26d 03h 28m [1/33] DNF 7 | Gwénolé Gahinet (FRA), “Voiles Océan” (Pogo-2), 29d 16h 46m 40s [1/46] DNF 13 |
| 2013 | Douarnenez / Sada (Spain) / Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) | 4,020 nm | Benoît Marie (FRA), “benoitmarie.com” (Finot-Conq/AMCO design), 18d 13h 01m [1/31] DNF 13 | Aymeric Belloir (FRA), “Tout Le Monde Chante Contre Le Cancer” (Nacira design), 21d 09h 12m [1/53] DNF 20 |
| 2015 | Douarnenez / Lanzarote (Canaries) / Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) | 4,020 nm | Frédéric Denis (FRA), “Nautipark” (Lombard design), 19d 23h 19m [1/26] DNF 12 | Ian Lipinski (FRA), “Entreprises Innovantes” (Ofcet 6.50), 22d 09h 36m [1/46] DNF 3 |
| 2017 | La Rochelle / Las Palmas (Canaries) / Le Marin (Martinique) | 4,020 nm | Ian Lipinski (FRA), “Griffon.fr” (Raison 2014 design), 22d 23h 52m 46s [1/25] DNF 2 | Erwan Le Draoulec (FRA), “Émile Henry” (Pogo-3), 24d 19h 06m 30s [1/56] DNF 2 |
| 2019 | La Rochelle / Las Palmas de Gran Canaria / Le Marin (Martinique) | 4,400 nm | François Jambou (FRA), “Team BFR Marée Haute Jaune” (Raison 2014 design), 20d 20h 31m 57s [1/22] DNF 2 | Ambrogio Beccaria (ITA), “Géomag” (Pogo-3), 21d 21h 50m 55s [1/65] DNF 7 |
| 2021 | Les Sables-d’Olonne / Santa Cruz de La Palma (Canaries) / Saint-François (Guadeloupe) | 4,050 nm | Pierre Le Roy (FRA), “Teamwork”, 21d 02h 24m 08s [1/25] DNF 3 | Hugo Dhallenne (FRA), “YC Saint Lunaire”, 26d 02h 01m 03s [1/65] DNF 3 |
| 2023 | Les Sables-d’Olonne / Santa Cruz de La Palma (Canaries) / Saint-François | 4,050 nm | Federico Waksman (URY), “Repremar – Shipping Agency Uruguay”, 23d 04h 56m 39s [1/31]. DNF 3 | Luca Rosetti (ITA), “Race=Care”, 25d 01h 04m 35s [1/59] DNF 1 |
| 2025 | Les Sables-d’Olonne / Canary Islands / Saint-François (Guadeloupe) | 4,050 nm | Mathis Bourgnon (SUI), ASSOMAST LILIWIP (Bertrand design), 13d 18h 24m 45s [1/33] DNF 3 | Paul Cousin (FRA), JOLLY ROGER, 14d 23h 39m 24s [1/57] |
| 2027 | La Rochelle, (France) /Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spain) / Salvador de Bahia, (Brazil) | 4,200 nm |
Notes
- Classes were not formally separated until around 2001; earlier editions had overall winners (usually Proto-style boats).
- Longest times (last finishers) are rarely recorded in aggregated historical sources. For editions where partial leg times are known (e.g., 2015), they are noted but not comprehensive.
- Times are total for both legs; some sources provide leg breakdowns, but not all.
- The race emphasizes innovation, with Proto boats often faster due to advanced designs.
- The 4,200 Lengths all had Destinations i Brazil, Otherwise Various Destinations in the Caribbean
- NTL: No Times Listed (Number of Entries with no time listed) https://www.classemini.com/
- DNF: Did not finish (Number of Entries that did not finish) https://www.classemini.com/
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