La TRANSAT

Green Circle

Upon arrival in St. Barth’s, we noticed tents on the docks and what appeared to be preparations for a large celebration.  The Port Authority informed us they were expecting the finish of the TRANSAT, and we were very lucky to get a mooring inside the harbor.  La TRANSAT is a 3890 mile race from Concarneau, France to St. Barth’s.  The first of the 21 Figaro Beneteau II’s competing were scheduled to arrive the following weekend.

From our mooring we could see and definitely hear most of the festivities.  Due to light winds, the guests of honor for the party were running a little late.  But, that did not stop the partying on Friday and Saturday nights.

During the day, the local youth sailing clubs put on an exhibition and there were other family oriented activities.

The first boat, Green Circle, did not cross the finish line until 3:55 PM Sunday afternoon.

As the boats finished they were met by the race officials and helped into a stern tie off of the quay.

When we went to bed on Sunday night, there were 4 boats tied to the quay.  By morning they had been joined by most of the rest of the fleet.  When we checked on Monday afternoon for an early morning departure on Tuesday, we were warned to watch for the last arrival.