The longest day, before the great escape
Departure on Friday, 24 April 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
Five hours to cover the fifteen nautical miles of Quiberon Bay—that’s the feat to remember from this first day of racing in the Trin’40. Under a blazing sun, the 30 sailors were slowly cooked as they searched for a way (through the water) to escape this magnificent liquid prison.
At last, taking pity, the wind deigned to show itself again in the early evening, as the fleet approached Belle-Île, allowing the solo sailors to regain some nighttime momentum—and a few precious minutes of sleep—in their push toward the northwest.
Everyone knows that it takes a lot of patience to be patient. Among the wide range of qualities required to be a good sailor, the 30 competitors in this first edition of the Trin’40 had plenty of time, on this opening day of racing, to test their composure—which, admittedly, was a bit of a misnomer given the relentless heat in the Bay of La Trinité! And it’s no exaggeration to say that these first miles of racing gave them a real headache—and sent their brain temperatures soaring.
From the 2 p.m. start, the atmosphere felt more like a wildlife documentary than a high-adrenaline action film… Even those who managed to get moving off the start line soon found themselves stalled off Hoëdic, stuck like flies in epoxy glue, desperately searching for where relief might come from on the racecourse.
“The Mediterranean is a great school for light winds”
After five hours of battling, flapping sails, and intense maneuvering, it was Italian sailor Matteo Sericano (Lucente, 180) who first found the way out, closely followed by Hyères native Mikaël Mergui (Centrakor – Hirsch, 183), in a cheeky twist against the Bretons.
“It’s true that the Mediterranean is a great school for light airs,” joked Matteo Sericano early in the evening. “It helped me—I know the boat settings in these conditions, I knew it would respond well, and it really did! In any case, it was amazing to sail past Hoëdic and Houat like that—it’s really, really beautiful,” said the 28-year-old sailor, who was busy “rehydrating after a very hot day.”
In his wake, Mikaël Mergui—“super happy with his start to the race”—was also pleased to have cracked the day’s puzzle. “Being Mediterranean might, for once, give a small advantage in these conditions: staying calm, having experience with shifting, unreliable winds, being able to read a bit of what might happen… or not! I have to admit I was pretty happy to be in the right mode. Matteo and I have battled for two years in the Med, so it’s cool to find ourselves here together!”
Last will be first
This test of patience also smiled upon two female sailors: rookie Théa Khelif (Women Of Course, 158) and Ireland’s Pamela Lee (#EMPOWHER, 178), who were fourth and fifth respectively at the first mark, the striking red-and-white Les Grands Cardinaux lighthouse.
For the Normandy sailor, making her very first solo start in a Class40, it was an impressive beginning—proof that talent needs no years to shine. “There was a bit of apprehension about positioning myself in the pack on the start line,” admitted the 27-year-old, reached a few hours after her “cautious start.” “I’m happy with this first phase and with managing to zigzag to find a few gusts. I tried to stay patient and not multiply maneuvers too much, to keep some base speed, because these boats are quite heavy to get going.”
For Pamela Lee, the result was all the sweeter as she had—her words, not ours—“a pretty terrible start!” Struggling with engine issues just after leaving the harbor, the Irish sailor found herself among the last on the start line: “At least it gave me the chance to see what was happening ahead—and that they were all completely stuck in a lull! I saw on Windy that there was a bit of wind on the left, so I tried that, staying calm and playing with the boat to keep some speed. For now it’s not bad—I’m happy. It’s one of my best rankings, so that’s always nice!”
“Finding the solo routine”
But there’s no getting carried away, because while today’s challenge was tough, the rest of the course promises no less. Early in the evening, the wind began to return gently off Belle-Île, before settling—relatively—around midnight, the witching hour… and the moment when some of the class heavyweights came back into play.
Led by Corentin Douguet (SNSM, faites un don, 209) and Axel Tréhin (Affaire à faire, 214), who had also recovered well from a poor start, the fleet was able to beat upwind toward the Sein cardinal mark, finding slightly more favorable conditions to rack up the miles. That was all it took for recent Transat Café L’Or winner Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran – Seafrigo, 197) to rejoin the front pack, along with Guillaume L’Hostis (Alternative Sailing – Construction du Belon, 196), one of the local sailors and in particularly strong form at the start of the 2026 season.
Above all, this steadier wind also meant some precious rest for everyone. “Before too long, I’m going to start taking short naps,” Mikaël Mergui explained at the start of the night. “Honestly, the daily checklist isn’t filled yet! I’ll need to stay sharp and avoid mistakes, so I’ll try to rest—5 or 10-minute naps, maybe 20 if conditions are stable.”
Because beyond individual performances or setbacks, this first day of racing above all marked, for everyone, the return of that unique feeling of being the sole master on board—and the slight vertigo that comes with it, especially under the stars of a pitch-black night. “That’s really the goal of this first night,” summed up Pamela Lee, noting that she hasn’t done many solo nights at sea so far. “I need to get used to being alone at sea, taking breaks, finding a routine, and at the same time keeping the boat moving fast!”
A vast challenge that will keep them all busy in the coming days, as at dawn the leading boats rounded Pointe de Penmarc’h and continued their climb north. “He who sees Sein sees his end,” goes the saying—but the thirty Trin’40 competitors know full well that the race has only just begun, and that plenty more sweat lies ahead.
