Transatlantic Doublehanded: A Small Boat in a Big Sea - Seahorse June 2024

Written by Kate Cope

Racing a small boat shorthanded across the Atlantic is one of the bucket list challenges for many amateur doublehanded offshore sailors. Let’s look at the different options and advice from those who have experienced the races.

Cap Martinique started its 2nd edition in April’24. This relatively new race from La Trinité to Martinique is proving to be very popular with both Solo and Doublehanded boats. Its first edition attracted 35 boats and this one had a wait list within three days and 80 boats racing. The race has the advantage of plenty of good quality competition in a narrow rating band and a short delivery from Northern Europe to the start.  The previous doublehanded winners are Ludo Gérard and Nicolas Brossay on their JPK 10.80 Solenn for Pure Ocean. Ludo told me they really had a lot of fun during the race, there was not a single day without a big laugh on board! The ambiance set by the race committee and competitors is warm and friendly and the organisation was fantastic. Each boat races to highlight a chosen charity and Ludo will again be racing for the Pure Ocean NGO.

Also competing Cap Martinique is the USA Duo Christina and Justin Wolfe on their Sunfast 3300 Red Ruby. They are taking on their first Transatlantic race after a strong season in 2023. They are most looking forward to the close competition in similar boats and some great trade wind sailing with long rollers to surf.  

The RORC have just completed their 10th Transatlantic race from Lanzarote to Grenada, if you want to join them the 11th edition is January 2025. The race attracts plenty of high-profile mono and multihulls but past editions have had few doublehanders. The timing is perfect for some bucket list Caribbean racing, you arrive in plenty of time for RORC Caribbean 600 (Mid-February) and most of the inshore regattas. It’s well organised and good value, with the lowest entry fee of all the races, and complimentary social events.

Transquadra will run its 11th Edition in July ’24. A race for Amateur sailors over 40 years old it has good support with 19 DH and 20 solo boats registered. The race has two starts, La Turballe and Marseille, both ending in Maderia. The second leg to Martinique starts at the end January ’25. The timings are good for the weather but with a long layover in Maderia your boat is away from home for many months. 

I raced the RORC Transat in Jan ’23 in my Sunfast 3200R2 Purple Mist. The best advice I was given is to have back-ups for all critical systems and resources. Many shorthanded boats install a second autopilot on a separate NMEA backbone, as water ingress or a lightening strike can take down your primary backbone and all associated instruments. It’s also critical your autopilot is calibrated to handle the larger waves. For back-up power generation, solar panels are light and efficient in the sunshine and EFOY Fuel cells are quiet and work 24hrs. 

If you want Weather Gribs for routing then you will need more than an Iridium handheld. At the cheaper end of the scale Iridium Go! is slow but works. For more bandwidth and ability to send out small pictures and blogs then consider the Certus 100/200 or Starlink. Practise before the race to ensure you know how to download the compressed files and how to get the tracker info on the other boats. 

There is a high risk of chafe on sails, halyards, sheets and guys so spares are essential and take a good sail repair kit. With the big rolling waves and constant squalls, the risk of a spinnaker wrap is high so consider a netting jib. Gavin Howe and Maggie Adamson who have just completed the RORC Transatlantic their Sunfast 3600, Tigris, told me they loved their netting jib as it protected them several times from a wrap. For the long downwind legs, a ready to go boom preventor is reassuring and a second spinnaker pole could save your race. 

Be prepared for a lot more hours of darkness than Northern Europe summer races, take high powered torches and install a mast light for trimming. Sargasso weed levels are increasing, a weed stick is useful for the rudders and expect to round up regularly to free the weed from the keel. 

Taking a relatively small boat across a large expanse of ocean may seem daunting, but many have done it. As I reassured my co-skipper on our Transatlantic race “If Christopher Columbus could make it to the Caribbean in 1492 in a leaky old wooden boat, then for sure it’s possible in a modern plastic racing boat”.