The Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or \u2013 formerly known as the Transat Jacques Vabre \u2013 has got off to a dramatic start with three Ocean Fifty trimarans capsizing in the first night of racing.The Ocean Fifty Lazare x Hellio being towed after capsizing off Cherbourg, during the Transat Caf\u00e9 l’Or sailing race on October 26, 2025. Photo: Lazare Sailing TeamThe Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or \u2013 formerly known as the Transat Jacques Vabre \u2013 has got off to a dramatic start with three Ocean Fifty trimarans capsizing in the first night of racing.
\nFour classes compete in the double-handed transatlantic race from Le Havre to Martinique: Ocean Fifty trimarans, Ultim trimarans, Class 40 monohulls and IMOCA monohulls.
\nA series of fronts in the Channel and North Atlantic have made conditions difficult, with the race village closed on Thursday 23 October. The scheduled start for the Ultims, Class 40s and IMOCAs was delayed from Saturday 25 to today, Sunday 26 October.
\nHowever, the 10 trimarans in the Ocean Fifty fleet started on Saturday afternoon at 1630hrs, aiming to get out of the Channel before the biggest winds hit on Sunday night.
\nThe Ocean Fifty fleet at the start of the Transat Caf\u00e9 l\u2019Or on October 25, 2025 in Le Havre, France. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot \/ Alea
\nThree trimarans capsize
\nThe first capsize was reported on the first evening at 2027 UTC (1027 pm local time) when the Ocean Fifty Lazare X Hellio flipped off La Hague, the first peninsular after the start at Le Havre. The trimaran had set off just four hours previously. Both skippers, Erwan Le Draoulec and Tanguy Le Turquais, were safely airlifted to shore.
\nFrench coastguard services (SNSM) marked the boat\u2019s position, which was later recovered.
\nWeather conditions in the area were reported as rough, with steady winds of 22 to 25 knots, gusts up to 30 knots, and 3m waves.
\nThe Ocean Fifty Lazare x Hellio being towed by the French SNSM rescue service after capsizing off Cherbourg, during the Transat Caf\u00e9 l\u2019Or race on October 26, 2025. Photo: Lazare Sailing Team
\nSkipper Tanguy Le Turquais posted on social media today: \u201cEmotionally I can say that it was a bit shocking to see Erwan get in the helicopter from the central hull, then my turn [to get into the] chopper and see Lazarus x Hellio, with its white crossbeams and hulls half underwater\u2026 These are quite shocking images.\u201d
\nThe capsized Ocean Fifty Koesio washed up off a beach on Guernsey. Photo: Guernsey Coastguard
\nAround four hours later at 0025 UTC (0225 local time), the race management team was informed that a second Ocean Fifty, Koesio, had capsized north of Guernsey. At the time, the boat was in 8th position and sailing in a 25-knot northerly wind with 2.5m waves.
\nCo-skippers Erwan Leroux and Audrey Ogereau were both safe and unhurt, and rescued by helicopter. On Sunday morning the wreck of the trimaran had washed up on a shingle beach at Perelle on Guernsey.
\nNext to capsize was Inter Invest, skippered by Matthieu Perraut and Jean-Baptiste Gell\u00e9e, which was reported as having capsized off the coast of the Abers, the north-west the tip of Brittany at 0405 UTC. Co-skippers Perraut and Gell\u00e9e were also both safe and in good health, and airlifted from the trimaran around 0600. The boat was later salvaged by the 35m\/115ft trimaran Merida.
\nOcean Fifty Inter Invest, skippers Matthieu Perraut and Jean Baptiste Gell\u00e9e at the start of the Transat Caf\u00e9 l\u2019Or on October 25, 2025. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot \/ Alea
\nOcean Fifty: on the red line
\nThe Ocean Fifty fleet is notorious for racing \u2018on the edge\u2019. In 2018 six of the 50ft trimarans started the TJV, with only three finishing.
\n\u201cThe vigilance level is a little higher than for the other [classes],\u201d commented Elodie-Jane Mettraux before the race. Mettraux is racing \u200b\u200bwith Anne-Claire Le Berre on Upwind by MerConcept.
\n\u201cWe know there\u2019s a red line that we mustn\u2019t cross, otherwise we\u2019ll capsize,\u201d added her co-skipper Anne-Claire Le Berre. \u201cIt adds extra nervous tension and forces us to be even more focused.\u201d
\nCo-skipper of the capsized Koesio Erwan Le Roux had told race media before the start: \u201cIt\u2019s easy to put the foot right down hard on the accelerator, but capsizing is the problem if you push too hard.\u201d
\nOcean Fifty Koesio, skippers Erwan Le Roux and Audrey Ogereau at the start of the Transat Caf\u00e9 l\u2019Or 2025 on October 25, in Le Havre, France. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot \/ Alea
\nTanguy Le Turquais, a recent convert from the IMOCA and co-skipper of the capsized Lazare X Hellio had also spoken of the risks before the start, saying: \u201cOn board, you realize that you are slowly getting used to it, to increasing the threshold of fear.\u201d
\nTransat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or start
\nThe remaining three classes got underway at lunchtime today. They include four giant Ultim trimarans, 18 IMOCAs and 42 Class 40s. The course lengths of the Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or vary to try and have the four classes arrive in Martinique at approximately the same time between 5-7 November.
\nThe Ultims have been set a 6200-mile course that takes the fastest ocean racing boats in the world into the Southern Hemisphere to a waypoint south of Ascension Island and sees them cross the Doldrums twice.
\nThe Ocean Fifty fleet was set a 4600-mile course, rounding the island of Sal in the Cape Verdes before turning right for Martinique.
\nThe 18 IMOCAs are racing on a 4350-mile track that leaves the Canaries to starboard.
\nBecause of an incoming frontal system with an expected deterioration in weather conditions at theentrance to the Bay of Biscay, the race management team has decided to alter the Class 40 course. The 42 boats will stop in La Coru\u00f1a (Spain) to seek shelter, and a second start will then be given as soon as conditions permit.
\nThe overall ranking of the Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or Le Havre Normandie in the Class 40 fleet will be calculated based on the combined times of the two legs.
\nThe post Three 50ft trimarans capsize in first night of Transat race: all skippers rescued\u00a0\u00a0 appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or \u2013 formerly known as the Transat Jacques Vabre \u2013 has got off to a dramatic start with three Ocean Fifty trimarans capsizing in the first night of racing.The Ocean Fifty Lazare x Hellio being towed after … <\/p>\n