On November 10 at 10:47 p.m., Antoine Canivet reached Saint François in Guadeloupe and completed the Mini Transat 2025 with a gap of only 27 seconds at the finish line behind the previous skipper!
A first stage disrupted by the weather
Along with Antoine, 90 sailors set off from Les Sables d’Olonne on the first leg of a solo voyage covering several thousand kilometers, with the Canary Islands as their destination. Hurricane Gabriele passing off the Portuguese coast forced the participants to return to land to seek shelter from waves 6 to 8 meters high. The organizers canceled this first leg due to these exceptional circumstances. Once the storm had passed, everyone set sail again to reach Santa Cruz de la Palma.
During his stopover, Antoine had the opportunity to read the 2025 ELA Dictation to students at Saint Georges School in Nancy via video link. The students even got to visit his boat! Antoine also took advantage of this break to explore the island with his colleagues, recharge his batteries, restock his supplies, and prepare his sailboat for the second race between Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands and Saint François in Guadeloupe. The 89 remaining competitors set sail again on October 25.
Duel at the finish of the second stage
With his Mini sailboat sporting the ELA colors, he achieved “one of the most beautiful finishes in this Mini Transat”, practically neck and neck with Ireland’s Mark O’Connor! “Twenty-seven seconds apart after 2,600 miles, at sunset… Honestly, it would have been hard to do better. I would have tried, but I couldn’t have done better!”
His parents and loved ones were waiting for him on the quay to congratulate him and celebrate the end of his journey of 16 days, 6 hours, 27 minutes, and 44 seconds.
Antoine, we congratulate you on taking on this incredible challenge and thank you warmly for flying our colors across the Atlantic Ocean!
