Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Mini 580 - Mini Globe Race - Panama - Leg 2 - Day 1
In very light winds - see the video on the Facebook page - the start of the 2nd leg of the Mini Globe Race took place in Panama yesterday. This morning, after 66 of the 6500-mile leg, Renaud Stitelmann SUI, winner of leg 1, was already back in the lead. Daniel Turner AUS is one mile behind in second place. The race tracker and the event website.
After crossing Panama by land, the fleet of 15 Mini 580s is now ready for the second leg, which will take them over 6,000 miles to Fiji. Stops in Tahiti and Tonga are permitted along the way to pick up provisions. The first leg was won by Renaud Stitelmann SUI - the 
Today at around 9am Denis Van Weynbergh BEL will be the last participant to reach the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne...but now out of competition after the time limit expired yesterday. All around there is a lack of understanding for this arbitrarily set limit (it corresponds to the finishing time of Ari Hussela FIN, who finished last 4 years ago), it remains to be seen whether the last word has already been spoken. From 9am, we will be showing the live broadcast of his finish at the top of the screen, - again we can expect a big crowd ! The 
The time limit for the Vendée Globe expired this morning at 8 am. However, last-placed Denis Van Weynbergh BEL will not cross the finish line until tomorrow afternoon. This morning, he was still 218 miles short of Les Sables d'Olonne. ------ The 
The time limit for the Vendée Globe expires tomorrow at 8 am. The 116 days and 18 hours correspond to the final time of Ari Huusela FIN, who finished last 4 years ago. ----- Denis Van Weynbergh BEL, the last remaining competitor in the race, will not make it tomorrow. He was still 300 miles short of the finish line this morning. Yesterday he barely made any progress with his damaged Open 60, and the Bay of Biscay is also very calm. It remains to be seen whether the requests made here and there to extend the time limit until the weekend will be heeded. ----- The 
Yesterday, Renaud Stitelmann SUI reached the finish of the 1st stage of the Mini-Global Race in first place. Keri Harris GBR follows in second place, 5 hours behind. 4 of the 15 participants have reached the finish so far. The 
In 32nd place, Fabrice Amedeo FRA (Nexan-Wewise) is now on the final approach to Les Sables d'Olonne, this morning he was still 174 miles short, he will reach the finish tomorrow. In last place, Denis Van Weynbergh BEL continues to fight his way north along the coast of Portugal without a mainsail, he still has 534 miles to go.... the time limit expires on Friday morning at 8am. The 
This morning Manuel Cousin FRA (Coup de Pouce) will cross the finish line in Les Sables d'Olonne in 31st place, still 24 miles short this morning. As next Fabrice Amedeo FRA is expected on Monday, he was still 453 miles short today. Denis Van Weynbergh BEL is still plagued by bad luck: after 3 days of sailing with only a headsail - easterly winds are forcing him to sail upwind - the locking mechanism of the swing keel also broke last night, but he was able to fix the keel in the centre position. However, the damage and the prevailing easterly wind situation are slowing down his race to such an extent that he will not make it to the finish before the end of the time limit (in 7 days). The 
Tonight Manuel Cousin FRA (Coup de Pouce) will reach the finish of the Vendée Globe in 31st place. This morning he was still 95 miles short. On Monday, Fabrice Amedeo FRA is also expected in les Sables d'Olonne. Denis Van Weynbergh BEL, who was still 764 miles short this morning, risks to face the maximum penalty. Having not yet managed to repair his main halyard, he is only making very slow progress with foresails, and the finish line will be closed in a week's time today. It is quite possible that he will be classed as retired. The 
On Friday Manuel Cousin FRA (Coup de Pouce) should reach the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne in 31st place. This morning he was still 500 miles short, with good westerly winds of around 25 knots he is making good progress. Fabrice Amedeo FRA follows 400 miles behind, another 300 miles behind is Denis Van Weynbergh BEL, last at the height of the Azores. The 
Manuel Cousin FRA was the only one of the final trio to stay in the westerly winds and can now cover the remaining 500 miles in good sailing conditions; he is expected in Les Sables d'Olonne on Thursday. Fabrice Amedeo FRA and Denis Van Weynbergh BEL were caught up in the Azores high, making little progress. In addition, Van Weynbergh BEL also suffered a fracture of the main halyard and will now have to make do with temporary solutions until the finish. ----- The 
In good aft trade winds, the Mini 580s cover around 140 miles in 24 hours, and it should take around 10 days to complete leg 1 to Panama. ----- Renaud Stitelmann SUI was able to extend his lead over Kerri Harris GBR to 3 miles. ----- The 
The start of the Mini 580 round the world regatta took place yesterday in Antigua in moderate conditions. The first short leg leads over 1200 miles to Panama, where the 16 Minis will be transferred to the Pacific. This morning Renaud Stitelmann SUI was in the lead by one mile. The 
The final trio finally reached the westerly wind zone in the north yesterday and are now making good progress. Manuel Cousin FRA (31st place) still has 1100 miles to go, he is expected to finish on Wednesday. The order is unlikely to change: Fabrice Amedeo FRA is 250 miles behind, Denis Van Weynbergh BEL follows a further 300 miles behind. The 
With the conclusion of the Vendée Globe - the final trio is still underway, here the 
