Mini Transat 2025, set off! Italy blows on the sails of Cecilia Zorzi and Nicolò Gamenara

The 2025 edition of the Mini Transat, the solo transatlantic race dedicated to the Mini 650 class, has started from Les Sables d’Olonne.As per tradition, the race is divided into two legs: the first up to Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands of 1350 miles, the second up to Saint-François (Guadeloupe), of 2700 miles. Racing for Italian sailing were Cecilia Zorzi on Eki, and Nicolò Gamenara on Red Hot Mini Pepper, both in the Series category.

There are 57 entries in the Series category and 33 in the Prototypes, for what is uniquely considered the gateway to the world of racing, whose last edition in the Series category was won by Luca Rosetti, and in the two previous editions (2021 and 2019) featured a podium finish by Alberto Riva and a victory by Ambrogio Beccaria.

Mini Transat.Italians in the regatta

Cecilia Zorzi and Nicolò Gamenara may not come to this starting lineup among the super favorites, but they are potential outsiders to absolutely keep an eye on, with ambitions of being able to break into the top 10 and generally being able to perform well while sailing well.

Zorzi is racing a Wip, a design boat from Italian Oris d’Ubaldo, which became Series only a few weeks before the start (according to the rules that require 10 boats of a model to be built for this to be Series). Nicolò Gamenara is participating instead with a Vector. Two boats that in certain conditions, especially load-bearing with very strong winds, could give up something in terms of performance compared to the Mini 650 Maxis in the fleet, but in a race like the Mini Transat the variables at play and the unknowns are really many and anything can happen.

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The Weather of the First Stage

After the light wind upwind of these first few hours, the fleet is expected to enter a fairly strong northerly wind flow that will accompany them toward Cape Finisterre with a passage of the Bay of Biscay all at the carrying gaits and in non-prohibitive conditions. This flow could then gradually turn into the Portuguese Trade Wind, but there is some surprise on the horizon regarding the second part of the leg.

A depression could in fact go to vary this condition, and change the weather scenarios in the approach to the Canaries, with a trade wind moving eastward and perhaps opening up a transition zone that is still difficult to position.

Tracking Mini 650