D-10 to La Drheam Cup - Destination Cotentin: all systems go!

La Drheam Cup - Destination Cotentin 2016 start © Thierry Martinez / Drheam Cup

La Drheam Cup - Cherboug - Chantereyne Harbor © Jérome Houyve

The second edition of La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin will kick off on Saturday 21 July at 11:00hrs with the Drheam Trophy, whilst the race prologue will set sail on Monday 23 at 12:30hrs. The final preparations are in full swing ready to welcome the 80 competing boats.

In ten days' time, La Trinité-sur-Mer in south-west Brittany will play host to the prologue for the second edition of La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin, the Drheam Trophy. Within the context of the Rêves de Large operation, the event will enable local children aged 9-11 from the Auray Quiberon Terre-Atlantique region to be part of the fun by sharing the daily life of a professional or amateur offshore racer over the course of a race spanning forty miles or so.

"It's not just about visiting a boat and going for a sail, it's about getting first-hand experience of racing, so I think the day will give the children some unforgettable memories and hopefully some new vocations will be hatched", explains Jacques Civilise, organiser of La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin, on the initiative of this operation which is "all about passing on knowledge and sharing".

These values will also guide the organisation team which, from 19 July, will host participants and the public in the race village at La Trinité-sur-Mer. The vast majority of the organisation team is female in line with the organiser's wishes, who is naturally delighted to see several women signed up for La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin. Indeed, there will be five in total: three in Class40 (Miranda Merron, Claire Pruvot, Morgane Ursault-Poupon) and two in Imoca (Sam Davies and Isabelle Joschke).

Thursday 19 and Friday 20 will be devoted to finalising the registrations and scrutineering the boats, whilst festivities will commence with the Drheam Trophy on Saturday 21 July, before the start on Monday 23 July of the main OPEN event between La Trinité-sur-Mer and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. 80 boats will set sail on two courses, the first stretching 736 miles via the Fastnet and Wolf Rock, which will serve as a qualifier for the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, the second spanning 428 miles via Wolf Rock. Their progress can be tracked live via Géovoile, a real-time cartography interface.

This exceptional line-up has notably been made possible by the teams rallying together at the start and finish venues, whose support Jacques Civilise is particularly grateful for: "The teams at the ports have made a considerable effort to accommodate 80 such big boats and I'd especially like to thank the sailors come fishermen of Cherbourg, who have agreed to free up spaces to enable the whole fleet to access the commercial port (Bassin du Commerce), which is remarkable". In short, everything's in place, both in the Morbihan region and in the English Channel, to help ensure that La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin is a high point for competition, sharing and festivity, so see you from 19 July!

La Drheam Cup - Destination Cotentin 2016 start - photo © Thierry Martinez / Drheam Cup

Compete in La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin via Virtual Regatta too!

La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin and Virtual Regatta are teaming up to enable enthusiasts everywhere to participate in the summer's main open event! So, do you fancy putting yourself in the shoes of a Class40 skipper in the 736-mile course? Sign up and experience the same winds, currents and other obstacles the sailors out on the water will have to contend with!

The principle? The player controls his or her boat in real time, in the same weather conditions and on the same course, albeit from the comfort of his or her computer, tablet or mobile (Android and iOS).

"At Virtual Regatta, we're proud and happy to be joining the ranks of this fantastic adventure that is La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin. I immediately said yes to my friend Jacques Civilise, who is always so successful with running his projects. I wish La Drheam Cup a long life, both real and virtual!", enthuses Philippe Guigné, President of Virtual Regatta.

Virtual Regatta brings together the biggest marine community in the world (1-million players) and partners the majority of the major yacht races (Transat Jacques Vabre, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum).

Sign up to Virtual Regatta from Friday 13 July and see you on Monday 23 July at 12:30hrs for the start of La Drheam Cup-Destination Cotentin.

La Drheam Cup - Destination Cotentin, in brief

• Second edition of La Trinité-sur-Mer in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
  
• Qualifier for the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe
  
• Open, which means open to pros and amateurs alike, and open to lots of boat classes
  
• One prologue with a crew of at least 2 people, LE DRHEAM-TROPHY: course of around 40 miles across the bay or around the islands of Quiberon Bay
  
• "RÊVES DE LARGE" operation: youngsters climb aboard for the Prologue LE DRHEAM-TROPHY
  
• Two courses: the DRHEAM CUP 700: 736 nautical miles, and the DRHEAM CUP 400: 428 nautical mileS
  
• LA DRHEAM CUP 700 is open to the classes: IMOCA, Multi50, Multi2000, Class40, Rhum monohull class, Rhum multihull class and to the Large Open monohulls. This course is a qualifier for the Rhum. Its route: around 740 miles via the Fastnet Rock, the Scillies, Wolf Rock and the Shambles West mark with a finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
  
• LA DRHEAM CUP 400 is open to the Mini, IRC and OSIRIS classes and to Classic Yachts. Its route: around 430 miles via the Fastnet Rock, the Scillies, Wolf Rock and the Shambles West mark with a finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
  
• LA DRHEAM PARADE is an exhibition course beginning on exiting the commercial basin in the large harbour of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
  
• All our latest news on the official website and tracked live via Géovoile, a real-time cartography interface.

• Thursday 19 to Monday 23 July from 10:00hrs: Opening of the race village in La Trinité-sur-Mer
  
• Saturday 21 July at 11:00hrs: Drheam Trophy, Race prologue (boats leave the pontoon at 9:30hrs)
  
• Sunday 22 July at 12:00 noon with the public: Prize-giving ceremony for the Drheam Trophy
  
• Monday 23 July at 12:30hrs: Start of the DRHEAM CUP - Destination Cotentin (boats leave the pontoon at 11:00hrs)
  
• Finishes in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin scheduled between the evening of Wednesday 25 July to Friday 27 July
  
• Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 July from 10:00hrs: Opening of the village to the public
  
• Saturday 28 July at 18:00 hrs: Prize-giving ceremony with the public
  
• Sunday 29 July from 10:00hrs: LA DRHEAM PARADE