Trin'40: Fighters, from the first to the last
by Fanny Pouder 29 Apr 11:33 BST
29 April 2026
Trin'40 2026 © Manon Le Guen / Trin40 / Class40
Four days is a short time to get back into the swing of solo sailing, and yet it feels incredibly long when you only sleep in rare 20-minute stretches, fuelled by the adrenaline of the race that makes the risk of losing even 0.1 miles to your direct competitor—the target of all your efforts, suffering, and attacks—unthinkable.
At the finish, 29 sailors had given their all to become a slightly better sailor than the day before the start, returning with a wealth of memories and, above all, valuable lessons learned.
What makes a great race? The thousand emotions that flash through the eyes of the skippers who, still weightless from their extraordinary journey, hesitantly set foot on the dock and search for their first words. We'll take our inspiration from Thomas Lurton, who finished 22nd on his recently acquired "Sireco." "It's hard to be unhappy when you have the chance to sail a Class40, to be one of those thirty people who set off on the first edition of the Trin'40," exclaimed the 28-year-old from Morbihan that night, who hadn't "eaten or slept" during the race.
In terms of intensity, they certainly got their fill throughout this theoretical 702-mile course, which offered them varied but manageable conditions, without ever compromising their safety. A "real speed race," as the impressive winner Guillaume Pirouelle ("Sogestran - Seafrigo") summed it up. "Without major strategic choices, but with this pressure and intensity to hold our positions, especially on the long legs. As soon as we went to sleep, it meant taking the risk of being much slower, so many of us didn't get much sleep!"
"We couldn't have maintained that pace for twenty days..."
Maintaining the pace, avoiding mistakes, and imposing the extreme discipline of never faltering on his body: that's what made the difference for the sailor from Le Havre who triumphed in La Trinité-sur-Mer after four and a half days at sea. After a somewhat lackluster start in the doldrums that clogged his rudders, the 31-year-old regained speed upwind and seized the lead off Penmarc'h Point, never to relinquish it. Downwind leg towards Spain, transitions in slightly calmer conditions, upwind leg: the recent winner of the Transat Café L'Or completed each phase flawlessly, despite not having sailed solo since his Figaro days. "In terms of mental clarity, I was fine, but I was nodding off! It's clear we couldn't have maintained that pace for twenty days..."
Behind, even the experienced Corentin Douguet, 2nd on "SNSM, make a donation" did not manage to find the weakness, but remained "happy with his comeback". "It was a really enjoyable sail, I had a great time on the water," explained the sailor from Nantes upon arrival. "I lacked a bit of rhythm at the beginning, I had trouble sleeping, there was a moment when I wasn't very lucid and Guillaume took advantage of that to have a short break, and I never had the opportunity to make up for it afterwards."
Two hours and forty-two minutes later, Fabien Delahaye on "Legallais" took third place, just eight minutes ahead of his pursuer, Axel Tréhin ("Affaire à faire"), on his boat launched only three weeks prior. The duel was fought right down to the final miles of Quiberon Bay, and the Norman sailor won without breaking a sweat. "I went there to work on my solo sailing, and I did!" exclaimed the 41-year-old, delighted with this "complete exercise for the start of the season."
"I'm just so incredibly happy!"
Because everyone, from the first to the last, will have fought to give their best on the water, regardless of their age, gender, experience, goals, or reasons for being there, on the water, battling with an intensity heightened by the difficulty of being alone on board to bear all the burdens. All equal, all in the same boat, or almost...
Sometimes things just don't go your way, as was the case for Vincent Riou (PIERREVAL - FONDATION GOODPLANET), the only competitor forced to abandon the race mid-course after problems with his headsail. And sometimes, the magic of solo sailing works! "For once in my life, I set off without any mental pressure, without any specific goals. I thought I'd finish in the top three, given my boat and its age," explained Djemila Tassin, who finished 17th and sailed a superb race on "Magenta," the oldest boat in the fleet. "Right from the start, I had a computer malfunction, and after an hour I knew I wouldn't have any more weather updates. So I worried less and was more focused. The boat was moving, I was heading in the right direction! And it resulted in a great outcome; I'm just incredibly happy!"
There was also happiness to be found in the hardship, the kind that comes from sleepless nights and lapses in judgment. "It was tough sailing solo," summarized Thimoté Polet, who finished a solid 5th on his latest-generation Zeiss. "We had very few moments to sleep; it was very unstable, and so going to sleep means accepting being slower, and that wasn't an option. As a result, we had to push ourselves. There was even one night when I almost blacked out, and another night when I vomited, which never happens to me!"
"It's an incredible fleet!"
"Sometimes I wonder why I do this," admitted amateur Emmanuel Hamez, 62, the oldest competitor in the race, who finished 28th on his Viranga. "The level has exploded, we're reaching the limits of amateurism. There are still two or three of us trying to hold on, but now, to even hope to be in the peloton, let alone at the front, you have to go to a training center! But actually, all of this pushes you to improve, and it makes me do things I wouldn't normally do, so that's interesting!"
And then there's the frustration, which is also part of the game, the one where you always want to do better. "We knew this race would allow us to take stock of what we've achieved, so the to-do list is long," summarized Quentin Le Nabour from La Trinité-sur-Mer, who finished 16th on his "Bleu Blanc Planète Location." "It's an incredible fleet; even at the back of the pack, we're all in the mix. I even gained a place right at the finish line!"
"I think it's fantastic to have such an impressive fleet," added Robin Follin ("Solano") upon his arrival in 13th position. "I can't wait for us to keep working because the boats up front are incredibly fast, and there's a huge amount of work to do to catch up!" Work, always work, not only to get to this point, but above all to continue learning and progressing. And to share with us, along the way, their contagious enthusiasm and fierce determination to push their limits. To everyone, thank you for the spectacle, and we eagerly await the next race!
Find out more at trin40.com