Offshore racing partner

Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre: Bateau-immatriculation.com has the honour of supporting, in its own way, offshore racing sailors. Indeed, a racing boat must also be registered with the Departmental Directorate for Territories and the Sea. Like all pleasure vessels? Not quite: the safety regulations for experimental or competition vessels fall under Division 243. We tell you about it at the end of the article.

What an honour to be chosen to support racers in one of the biggest nautical events of the year, the Route du Rhum.

Route du Rhum racers trust Bateau-immatriculation.com

You may have heard of this great transatlantic sailing race, which starts from Saint-Malo?

Yes, it is indeed La Route du Rhum we are talking about!

Since 1978, this legendary event has linked, every four years, the starting city in Brittany to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. The race covers a distance of 3,543 nautical miles and brings together amateur and professional skippers, who sail single-handed.

The participants sail in six different classes of sailing boats and attempt, in this race against the clock, to finish first in their category each time. The classes are:

• The Ultim 32/25, trimarans 32 metres long and 35 metres wide
• The Ocean Fifty, multihulls 50 feet long
• The Imoca, 60-foot monohull sailing boats also seen in the Vendée Globe
• The Class40, 40-foot monohulls
• The Rhum mono, monohulls of 29 feet or more
• The Rhum multi, multihulls of 60 feet or more

Each year, more than a hundred skippers are on the start line. Bateau-immatriculation.com had the privilege of supporting two of them in preparing for the race!

Laurent Camprubi, skipper of the Class40 Glaces Romane

"Easy and fast, the Bateau-immatriculation.com team did a great administrative job!"

Laurent CAMPRUBI

Laurent Camprubi made headlines this summer because of the misadventure that befell him on board, off the coast of Spain: after losing his keel while sailing, his vessel having capsized, he spent more than 16 hours under his hull waiting for help to arrive. Without a 30-centimetre air pocket allowing him to breathe, he would probably not have survived.

With the Class40 Glaces Romane now fully repaired, Laurent Camprubi is preparing to take the start of the Route du Rhum more determined than ever. So, will the Marseille skipper be the first in his category to reach Pointe-à-Pitre?

Mikael Mergui, skipper of the Class40 Centrakor

"To prepare for a Route du Rhum you surround yourself with the best: the Bateau-immatriculation.com team handled all the administrative formalities for my boat in record time!"

The Mediterranean sailor, who has more than a thousand races and regattas to his name, is also well placed to take first place in the competition, in his category. So, any bets?

The Bateau-immatriculation.com team thanks these two great sailors for placing their trust in it, and will share the rest of their adventures here. Fair winds to them!

Other nautical events to come Bateau-immatriculation.com's collaboration with offshore racers doesn't stop there, since the team also handled the registration of the Class 40 Imagine: its skipper Matthieu Foulquier-Gazagnes set off aboard it in an edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre. An event we follow every year!

Competition vessels are regulated

Pleasure, experimental or competition vessels: when it comes to safety, there are obligations for all. Offshore racing vessels are therefore concerned and also require registration!

When boats take part in competitions, it is Division 243 that applies. The regulations are then adapted to match the practice of sailing in more demanding conditions than during pleasure boating.

For these often innovative vessels, resulting from advanced research and design processes, with greatly enhanced performance, the capabilities for monitoring installations and detecting damage, for example, must be reinforced.

The same applies to radiocommunication and life-saving instruments, whose operation must be better controlled.

For the amateur or professional skipper, it is essential to ensure compliance with the regulations in order to prepare their boat properly, put themselves in the best possible sailing conditions and make sure they are safe.

Moreover, without approval of all points by the organisers of the nautical event they wish to take part in, their participation may be refused! And for pleasure boating? If you own a PWC or a pleasure boat with a length of 24 metres or less, you must refer to Division 240 to find out your obligations.

To make your sailing easier, and allow you to be well equipped and in good standing, our team takes care of your registration, your changes of flag and all the administrative formalities related to your vessel.