An Offshore Racer is Born

The Mini-Transat was concieved in 1977 by British photojournalist Bob Salmon in response to the ever-increasing costs of competing in other singlehanded offshore races of the time. After he was unable to raise enough money for a competitive OSTAR campaign, Bob Salmon concieved a new transatlantic race that was aimed at amateur racers and even beginners. Most importantly the boats would be kept small and affordable-- limted to a maximum lenth of only 21 feet which, incidentally, was the minimum length required for an OSTAR entry at the time.

Twenty-four boats competed in the first Mini Transat which started from Penzance on October 8, 1977. There was a single stopover in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and the finish line was at English Harbour in Antigua. The winner of this first race was frenchman Daniel Gilard. Bob Salmon managed to place only 15th in the race he created. He wasn't the most competitve entry in that race, but he proved one thing for sure-- that there was interest in affordable single-handed offshore racing in small boats. Mini racing was born and quickly became the launching point for many great offshore racing careers.