THE RACES

Nearly 200 sailors are expected for the 17th edition of the Coffee Route, the longest transatlantic race. The TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR Le Havre Normandie will set sail on October 26th from Le Havre for Martinique, where the finish line will be decided for the third consecutive year. The ocean race features four open classes: IMOCA, Ocean Fifty, ULTIM, and Class40. Four courses of varying lengths, 3,750 miles for the Class40.

This biennial event is well-established in the offshore racing calendar. An important race, its natural home is Normandy and Le Havre, France’s main coffee-growing port, its historic starting point since 1993.

Held off the coast of Great Britain, the race that gave birth to the Royal Ocean Racing Club in 1925 has grown to become the world’s largest offshore race. The centenary edition will start from Cowes on 26 July 2025, finishing, for the third time, in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France. A 695-mile course.

The race begins on the iconic starting line of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. After exiting the Solent through the Needles Channel, the fleet heads west along the English Channel, rounding Land’s End before crossing the Celtic Sea. The turning point is the legendary Fastnet Rock, off the southwestern coast of Ireland. On the return leg, the course passes the Isles of Scilly before finishing in Cherbourg.

A no-assistance race reserved for Class40 boats, covering 2,540 miles over two legs: an out-and-back route between Les Sables d’Olonne (Vendée) and Horta (Azores).

New in 2025: the outbound leg will be sailed double-handed, while the return leg will be sailed solo. The first leg serves as a qualifier for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR Le Havre Normandie, and the second for the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe.

A 600-mile route starting in Saint-Tropez and passing through the Strait of Bonifacio, the islands of Giannutri, Gorgona, Pianosa, the Giraglia rock, and Vaquette Island, finishing back in Saint-Tropez.