PH RACING
PH Racing is an offshore sailing team that supports sailor Paddy Hutchings, aiming to complete his goals of competing in the Olympics and Vendee Globe. But first, the Mini Transat 2021 awaits...
THE SAILOR
Born in Plymouth, Paddy grew up around the sea and started sailing at the age of 10. From then he has developed a huge passion for the sport, going on to represent GB in multiple classes at National, European and World level, winning multiple National and European championships.
However, Paddy has always been drawn to the offshore side of sailing, this is why he enrolled at the University of Plymouth to study Navigation and Maritime Science (BSc). This course is specifically aimed to prepare ocean farers for a life at sea, and gears sailors up perfectly for a life of professional offshore sailing.
With dreams of becoming the first British sailor to win the Vendee Globe race, the Mini Transat race is the perfect stepping stone to reach this level of sailing.
Paddy has now also graduated to the British Keelboat Academy, with ambitions of the double handed offshore racing announced for the 2024 Olympics.
THE RACE
The Mini Transat is a 4000+ mile epic split across two legs, starting in Northern France before diving south to the Canary Isles, where Leg 2, the journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean, starts, the race is sailed single handed. The race takes the sport back to its roots, sailors are not allowed any navigation aids apart from a GPS and paper charts.
In a 21ft (6.5m) boat, the race does not only just provide a technical challenge, but with 20+ days at sea alone, endurance is a huge factor playing into performance.
THE BOAT
The boat is the reason why the Mini Transat is such a widely renowned race, at only 21ft long, crossing the Atlantic is truly a huge challenge. The boats are split into two fleets, Series and Proto. Series is the class Paddy will be racing in, with one design boats, it is more a test of the sailor than the equipment they use.
An added challenge to the race is that there are no navigational electronics allowed, apart from a basic GPS. This adds another dimension to the race, isolating the sailor back to the basic roots of their sailing ability.
