News
The Canaries, first judge
Night and early morning, as expected, have changed the second stage of The Charente-Maritime/Bahia 2009 Transat 6.50's layout . That one night was difficult as expressed by the escort boats who faced 35 knots heavy showers and plenty of rain.
04-09-2009
And if the most of the fleet sailed west in the early evening, there were at dawn only four boats sailing East, with a majority of the fleet in the West packed in the middle of the zone and samll group that continues completely West. [...]
On series sidel, Joel Miro (Gaes 677) was also in the east while on the west side and center, were the unavoidable Charlie Dalin (Cherche sponsor-charliedalin.com), Xavier Mavaire (Masoco Bay), Francisco Lobato (ROFF TMN) and Henri Meyniel (Beveac Consulting) ... No doubt, the first stage's leaders are ready to fight for the second stage!
[...]
On series side, Charlie Dalin leading the fleet followed by Xavier Macaire, Francisco Lobato, Henri Meyniel and Pierre Rolland... No significant difference and these rankings can change at each positioning.
Also, does the extreme east and west options supporters will capitalize on their risk-taking? Is grouping on a median highway is a sign of wisdom to face the uncertain weather? It is clear that all know one thing, the transition zone will letb us know. The first to get in and out( from the zone will feel more comfortable... But one thing is certain: it will not mean that he/she will be the king of the playground, because the difficulties are only beginning.
Finally, no majorproblems for the fleet:: a problem of VHF and autopilot for Maxence Desfeux (Matmut) and a problem of pilot for Olivier Richard (Minute) reported by the escort boats.
Ranking on Sunday, October the 4th at 15:00:
Series:
1. Charlie Dalin (Cherche sponsor-charliedalin.com) : 2 935,55 miles from the finish
2. Xavier Macaire (Masoco Bay) : 1,3 miles from the 1st
3. Francisco Lobato (ROFF TMN) : 3,22 miles from the 1st
4. Henry Meyniel (Beveac Consulting): 4,27 miles from the 1st
5. Pierre Rolland D2 Marée Haute) : 4,55 miles from the 1st
in oficial website
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The passion for Lobato spreads in Madeira
17-09-2009
For the first time in the history of the mini, a Portuguese navigator will (probably) win a stage of The Charente-Maritime / Bahia Transat 6,50. With 50 miles ahead of his closest rival, the victory seems to Funchal, in fact, promised to Francisco Lobato. And the passion begins to spread in the small island.
The place of Lobato’s mini, in the port of Funchal, is already booked just before the Marina. The thrill in the marina is only about this respectable young man who does not smoke, do not drink, pays attention to his diet and has also recently obtained his degree in engineering for marine architecture.
in oficial website
Transat 6.5
The Transat 6, 50 is a solitary Atlantic voyage, from France to Brazil, in boats that measure 6, 50 meters and are completely shut off with exterior contact.
Transat 6, 50 ACA Mini Transat, was created in the late 70’s by an English man called Bob Salmon and it has been occurring every two odd years since. The concept of it was to create an economically viable alternative to the English well known Transat that was only achieved by the well known professional sailors to which no sponsors were missed, thus presenting themselves in the start line with the most technologically efficient boats.
The Mini Transat had to be accessible to all pockets and therefore in order to limit the budgets necessary to the participation in such event, no sailboats larger that 6,50m could attend.
Year after year, the Transat 6,50m has become the Queen competition without even renouncing to the principles of its creator: always accessible to the most modest of sailors and those still amateurs trying to become professional and determined sailors. The Transat became mandatory for those interested in a skipper career as a solitary regatta ocean sailor. The biggest core sailors have already aligned in the Transat 6,50.
Ellen McArthur, Michel Desjoyeaux, Isabelle Autissier, Yves Parlier, Loic Peyron, Laurent Bourgnon, Bruno Peyron, Yvan Bourgnon, Jean-Luc Van de Heede, Thierry Dubois, Thomas Coville, Francisco Lobato... All started at the Mini Transat.
Qualification
Since 2001, the number of sailors has been limited to 72 boats and the criterion of the qualification has also been extremely enhanced for security reasons. The qualification for the Transat 6,50 demands that first the sailors have to achieve 1000 miles without scales, with their sailboat, and that the sailor knows how to sail using nature only, star orientation using the sextant and doing all the necessary astronomy calculations that will help them navigate. Also mandatory are more than 1000 miles in regatta in the Mini Class taken in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the English Canal, and one of these should have a minimum of 500 miles.
All sailors that attend the Mini Transat have to go through all these stages in order to be able to participate.
A Mediated Regatta
The Transat 6,50 has become one of the most important events on International ocean races.
Its coverage hasn’t stopped growing since in 2001, with the “ARGOS” positioning system was introduced which allowed a daily rate and therefore a permanent interest of behalf of the media.
Participate in the Mini Transat is a true human adventure, a project prepared with at least two to three years in advance and demands many personal sacrifices, but is also a very challenging and aspiring sport.
Strong Character Meteorology
It will not be an easy task to decipher the best route for Transat 6,50 2009 that will again have a familiar chart. Start line at La Rochelle, France and Finish Line in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, through the Portuguese Madeira Island, then Cape Verde and the Equator. A cocktail of weather that house with the different systems in the North and South From headwinds, beam, stern ... There’s something for everyone!
Biscayan Golf
It really is not easy at all to decipher the meteorological conditions through the 4.200 miles, as they are very changeable between the trade winds and the doldrums, nothing can be miscalculated. Sailing through the Biscayan Golf has never been an easy task. The west/southwest winds over the Atlantic in mid September are not frequent but will eventually occur and the first 400 miles of this regatta are rich in meteorological variety. The Finisterre Cape (north-western most Iberian Peninsula point) is always a great experience as the continental offshore sea has a very busy sea-route for cargo ships and trade-ships that are coming closer to the coast. Here we can expect a strong sea, and disturbed air flux as the Finisterre Cape is a very important entry towards stern winds.
Portugal, Canary Islands and Cape Verde...
The northern winds are supposed to be along the Portuguese coast and therefore that will be the right moment to hoist the big poop sails and try to gain miles towards south. Should one sail near the coast or fall a bit further into the offshore sea? Each has his own tricks applied in between winds, velocity, sleep deprivation and tiredness towards one goal, the safest, fastest route they can to the next step of this regatta. It’s always best to try to avoid submerging waves violently or the boat can be seriously damaged or even permanently so. Another smaller transition to recover from is when the trade winds come from the northwestern Moroccan coast. Here again it’s an option you make to either sail along the African coast or go deeper offshore, a difficult choice to be made before you set sail to the Madeira islands, even more if you end up arriving at night. A strong wind will certainly heighten your expectations, and reserve a few surprises...
Canary Islands to Cape Verde, the, closer to “Pot au Noir” (doldrums) is logically a great slip into the Northwest Trade Winds. One must be careful not to fall into strong force 7 winds while at these trade winds. It is crucial to manage the material on board while approaching the Canary Islands so that any trouble can be arranged while near to their coast, as well as bypassing Cape Verde. Here again we ask ourselves if we’ll go through the Islands or offshore sail past them. A question many Vendée Globe or Transat Jacques Vabre ask them permanently while in action! Also through Cape Verde we can find tropical storm conditions to be aware of.
The Pot au Noir...
The transitory zone between the Northern Trade Winds and the Southern Trade Winds is a cocktail of meteorological conditions. How to find a way, through the complicated navigation signals and achieve some miles ahead using its benefits? Crossing the ITCZ Intertropical Convergence Zone, a calm zone with almost no winds, that crosses the line between the North-East and South-East Trade Winds and form a line across the hemisphere. Here the average winds are slight and exhaustively calm and you can end up just observing the dark grey sky and the water’s edge or have a huge cloud of pouring rain over your head and a 40 knot wind. Anything is possible! Nerve wrecking reactions can easily be felt on solitary sailors because this stage of the regatta can be decisive to whether you win or lose your pot of gold.
South-East trade winds to Salvador da Baía
It is now mandatory to recover the South-East trade winds that progressively appear as you leave the Pot au Noir and makes it time to adjust the sails to help gain the most as the wind starts to become more regular and strengthens the sails into an even point that will sail you to the Brazilian coast. Although it means you’re about to arrive at your destination, here lies a lot of trouble as strong winds and hidden sand banks or poorly signalled fishing nets can stall you, breathing only as you arrive to the finish line at the Baía de Todos os Santos.
The Boat
Presentation poster for 2009 campaign
Currently, in the Transat 6.50 there are two kinds of boats – the prototype and the series in which the Great difference is that in the prototypes you can use carbon and basculante fin and on the series boats that is not admitted, however all boats have a maximum of 6.50 meters large and 3 meters high. As it is, classifications are separate.
Francisco Lobato sails a Pogo 2, a series boat that became quite famous as it achieved the pole position in every regatta of its own class since its construction. It is build in France and its materials are mainly fiber glass and PVC mousse. It has buoyancy reservoirs and is theoretically not submersible.
Inside the boat you have a single gas bottle that allows the sailor to warm water to use the lyophilized food supply. To serve as a WC a simple bucket, security equipment and the sails can do a very good mattress. As in every high level regatta, in the Transat weight control is mandatory so water supply is rationed, so teeth wash or dish washing is done with salt water to avoid having a large amount of water thus extra weight aboard.
These boats are frequently compared to washing machines because they’re so small that offshore the waves keep washing the boat over and over again.
Multimedia – Photos and Video
Images are available for editorial use only (PT). All other use can only be granted with the author’s written consent. Please be tolerant, a few images may take a bit longer to download.
Don’t miss Francisco the motion section (PT) where you can also find some homemade videos by Francisco himself.
Enjoy the slide-show.
The slide show images are also copyright protected and can only serve the purpose as a slide show. All further usage should be previously cleared by the author’s written consent.
Team
Although Francisco is a solitary offshore sailor, he has a back office land team that supports key aspects of this Project.
Francisco Lobato – Skipper
With just a few months Francisco has his first sea trip to Gibraltar in the company of his father and grandfather, and ever since has not stopped sailing.
He sailed the Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean Sea; to the Madeira Islands, North Africa, the Balearic Islands and Spanish coast. With only 7 years of age he started to sail in the Optimist Class at Associação Naval de Lisboa.
Attended his first world championship with 11 years old and has since participated in more than 15 World and European regattas, a bronze medal achieved in the European Laser Olympic Team, and a Gold medal in the Centre and South American Sub21. He was also integrated into the Olympic Hope Team and in the Pre-Olympic Team to attend the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
In 2006, 2007 and 2008 Francisco was #1st World Ranking for the Mini Class Series and in 2007 completed the Transat 6.50 and won the Les sables – Azores Islands – Les Sables regatta in 2008.
He is not in the 2nd year of his Master Degree in naval Engineering and Architecture at the IST and will again participate in the 2009 Transat 6.50. Francisco considers this step another “mountain” to climb before he gets to the “Everest” of sailing regattas – The Solitary Around the Globe Regatta.
António Lobato - Advisor
Álvaro Fernandes - "Alvarinho"
Has accompanied Francisco in his travels to France for qualifying and practice regattas. He is now in La Rochelle to help prepare the great crossing.
Bernardo Amaral – Designer
Web design, photography and boat decoration.
“After closely watching Francisco escalate his first mountain of world sailing achievement – the Transat 6.50 in 2007 – after a million of mishaps and hard steps, sprinkled with magical moments I can only hope to be alive and kicking by the time he sails his solitary ways across the world, to be here waiting for him with a big cheer. But first things first, the next step is the transat 6.50 in 2009!”
Francisco Lufinha (L'AF) – Video Editing / Production
Sailor and Francisco’s friend since 11 years old, he has shares several experiences and adventures at sea and has been supporting this Ocean Sail project since the first moment. “We have sailed, jumped and fell many times and always had fun at sea with the wind. Now he travels solo but I never waste my time showing everybody that this sailor is capable of more than you can imagine, and I do that through my camera in every take I get from this awesome challenge.”
Ana Lima - Ana Lima Comunicação & Marketing, Lda.
Press & Communication
Delmar Conde - Shipyard Delmar Conde
Boat preparation.
Renato Conde - Shipyard Delmar Conde
Boat preparation, composite material, paint and hardware.
Gilberto Conde - Shipyard Delmar Conde
Responsible for the ropes, gigging systems and electrical sewing, that is necessary in the boat preparation.
Nuno Barreto - Alpha Ropes
Ropes, sewing and material selection and preparing.
Anabela Cardoso - Desafios Oceânicos
Accounting and administrative skills.
Prof. Sidónio Serpa - Sports Psychology
Member of the Sports Psychology Laboratory, at the Sports University of Human Mobility High Level Results department.
The Miles Game - How
The start of the Transat 6.50 in 2009 is approaching at a rapid pace and we are getting closer to victory ... we take a major step with the support of the official sponsors (ROFF TMN BIZ), but we can still go further in our large crossing!
If others were able to, why shouldn’t we? We’re a country of sailors... if many people sail with me; the odds of victory become larger.
The Transat 6.50 has 4200 miles, With 10 million to make the boat go a mile!
The name of all the people who participate will be placed on this website under Virtual Crew And before the Transat 6.50 some of these names will be printed on a sticker to be placed on the boat. Right now many of the virtual crew is already placed on the hull!
Contributions below 50 € for individuals and below € 500 million for companies, are very welcome. However for the sake of justice, so there is a name on the list, I advise you to join, for example in the identification of the class, and high school years.
The start of the Transat 6.50 in 2009 is approaching at a rapid pace and we are getting closer to victory ... we take a major step with the support of the official sponsors (ROFF TMN BIZ), but we can still go further in our large crossing!
If others were able to, why shouldn’t we? We’re a country of sailors ... if many people sail with me; the odds of victory become larger.
The Transat 6.50 has 4200 miles, With 10 million to make the boat go a mile!
The name of all the people who participate will be placed on this website under Virtual Crew And before the Transat 6.50 some of these names will be printed on a sticker to be placed on the boat. Right now many of the virtual crew is already placed on the hull!
Contributions below 50 € for individuals and below € 500 million for companies, are very welcome. However for the sake of justice, so there is a name on the list, I advise you to join, for example in the identification of the class, and high school years.
For individuals
Contribution of EUR 50
Contribution of EUR 100
- Name on website
- Name on boat
Contribution of EUR 250
- Name on website
- Name on boat
- Candidate to Transat Experience
Contribution of EUR 500
Contributions greater than or equal to EUR 1,000
In all cases, the Transat Experience outings on the boat will always be in groups of 2 to 3 people.
To contribute, please refer to the following information:
Account: Francisco Lobato
NIB: 0010 0000 31862580003 43
IBAN: PT50 0010 0000 3186 2580 0034 3
SWIFT / BIC
BBPIPTPL
Or by paycheck to:
Francisco Lobato
Zebras lane of No. 27
1300-589 Lisboa
Portugal
After transferring the amount please send an e-mail to jogodasmilhas.lobato@gmail.com with the confirmation of the following;
The amount transferred
Authorizing your name to be mentioned on the website or if you prefer the anonymity
For Business Contributors
Contributions less than EUR 500 (plus VAT)
- Name on website
- Link to the company's website
- Name or logo on the boat (for each EUR 500 will be entitled to 300cm²)
Values above EUR 2500 will be placed on the sails.
To contribute, please refer to the following information:
Account: Challenges Oceanic Ltd
NIB: 0010 0000 3809 8300 0018 9 (only for business contributors!)
After transferring the amount please send an e-mail to jogodasmilhas.lobato@gmail.com with the confirmation of the following;
- The amount transferred
- Authorizing your name to be mentioned on the website or if you prefer the anonymity
- Name, address and tax identification for invoice purposes.
If you have any questions about this challenge do not hesitate to contact me.
Note 2: The Transat Experience is considered a departure on the boat "Looking For...” for a few hours or even a day, with Francisco and one or two crew members. Applicants should be prepared if the weather conditions permit, for good surfing accompanied by some good sprinkles.
For those who want, we will have available freeze-dried food and water to make the experience more realistic but we suggest you bring your own sandwiches as well!
Results in 2009
2nd - Transgascogne - solo
3rd - Trophée Marie-Agnès Péron - solo
1st - VI Troféu Rainha Dona Amélia
1st - Troféu Aniversário Associação Naval de Lisboa - solo
2nd - Troféu Francisco Lobato - solo
1st - Campeonato Nacional de Laser Radial - Laser
1st - Troféu Burberry - solitário
1st - Torneiro Internacional de Vela do Carnaval - Laser
Results in 2008
Velejador do Ano no site da Sea Sail Surf
1st - Ranking Mundial
1st - Les Sables - Açores - Les Sables - solo
2nd - Troféu Marie Agnés Péron - solo
Results in 2007
1st - Ranking Mundial
1st - SeaSailSurf - Pro Champ 2007
1st - Campeonato Nacional Francês de Pogo 6,50
1st - Troféu Marie Agnés Péron - solo
1st - Pornichet Select 6.50 - solo
2nd - Mini Pavois - solo
9th - Transat 6,50 - solo
Results in 2006
1st - Ranking Mundial
1st - Seal Sail Surf - Pro Champ 2006
2nd - Les Sables - Açores - Les Sables - solo
3rd - Trophée Marie-Agnès Péron - solo
6th - Pornichet Select 6.50
1st - Troféu Salazar - solo
