Transat Café-L'Or
| First held | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Type | Double-handed offshore race |
| Classes | Class40, IMOCA 60, Multi 50, Ultime |
| Start | Le Havre |
| Finish | Various |
The Transat Café-L'Or (formerly: Transat Jacques Vabre) is a yachting race that follows the historic coffee trading route between France and Brazil. It is named after (and sponsored by) a French brand of coffee.
The course was drawn up back in 1993 to follow in the wake of the clippers transporting coffee from Brazil to France. The Transat Jacques Vabre is a major date on the calendar, taking place every other year in odd years. It is a two-person race and the pairs of sailors are formed according to their complementary skills, what they have in common and how they get on. Boats leave from Le Havre, France's leading coffee importing port, going to Salvador de Bahia, in Brazil, the world's leading coffee grower and exporter (4,335 miles). The first edition in 1993 was a single-handed race.
The event is open to multihulls and monohulls from the following classes: Ultims (multihulls between 70 and 105 feet), IMOCA (60 feet monohulls), Multi 50 and Class40. All kinds of navigational aids are allowed in particular for routing, except for the Class40 boats (as this is forbidden in their own rules).
In 2025 the name of the race was changed to Transat Café-L'Or.
| Ed. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 |
| ORMA | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||
| MOD70 | • | ||||||||||||||||
| Ultim 32/23 | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
| Multi50/Open Fifty | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||
| IMOCA 60 | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Class40 | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Total de bateaux | 13 | 11 | 18 | 20 | 33 | 38 | 35 | 60 | 20 | 36 | 44 | 42 | 38 | 59 | 79 | 95 |
| Ed. | Year | Start | Finish | Classes | Length of route |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1993 | Le Havre France | Carthagene Colombia | ||
| 2 | 1995 | Le Havre France | Carthagene Colombia | ||
| 3 | 1997 | Le Havre France | Carthagene Colombia | ||
| 4 | 1999 | Le Havre France | Carthagene Colombia | ||
| 5 | 2001 | Le Havre France | Salvador, Bahia Brazil | ||
| 6 | 2003 | Le Havre France | Salvador, Bahia Brazil | ||
| 7 | 2005 | Le Havre France | Salvador, Bahia Brazil | All | 4340 |
| 8 | 2007 | Le Havre France | Salvador, Bahia Brazil | ||
| 9 | 2009 | Le Havre France | Puerto Limón Costa Rica | ||
| 10 | 2011 | Le Havre France | Puerto Limón Costa Rica | Monohulls Multi |
4730 5323 |
| 11 | 2013 | Le Havre France | Itajaí Brazil | All | 5400 |
| 12 | 2015 | Le Havre France | Itajaí Brazil | All | 5400 |
| 13 | 2017 | Le Havre France | Salvador, Bahia Brazil | All | 4350 |
| 14 | 2019 | Le Havre France | Salvador, Bahia Brazil | All | 4350 |
| 15 | 2021 | Le Havre France | Fort-de-France Martinique France | Ultime IMOCA Class40 |
7500 5800 4600 |
| 16 | 2023 | Le Havre France Lorient France |
Fort-de-France Martinique France | Ultime Multi50 IMOCA Class40 |
7500 4200 3750 4045 |
| 17 | 2025 | Le Havre France | Fort-de-France Martinique France | Ultime Multi50 IMOCA Class40 |
6200 4600 4350 3750 |