If the Mini 6.50 season kicks off on 6 March in Spain with the Mini Petrolera, followed by the Arcipelago 6.50, it is the Plastimo Lorient Mini that will truly launch the season on 9 April. Between declining memberships and fewer new builds, a new race and changes to the Mini Transat course, Sailorz takes stock.
“527 members in 2023, 576 in 2024, and 474 in 2025, we are in a dip,” introduces Annabelle Moreau, secretary of the Classe Mini since 2001. “And we already know that 2026 will see a further slight decline,” adds Timothée Villain-Amirat, the new president, who took over from Romain Bigot earlier this year.
The cause? “The economic context, which is a bit delicate,” replies Villain-Amirat. “And there have always been cycles of low and high membership, roughly six years long. When there are many members, qualifying for races becomes harder, boat prices rise, which can discourage some sailors and explain the decline. It takes time to rebound, but it should pick up as second-hand boat prices decrease.”
Currently, a fully equipped Maxi 6.50 (Plan Raison) costs between €100,000 and €110,000, while a Pogo 3 costs between €60,000 and €80,000. “Being less competitive than the scows, the market is tougher for these,” notes the president.
A Sluggish Market
While the second-hand market struggles, the new-build market is stagnant: only 6 boats were built last year—one prototype and five series models—far below the class limit of 20 in 2025. This limit aimed to smooth the previous boom cycle and increase boat longevity. “We had almost an entire fleet built in two years, which was inconsistent with the number of existing 6.50s,” explains Timothée Villain-Amirat. For boatyards, the impact is harsh.
“We built three Maxis last year and currently have no orders,” laments Denis Bourbigot, manager of IDB Marine, which has produced 63 Raison design units in total. The quotas were an absurd decision because it was predictable that construction would naturally slow down, especially given limited race slots. This negatively affected class attendance. It’s generally hard to maintain continuity with a board that changes annually. I personally would not invest in tools for building a new boat while rules and measurements keep changing.”
Bourbigot is referring to the revamp of the series measurement rules, currently underway to allow more durable boats. Meetings with industry professionals are planned to draft a preliminary version by the end of the year.
New Races on the Calendar
The calendar adds a new race for older-generation boats (pre-2014 series and prototypes first measured before 31 December 2009), La Ministorique du Crouesty, starting 4 September. A 2024 trial run by the Société des Régates de Caen-Ouistreham had only 11 participants out of 65 eligible boats, so it was not repeated.
Following a new call for bids, Yacht-Club du Crouesty Arzon was chosen to organise this race in even-numbered years. “The project, supported by about ten Mini sailors training here, appeals to us because it offers experienced sailors a race on equal footing,” explains Marc Eymond, YCCA president. The 500-mile solo or double-handed route “is not fully defined yet, but the Scilly Isles are likely included,” he adds.
Another novelty: the Calvados Cup becomes a French Championship race “to make it more attractive and encourage skippers to race outside the Brittany coast”, notes the class president. Additionally, the SAS (Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables) is renamed Mini Atlantique “to give it a grander character”. Finally, Mini 6.50s are invited to Palma Vela, a multi-class race in April in Palma de Mallorca.
Changes for the Mini Transat
The dense calendar partly motivated Julien Letissier (Frérots Branchet) to commit to a sixth season and a fourth Mini Transat in 2027 (4th in 2025, 3rd in 2023 in prototype, 14th in series in 2019). “It’s one of the circuits offering the most miles in a year,” notes the Port-la-Forêt skipper. Three other factors influenced his decision: “My partner wanted to continue, the second-hand market is tough, and I did not want to sell my boat cheaply, but the decisive factor was the new Mini Transat course to Brazil (2027 and 2029 editions from La Rochelle to Salvador de Bahia, see article) which suits foiling projects we’ve been considering with David Raison for years”—the boat will be foiled in January 2027.
Caroline Boule, returning to the helm of Nicomatic Petit Bateau aiming to win the Mini Atlantique—“neither Benoît [Marie, her husband, last year’s skipper, NDLR] nor I have yet won THE big race of the season”—also finds the new route “great for foilers”, though her participation is not yet confirmed.
“I want the route to be interesting for skippers and followers alike. My goal is to place a minimum number of marks to provide as many options as possible, without spreading the fleet too thin across the Atlantic since I only have seven support boats,” notes Annabelle Moreau, succeeding the iconic Denis Hugues as race director.
Every Mile Counts
Regarding Mini Transat qualification, while the process itself does not change, the method for ranking candidates when oversubscribed (90 spots) evolves. Now, all miles sailed in the past five years, regardless of boat, will count. “The goal is to reward experience and help newcomers test a Mini before investing in a boat,” explains Timothée Villain-Amirat. “Another minor drawback of the old system was that if you had an accident with your boat and had to change mid-race, you lost all the miles you had accumulated.”
New measures include reintroducing a seventh sail. After six sails in 2023, the class now permits a heavy spinnaker of max 45 m² “because many skippers removed code 5 sails, widening the performance gap between experienced sailors and scows,” explains the president. Preference lists for race entry have been removed because they “encouraged skippers to register for all races to ensure they sailed enough miles,” notes Moreau, leading to waitlists that “gave false hopes to organizers who scrambled for spots, yet no 2025 race—except the Mini Transat—was fully booked.”
Despite the slight slowdown, there are already 67 mixed duos—134 sailors—registered for the season’s first major event, the Plastimo Lorient Mini on 9 April, a figure envied by many organizers.
Image : Manon Le Guen
