Sailors gather in Halifax as world-class ocean race kicks off

CTV Atlantic: World-class ocean race in Halifax Boats from France, Canada and the U.S. are racing to be the first to hit the shores of St.-Pierre and Miquelon.

A world-class ocean race kicked off in Halifax on Tuesday, as boats from around the world gathered for the 7^th Route Halifax Saint-Pierre Ocean Race.

Eighteen boats from France, Canada, and the United States are racing to be the first to hit the shores of Saint-Pierre, a small French island off the coast of Newfoundland. The competition sets sail every two years.

“I’m from Virginia and I come up more than 700 miles to do this race, that’s how much I like it,” says boat owner and skipper Larry Cohen.

The fleet leaves Halifax Harbour, races along the East Coast and steers towards Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The journey spans 350 nautical miles, or almost 650 kilometres, and can take crews anywhere from two to three days to complete.

“It’s just an opportunity to get a crew together,” says co-skipper James Rafuse. “A great bunch of guys who are all friends, the camaraderie, and the sportsmanship of it is what we’re looking to get out of it.”

The race alternates yearly with the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race, which is one of the oldest races in North America. It starts in Boston and ends in Halifax.

Boats range in size from 21 to 60 feet long and, most years, the bigger boats tend to win.

“They go through a lot of expense to get the boats ready for the race and put a crew together. Although they’re very friendly at the end, it’s very competitive during the race,” says race vice-chair Bob Stoddard.

Besides the tough competition, racers also have to worry about the elements, including a lot of fog and a lack of wind.

“With fog comes fishing boats that don’t have the correct AIS safety equipment, or are of wood and metal and don’t present a good radar target and they can hurt you,” says Cohen.

There are two main types of vessels in the competition; a quarter of them are purely designed for speed, while the others, like Cohen’s, sacrifice a little speed for comfort.

“The boys eat well, as opposed to some of these other boats, the more racey-type boats, where it is cold, wet, and bumpy,” says Cohen.

No matter how tough the journey, when the armada arrives in Saint-Pierre, they are always greeted with a warm welcome.

“A large magnum of champagne is the first thing,” says Stoddard.

Rafuse is looking forward to enjoying the sweet taste of victory, after his team failed to finish the race when they participated ten years ago.

“We were becalmed 40 miles off Saint-Pierre, flat water, not moving for 14 hours and eventually, it led to us retiring from the race and motoring in,” says Rafuse. “So this year, the goal is to finish.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Amanda Debison