The Canarian sailor Alonso Pérez Fernandez completed the 2,600 nautical miles of the solo Mini Atlantique race this Thursday at just 19 years old.
“I am so happy. This joy is incredible. I am only 19 years old and I started competing in ocean races just 6 months ago,” he states in declarations collected by the race organization’s website upon his arrival.
For the young solo navigator, finishing the Mini Atlantique represents taking a decisive step towards his ultimate goal, which is to participate in the Mini Transat 2027, one of the most demanding and legendary events in ocean sailing, reports the Royal Canarian Sailing Federation.
The sailor from the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife completed the second stage of the Mini Atlantique 2026 (Azores-France) in 8 days, 9 hours, 11 minutes, and 12 seconds, and reached the finish line in 25th place out of the 49 boats that started in the one-design category.
“I am super happy and very proud of myself,” he adds in the declarations collected by the event organization. “I managed to do the round trip to the Azores on my own boat: that was the big goal of the year! Now I just want to rest.”
Alonso’s 25th place in this second stage of the race significantly improves (by 16 places) the position he obtained in the first. The one-design boat “Lanzarote Marina Rubicón,” as the young navigator’s vessel is called, arrived in Horta (Azores) in 41st place out of the 53 production boats that managed to finish the first stage of the Mini Atlantique 2026. Now he has done it in 25th.
Both the Mini Atlantique and the Mini Transat, along with other races on the circuit, are contested in Mini 6.50 boats – one-designs or prototypes – sailboats measuring 6.50 meters in length, designed for solo ocean navigation.
The Mini Transat crosses the Atlantic, from La Rochelle, France, to Brazil with a stopover in the Canary Islands. In the 2027 edition, the stopover will be in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Although thanks to his sponsors Marina Rubicón Lanzarote and Lumar Canarias, the young navigator has a boat and is accumulating miles and experience on the circuit – the Mini Atlantique is his seventh race – he is still looking for brands or companies that want to accompany him on his adventure and contribute to completing the budget he needs to be at the start of the Mini Transat 2027.
Add La Voz de Lanzarote as a preferred Google source.
Stay informed with the latest current news.