Although British sailor Nick Bubb (Kenmore Property Group) remains first on the reserve list for the Mini Transat 2003 it was confirmed last night he will not be able to compete with his boat in the prologue race this weekend. During last night’s Grand Pavois (race organisers) meeting, it was confirmed that all Mini Transat reserve list boats will not be able to take part in the prologue race this weekend. These competitors are however, permitted to compete in the fully crewed prologue on other boats. The Grand Pavois have also amended the sailing instruction which automatically excludes boats from entering the Mini Transat if they do not compete in the prologue race. Theoretically, if a boat drops out after the prologue, Bubb would be allowed in at the last minute (there is a week between the prologue and the start of the Mini Transat).

With the chances of gaining entry to the Mini Transat looking more and more unlikely at this late stage, Bubb has put Plan B in to operation. After the 43-mile prologue, Bubb will start preparations for next year’s Figaro with a week’s training on the Figaro 2 Egeria in St Nazaire, courtesy of Sander Bakker before joining the Plastimo sailing team (which includes two previous winners of the Vendee Globe, Michel Desjoyeaux and Alan Gautier).

Bubb will trail his Mini back to the UK for the Southampton boatshow where she’ll be on display on the West System stand (a technical partner in the build of the boat), before being handed over to her new owner Philip Sharp who will campaign for the Mini Transat 2005.