One the first most northerly sea regatta…

Organised for the first time in June 2000, Skippers d'Islande met an undeniable success with amateur sailors together with the locals and other ports formerly linked with Iceland and the media. This success was strengthened due to the rallying effect of men and women with a mutual passion and respect for the sea.

Latitude 66°north,
An "Everest" for experienced sailors.

Organised for the well-informed non-professionals, this race has gone through a very serious preparation –security training, compulsory on-board equipment as well as supervision (24 hour satellite monitoring) which allowed more that 120 sailors (skippers and crewmembers) to participate to the race on this mythic route in order sometimes to reach some inhospitable places.
Skippers d’Islande: mythic route, the ports of call in Iceland, the tour of this island, allowed these sailors (many of them landed for the first time on this land of fire, water and ice, or crossed the Arctic Circle) to discover the natural elements, observe its flora, its seabirds, its marine life, numerous in term of quantity as well as variety.

Conviviality on board and in ports of call.

Unlike other long regattas, Skippers d'Islande is organised by non-professionals, all of them are from Paimpol, with only one target: build further relationships with Iceland and mark the history of regattas.

Iceland land of warm welcome

Such an adventure could not be just for sailors; we had to include the entire population. So, for its first edition, Skippers d'Islande together with CMB Acta Voyage” and Comptoir d’Islande, organised a packaged tour to Iceland. Numerous people from Paimpol were able to see and witness where some of their ancestors landed or were buried. They were also able to welcome the boats of the race. They were provided with all sorts of entertainment there organised for them as well as trips around.

A vast media coverage

The first race Paimpol-Reykjavik-Paimpol was under the patronage of Mrs Vigdis Finnboggadottir, former President of the Republic of Iceland. Mrs Sigridur Snaevarr, Icelandic Ambassador in France, started the race on June 18, 2000.

The Mayors of Reykjavikand of Akureyri together with Mrs Agust Agustsson, representing the Directors of Reykjavik harbour and Mr Jon Skaptason, Commodore of Reykjavik Yacht Club came for the prize giving in Beauport Abbey near Paimpol.

For these occasions, the race had large national media coverage as well as in very specialised boating magazines.

During the former races, the internet website, on which hundreds people kept tracks of the boats, was updated twice a day.