The official village for the 2026 edition of the DRHEAM-CUP/GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE will open in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on 9 July. As it does every two years, the event – which will bring together more than 120 boats – will highlight the values of sharing and passing on knowledge, particularly during the prologue, the DRHEAM-TROPHY, which provides the backdrop for the ‘Rêves de large’ event.

For its tenth anniversary, the DRHEAM-CUP / GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE will remain faithful to its motto, which rests on three pillars: competition, with a record-breaking fleet and intense racing in all classes, celebration, with many activities in the official village in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, and sharing, an important value to the founder and organiser of the race, Jacques Civilise.

To enable everyone to discover offshore racing, particularly the younger generation, he came up with the idea of the Rêves de Large initiative, which consists in taking school children onboard competing boats during the DRHEAM-CUP / GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE prologue, the DRHEAM-TROPHY. "Our young people need dreams and adventure and I wanted a race that promoted human relations and sharing between generations", explains Jacques Civilise. The Rêves de Large initiative gives teenagers the opportunity to discover the world of offshore racing from the inside with professional skippers, from sailing out of the port to the prizegiving ceremony, and including the start procedure and passing buoys.”

This year, 25 young people aged between 10 and 15, selected following a call for applications via the social centres of the City of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, supported by the Youth Service, will take part in this unique experience on Saturday 13 July aboard Class40 yachts, with their skippers, who will set off the following day to sail solo on the DC 1000 course. "Renewing the Rêves de Large initiative was an easy decision, considering the success of previous editions.” The enthusiasm of the young people and the skippers, the quality of interactions onboard and the benefits of the learning experience have confirmed the significance and relevance of this initiative within the DRHEAM-CUP/GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE”, comments Camille Margueritte, mayor of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. 

This should give these young people a taste for the sea and perhaps, one day, they will join an offshore racing training programme, such as the one run by the Stamina Sailing Team – which, with Charlie Agueneau at the helm of the Stamina 4 prototype (entered in the crewed IRC class), is competing in the 2026 DRHEAM-CUP/GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE. "The Stamina Sailing Team is a twenty-person team in Royan and La Rochelle. It aims to become an offshore racing incubator and enable young people to progress and become sailing professionals, explains Luce Petiniot, head of communications, press relations and partners. It is based on strong values that have a social impact, in particular inclusion – which is why the programme is free of charge, to make it accessible to young people regardless of their social background; gender diversity, with the aim of achieving a 50/50 gender balance within the team by the end of 2026, and education, with initiatives in primary and secondary schools – often in priority areas – to introduce pupils to the world of sailing and raise their awareness of environmental protection.”

The Stamina Sailing Team also, and above all, embodies the values of performance, as demonstrated by its victory in real time on Tuesday 30 June in La Trinité Cherbourg by Actual race and in the crewed IRC class at the Gascogne 45/5 in late April, hence its equally high ambitions for the DRHEAM-CUP/GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE: "We are coming to Cherbourg with the aim continuing to progress, confirms Luce Petiniot, and also take part in a race that shares our values, particularly that of openness."

Opening the race to as many people as possible is one of the DRHEAM-CUP / GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE's priorities, which is why the partnership with Virtual Regatta has been renewed, enabling everyone to take part in the race on Thursday 2 July. "Since the very first edition, Virtual Regatta has been the race's official race game. Ten years later, we are back with the same pride and conviction: to offer the general public much more than just a role as spectators. “By bringing our community onboard, from Cherbourg-en-Cotentin to Lorient, we’re giving tens of thousands of eSkippers the opportunity to experience the race from the inside, with the same weather, the same strategy and the same doubts as the sailors”, says Thomas Gauthier, deputy managing director of Virtual Regatta.