Cutlass and Icarus (Photo by George Bekris)
That’s right sports fans it’s halftime. 2500 miles down and 2500 miles to go. If we actually knew how long the race was going to take would we have even left the dock? You bet, but it doesn’t mean we haven’t started to miss simple things like ice and a full night sleep on a bed thatdoes not crash and bang. This race is all about endurance. Keeping the pressure up 24 hours a day, day after day, takes its toll after a while. Both of us are looking forward to just being able to chill out and not worry about boat speed for 5 minutes.
After two days floundering around in the bottom of a high-pressure system, we broke free yesterday morning and have had an action packed run since. The breeze piped up good and proper and we spent the night surfing down big waves with sustained boat speeds in excess of 20 knots. When these boats get really juiced up they are a high adrenaline experience. It makes for some big grins.
Sprits onboard are high, even though it has been frustrating to watch some of our competition to the north hook into a different weatherpattern and put some crucial miles on us that we will spend the rest of therace trying to whittle down. We have been running 4-hour watches, which is on the long side, but enables the off watch person to have some proper down time. We have enough variety of freeze-dried food onboard that things are still interesting. I’m not sure how we are going to feel about that in another 10 days. There is only so much freeze-dried chili a man can eat. We also think some barking spiders snuck onboard in the freeze dried bags because we keep hearing them barking after meal-time. They must just like the freeze-dried.
The Hydro-Generator has been a really great addition to the boat and has generally supplied all the power we need and more. So much more, in fact, that it has opened up discussion about any number of 12 volt appliances that might be brought onboard. Ice cream machine? Bread machine? Why not?
All in all it’s been a good 2500 miles. There has been some good weather and some bad. Some really fun times and some times when all we want to do is pull our hair out (flopping around with no wind and lots of rain can do that). The ups and downs are part of ocean racing. Its all about the journey.
One of my biggest impressions so far has been with the shear amount of water out here. It sounds silly but even after spending so much of my life on the water, this trip has impressed upon me just how much water there really is on the planet. We have seen one or two boats in the last week, a whale, a couple birds, and a bunch of flying fish. But mostly it’s day after day of water and clouds, as far as the eye can see. It really is amazing.
Now our sights are firmly set on Costa Rica and that first rum drink. I can almost taste it now. First we have a few boats we need to try and beat to the finish line.
Signing Off,
Nick and Hugh
24 58.57 N
046 20.28W
More interviews, updates and photos on Halmos and Piggin’s campaign are available via Cutlass Racing’s website and TheAtlantic Cup’s facebook and twitter pages.
About Nick Halmos
Nick Halmos, 32 and a Palm Beach Florida native, currently residing in Santa Cruz, CA is one of two Americans entered in the Transat Jaques Vabre. Halmos was the captain of the Brown University sailing team and has been campaigning the Class 40 Cutlasssince he brought the boat to the United States in 2009. Since then he has won the 2009 Bermuda 1-2, the Halifax Race and the Ida Lewis Distance Race among others. Halmos, has always been keen to race in something longer. He states, “if you are an American and want to get better at short-handed ocean racing at somepoint you will have to race with the French. The Transat Jaques Vabre is one of the great ocean races and if you’re into short-handed sailing this is one of the top races in the world to do.”
About Hugh Piggin
Hugh Piggin, 36, is no stranger to the short-handed sailing scene. Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, he is the only Kiwi competing in this year’s Transat Jacques Vabre. Piggin has logged over 100,000 miles, 7 Transatlantic crossings, 4 Newport-Bermuda races, a Transatlantic record attempt, a Cross Channel record and Two Northern OceanRacing Trophy titles. In 2008, he co-founded Manuka Sports Event Management and is now the race director for The Atlantic Cup, the only dedicated Class 40 race in the United States. He has twice prepared boats for the Transat Jaques Vabre, including class winner Gryphon Solo in 2007, however, this will be his first attempt as a competitor.
About 11th Hour Racing:
11th Hour Racing, a program of the 11th Hour Project, establishes a dynamic new platform for public education about the responsible use of energy and resources in the context of an exciting recreational and competitive sport.
Through our sponsorship of winning sailing teams and clean regattas, we work to advance sailing practices that improvethe energy profile and performance of racing boats, and increase the personal investment of sailors in the health of our waters.
About the boat – Cutlass/11th Hour Racing:
Cutlass/11th Hour Racing is 4 years old and is a first generation Class 40. She is an Owen-Clarke design and built by Jazz Marine – England. This will be her 5th transatlantic crossing.
Groupe Bel Crew, Kito de Pavant and Yann Regniau (Photo by Giles Martin_Raget
Alex Thomson (GBR) skipper Hugo Boss (GBR): “I think that everyone has to go together. I would have been happy to go but if we all went and 30% of the fleet wiped out then that does not help sailing, it does not help sponsorship and so I think it is the right decision.”
“In the 50 Multis, we had already met to make a decision. It is much wiser like this. We will still try to do the prologue today. Tomorrow I think I go back to Saint-Malo to my fishing business before returning to take the start. “
“This decision does not surprise me because since Wednesday we talked with the class of this possible delay. I was rather surprised that multis did not consider that. For me it was obvious. Now that the decision is made there are a lot of skippers who say they are happy not to leave. Now we go to race. The important thing is not to make the race a test of survival. “
“The option of going to confront the elements like that has a high risk that I know only too well, injuries…. rescue … So it is a bit of a relief to expect now that we will go with better conditions on Thursday. “
11th Hour Skippers Nick Halmos and Hugh Piggin (Photo courtesy of 11th Hour Racing)
Nick Halmos and Atlantic Cup Founder Hugh Piggin to co-skipper
Focus on environmental sustainability throughout the race
Le Harve, France – With just five days until the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, 11thHour Racing teammates Nick Halmos and Hugh Piggin are making final preparations for the 4,730nm double-handed race from Le Havre, France to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Piggin and Halmos will co-skipper the Class 40 Cutlass/11th Hour Racing. Cutlass/11th Hour Racing won the inaugural Atlantic Cup held in May of 2011. Their campaign sponsored by 11th Hour Racing will demonstrate better ways to race for performance and the environment.
11th Hour Racing is committed to advancing sailing practices that improve the energy profile and performance of racing boats, and increase the personal investment of sailors in the health of our waters. Advancing winning sailing practices one degree at a time, Halmos and Piggin will not use any plastic water bottles, all cleaning products are biodegradable and carbon offsets were purchased to cover the crew’s transportation.
Furthermore, Cutlass/11th Hour Racing is outfitted with a hydro-generator, which will be utilized to provide all on-board energy needs during the race. Hugh Piggin stated, “the goal is to not burn a single ounce of fossil fuel from when the boat leaves the dock in LeHarve until it arrives in Puerto Limon. Up until recently it was unheard of to cross an ocean without burning any fossil fuel and with 11th Hour Racing’s partnership, this and other sustainable practices on the water are becoming a reality.”
11th Hour Racing Program Director Jeremy Pochman stated, “Our purpose is to promote the widespread usage of new technologies, both environmentally conscious and performance enhancing on the racecourse. In their TJV campaign, Cutlass/11th Hour Racing is acting as a role model to demonstrate that smart choices benefit the performance of the boat and the marine environment.”
The TJV will also offer a unique opportunity to test Cityblooms technology in the harsh environment of the mid-Atlantic. Cityblooms is an urban farming start-up founded by Nick Halmos. Halmos stated that, “Hugh and I will be putting to sea with what might be the world’s first carbon fiber hydroponic system”. By using the hydro-generator to produce fresh water, the duo will attempt to grow a fresh arugula and broccoli microgreen salad in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. In doing so they will demonstrate sustainable organic farming with techniques that are light enough to be used aboard a high-tec racing yacht without a sacrifice in performance.
Hugh Piggin, 36, is no stranger to the short-handed sailing scene. Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, he is the only Kiwi competing in this year’s Transat Jacques Vabre. Piggin has logged over 100,000 miles, 7 Transatlantic crossings, 4 Newport-Bermuda races, a Transatlantic record attempt, a Cross Channel record and Two Northern Ocean Racing Trophy titles. In 2008, he co-founded Manuka Sports Event Management and is now the race director for The Atlantic Cup, the only dedicated Class 40 race in the United States. He has twice prepared boats for the TJV, including class winner Gryphon Solo in 2007, however, this will be his first attempt as a competitor.
Nick Halmos, 32, a Palm Beach Florida native, currently residing in Santa Cruz, CA, is one of two Americans entered in the TJV. Halmos was the captain of the Brown University sailing team and has been campaigning the Class 40 Cutlass since he brought the boat to the United States in 2009. Since then he has won the 2009 Bermuda 1-2, the Halifax Race and the Ida Lewis Distance Race among others. Halmos, has always been keen to race in something longer. He states, “if you are an American and want to get better at short-handed ocean racing at some point you will have to race with the French. The TJV is one of the great ocean races and if you’re into short-handed sailing this is one of the top races in the world to do.”
With the village open in Le Havre and the start fast approaching, Halmos and Piggin discussed their goals on the upcoming race.
Nick Halmos
“ The energy in the race village is infectious as the teams prepare for the coming adventure. I can look around and tell that we are surrounded by fierce competitors yet that common trait creates a great atmosphere of camaraderie. While our number one goal is to get to Costa Rica intact, we also must sail a very smart race in order to finish well. A little luck won’t hurt either.”
Hugh Piggin
“The scene in France thus far has been nothing short of spectacular. The public interest is phenomenal and it is great to be among some of the top short-handed sailors in the world.
But, my attention is focused on the race and performing as best as possible. There are three major challenges to doing a race like this: getting to the start line, getting to the finish and leaving as few miles on the course as possible. Our number one goal is to get to Costa Rica, but while we’re racing we need to sail well enough to beat our competitors. We’re going to sail the boat as hard as we can and try to keep it in one piece, but as this is our first Class 40 race of this scale we have no yardstick to determine how we’ll do against our competition, however we’re going out there and we’re going to give it hell!”
Cutlass and Icarus (Photo by George Bekris)
Concise (Photo copyright Team Concise)
"MIRABAUD" Monohull IMOCA 60, skipper Dominique Wavre (SUi) co-skipper Michèle Paret (FRA).(Photo ©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co)
Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret arrived in Le Havre this afternoon and besides a few remaining minor preparations, they are race ready.
Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret arrived in Le Havre this afternoon after a three day delivery.
The skipper of Mirabaud was on top form: “Everything went smoothly. We encountered a full range of conditions during the trip and were able to push the boat to its maximum. It coped very well and we are feeling good ten days from the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre.
Dominique and Michèle left La Rochelle on Tuesday morning and beat upwind in rough conditions to Ushant before easing the sheets and rocketing downwind to Le Havre. The breeze dropped out towards the end of the trip which also gave them a chance to test their light air sails. “We arrived in Le Havre in bright, warm sunshine, it was very pleasant! described Dominique.
The Transat Jacques Vabre starts at 13:02 on the 30 October in Le Havre and 35 racing yachts – including 13 IMOCAs – will cross the line and race for Puerto Limon in Costa Rica where they are expected to arrive two weeks later.
Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret have been sailing with their new mast for a month now and they are very happy with it. “We have been sailing at 100% of our polars, meaning that we are sailing at the theoretical maximum speed for the conditions. It is a very good sign. On the other hand, we are clearly lacking practice when it comes to our manoeuvres because the whole deck layout has changed. I hope there won’t be too much need for manoeuvring at the start!
With 10 days remaining until the start signal, Dominique and Michèle’s days will be busy, but only with tying up loose ends. Preparations are well in hand and the skipper plans for a calm approach to the start of the race.
Hugo Boss (Photo copywright Hugo Boss)
Alex Thomson Racing today announced that Guillermo Altadill, the celebrated Spanish round-the-world sailor, will be joining Alex aboard HUGO BOSS for the 2011 edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre race, which starts in Le Havre on Sunday October 30th.
Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson Complete Transat (Photo by Marcel Mochet)
Dee and Brian completed the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Havre, France to Costa Rica onboard Aviva. The first week of the race saw the fleet battle through some extreme weather conditions and subsequent damage to boats forced four Open 60’s, including fellow British sailor Alex Thomson, to retire from racing.
Dee and Brian had their fair share of problems but were able to replace a lost wind instrument in a becalmed period. Generator issues meant that both sailors had to hand steer for the majority of the time as they were without the pilot, however, a speedy pit stop in St Lucia for a generator part enabled them to get powered back up and stay in the race. Towards the final stages, the duo raced hard to finish in 8th position from an original fleet of fourteen IMOCA Open 60 yachts that started the transatlantic race 19 days ago. In the last few hours of the race Aviva experienced very light winds making for a frustrating and protracted finish into the port of Limon.
The Transat Jacques Vabre was the last of the races validated by IMOCA in the two year Open 60 season and Aviva’s result earned additional points for both Dee and Brian. Out of 33 skippers, Caffari was ranked 6th, in her first full IMOCA season, and Thompson 8th. The World Championship title was won by Marc Guillemot, skipper of Safran.
Dee commented:
“To have finished 6th in the IMOCA rankings, alongside noted sailors like Michel Desjoyeaux and Marc Guillemot is an added bonus and makes me very proud of how much Aviva and I have achieved in the past two years.”
On arriving at the dock in Port Limon, Dee said:
“ The race was long and it was hard, in three different parts, the beginning and the stormy stuff, getting sorted out and then the finale in the Caribbean Sea. So it was very eventful, highs and lows. We have things to deal with and obviously a frustrating finish, but to be this close at the end of a race has been cool.
This is in a different league to my last Transat Jacques Vabre. Sailing with Brian has been great. He is cool and calm and you think: ‘ok this is fine and you get on with it.' So the intensity I have dealt with is much greater than I am used to. It was a much more enjoyable race than the Vendée Globe, and it was nice to be in among the people who were leading. The company I am keeping now is something I never even dreamed of. Now I want to carry on. I need to find the backing but I feel like I am growing at such a speed. This was a great race to do, you learn so much with the right person on board.”
Having now had chance to enjoy the creature comforts of dry land, like a shower, fresh food, a long sleep in a real bed and interaction with lots of people all at once, I have had chance to reflect on the race.
Having worked so hard and held such good positions during the race eighth place was disappointing at the time. The reality is that any of the four boats finishing with us could have finished in fifth and any order could have followed. We were in squall territory and it was a certain amount of luck for the final few miles. Even the conversations ashore with the other skippers and people involved in the race have all been talking about our huge gains at the end and also how fast we were at the start and during the big storm we all faced during the first week. This has off course made me feel better and I cannot deny I loved sailing Aviva again in a big race and it was great sailing with Brian. We had some problems to face and we did it all in a positive manner and had huge fun as well as the hard sailing together.
Now we are preparing the boat for the delivery home. Hannah Jenner and Katy Miller are busy helping with jobs on the boat to learn their way around as they will be joining James and Harry for the trip home. Let’s hope they will be home for Christmas. I know Aviva will look after them and I am confident that they will look after her well for me.
On arriving at the dock in Port Limon, Brian Thompson said:
“It was an interesting place to have the stealth play. There were light winds to the south on the more direct course, so people were deciding how far north to go, and we went a fairly direct course. It turned out there was a front which came through from Panama which gained us, we got through it early in the day and had clear skies for the rest of the day. Then we had nice sailing for the afternoon, maybe a little slower but we sailed less miles. But then we were next to W-Hotels and we thought it was Akena, but it was W-Hotels who had been 100 miles ahead. Then we were in constant squalls one after the other and were never becalmed until right near the end. They must have had the one squall which drove them all the way in.
Arrival At The Finish (Photo by Marcel Mochet / AFP)
It was a perfect, swashbuckling finale to bring the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre two handed transatlantic race towards its final conclusion. Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier played the starring roles some days ago, Guillemot the hero of the Vendée Globe winning the top prize, but the final full day of racing proved a cliffhanger.
After over 5,300 miles and nearly 20 days of racing, when all four protagonists, scrapping over 5th to 8th places emerged from the cover of stealth mode at 1000hrs GMT/UTC (0400hrs local) this morning, less than eight miles separated fifth placed Veolia Environnement (Roland Jourdain and Jean Luc Nélias) from seventh placed Aviva (Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson).
And Akéna Vérandas (Arnaud Boissieres and Vincent Riou) was a further 15.1 miles behind the British duo
Having held fifth place for five days – since they broke into the Caribbean – the Spanish duo on W-Hotels, were never going to give it away easily.
Passed for the second time in the final 12 hours by Veolia Environnement, when the French duo rocketed off into the rainy gloom of yet another squall, on the strength of a sail change the Spanish pair just could not make in the gusty 25 knots breeze, they felt that they were destined for sixth.
But their determination never wavered.
The next squall brought them back to rescue their fifth, arriving like a spectre from out of the murk at 17-18 knots to haunt Veolia for the third and final time, just half a mile from the finish.
It was perhaps appropriate that the surprised Spaniards – on their own voyage of discovery, racing an IMOCA Open 60 for the first time ever – cemented their success arriving Puerto Limon, in the wake of their legendary forebear Christopher Columbus who sailed to the New World in here in 1502.
Ribes and Pella finished four minutes and 16 second ahead of their French rivals, exhausted but pleased to have taken fifth, in between two of the most successful IMOCA Open 60 racing skippers, Michel Desjoyeaux and Jourdain.
Akena Verandas Making For The Finish (Photo by Marcel Mochet / AFP)
They had only sailed together for a few days before embarking on this race, and learned as they came down the track. Standing smiling in the torrential rain on the dockside they admitted to many mistakes and ‘beginners errors’ but they can be justly proud of their result in this highest quality field.
The Spanish were delighted. But there was disappointment for Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson on Aviva. At one point they were, according to Ribes, 100 metres away from Aviva.
They waited for the British pair to tack and, in the end, chose to do their own thing, gaining 15 miles in to the finish.
The British pair slowed in a final light zone, losing out to Akéna Vérandas in the last stages to finish eighth, just 27 minutes behind the 2004-5 Vendée Globe winner Vincent Riou and skipper Arnaud Boissieres.
Caffari and Thompson’s disappointment in losing out in the high stakes scuffle, which was largely carried out in torrential tropical rain and changeable winds, was obvious but Caffari reflected enthusiastically on how much she has improved since she competed in the last edition in 2007 as an IMOCA greenhorn.
Gitana Eighty Crossing The Finish (Photo by Marcel Mochet /AFP/ Riva.fr)
All four boats finished within just over three and a half hours. 1876 was due to finish by around 1800hrs GMT and Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet on Artemis later tonight.
Quotes:
Pepe Ribes, (ESP), W-Hotels:
“ The last 36 hours have been no sleep, no eating, nothing. We played the stealth card and so did everyone else at the same time. And when we played the stealth it was the first time that we saw a boat, with Veolia just crossing our bows, that was yesterday morning. Then since then we passed them once and then they passed us again, then we passed them again just half a mile from the finish line. I really don’t know what made the difference in the end. We went to the beach and then we saw Aviva, who were very close to us, only 50 metres away.
We went with Aviva to the beach and we waited for them to tack but they did not tack, and so we tacked and from there we were reaching really, really fast maybe 18-19 knots.
Then we saw a light and thought it was a cruising boat. We were sure Veolia were way ahead. In one of the squalls they managed to drop their spinnaker and put up their masthead genoa and go straight, so we had to bear away. So they left. And when we saw a green light we thought it was a cruising boat. I looked with the binos and told Alex and we could not believe.”
“ I think it is good result for us, very very good. We were not expecting such a good result at all. We did not know the level, and for me I thought between tenth and fourteenth and we finished fifth, so, fantastic. It is a good result for me, and I hope for Spain.”
“ I feel very, very tired. But we made many, many mistakes. At the beginning, not so much now. We made a lot of mistakes and lost a lot of miles. But we are going forwards.”
“ I think we were pushing the boat very, very hard and broke a lot of things. We were good together. We tried to share everything and learn about each other. He has a lot of strong points and I have strong points and it works well. He is more like an offshore sailor, more relaxed and I am more go, go, go. It is a good mix, I am always 100%. We pushed, I don’t care, I sail it like a Volvo boat, we keep pushing and I don’t care if the boat breaks.”
“But we made mistakes, it is double handed and it is new for us.”
Alex Pella (ESP) W-Hotels:
“ The boat is OK, but we broke a lot of small things, the spinnaker. We had problems with the pilots, sometimes they worked, sometimes they did not work. But we fived them with a spare compass, and they worked, and then two days later they did not. But the boat is nice and work towards the Barcelona World Race.
Pepe is a very good sailor. He has so much experience and pushes very hard, he has experience with the Volvo boats which helped, and I learned so much from sailing with Pepe.”
“ On the one hand he is a very methodical guy, very ordered but he wants to push all the time, to push hard.”
“ At the beginning of the race we had decided to go south, but then when we saw some going west, we said ok we try to catch this option but it was too late. In fact there was a time when we tried but we were too late. We went with the wrong option.
But we are here!”
“ Foncia and Akena went further south. We had a maximum of 50 knots in the third storm and big waves.”
“ I am really, really happy. We are hear to learn the boat. This is a training for the Barcelona World Race and here we are in Costa Rica, it is incredible….in between Foncia and Veolia. It is fantastic!”
Dee Caffari (GBR) Aviva:
“ The race was long and it was hard, in three different parts, the beginning and the stormy stuff, getting sorted out and then the final in the Caribbean Sea. So it was very eventful, highs and lows. We have things to deal with and obviously a frustrating finish, but to be this close at the end of a race has been cool.
This is in a different league to my last Transat Jacques Vabre. Sailing with Brian has been great. He is cool and calm and you think: ‘ok this is fine and you get on with it.’ So the intensity I have dealt with is much greater than I am used to. It was a much more enjoyable race than the Vendée Globe, and it was nice to be in among the people who were leading. The company I am keeping now is something I never even dreamed of..
Now I want to carry on. I need to find the backing but I feel like I am growing at such a speed. This was a great race to do, you learn so much with the right person on board.”
Brian Thompson (GBR) Aviva:
“It was an interesting place to have the stealth play. Ther were light winds to the south on the more direct course, so people were deciding how far north to go, and we went a fairly direct course. It turned out there was a front which came through from Panama which gained us, we got through it early in the day and had clear skies for the rest of the day. Then when had nice sailing for the afternoon, maybe a little slower but we sailed less miles. But then we were next to W-Hotels and we thought it was Akenas, but it was W-Hotels who had been 100 miles ahead. Then we were in constant squalls one after the other and were never becalmed until right near the end. They must have had the one squall which drove them all the way in.”
Roland Jourdain:
“Before, it was the English, now we have the Spanish! It was hard.! It was tough but fun, a great race for first place in this second group! It was intense with many challenges. We knew this course would be more varied in terms of the different weather conditions and that really was the case. We even had our small technical pit stop, we like them with Jean-Luc. That’s why I plan to make stages races. We would like to have played with the top of the fleet. The technical stop we could have done without. We did not think it would cost us. We were optimistic but saw time slipping.
Marco went very fast and I agree they went the right way, with the good options, but they went really, really fast.
Yesterday morning it was hell. We waited for the wind from the east and north and had southerly. We saw a boat behind and managed to escape. Yesterday evening we saw it again and gybed away. In a squall we tacked and put five miles on them. And then this morning we were sitting all but still and a racing car arrived, someone so quick we thought it was a motor boat.”
“But our boat is OK, it went well but on the other hand it is not a new boat. Veolia has gaps compared with the new boats. We still go well and make results because I know this Mobylette but it is nevertheless frustrating.”
Jean-Luc Nélias, FRA (Veolia Environnement):
“We passed W-Hotels in a squall, but they negotiated them better. When we cam out from stealth, we realized we had made five miles on them, and then this morning we took another squall and got it back. From a result point of view we are not that happy. We could have battled it out with boats such as Mike Golding but the others are faster. It is nevertheless frustrating because out mainsail mast track was broken. The first reef has been very useful. But we are glad we got here. We laughed a lot with Bilou. It was a good adventure.”
Times summary
Breaking the finish line at 11:41:44hrs GMT Friday 27th November (05:41:44hrs local time, Costa Rica) after sailing for 18d 22hrs 11mins 44seconds at an 10.41knots average for the theoretical course (4730 miles) since leaving Le Havre on Sunday 8th November, Spain’s Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella on W-Hotels took fifth place in the IMOCA Open 60 class in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre two handed Transatlantic race. Ribes and Pella sailed a distance of 5790 miles at an average of 12.75kts.
W-Hotels finish 3 days 2 hours 49 minutes 34 seconds behind the winner Safran.
Breaking the finish line at 11:46:00hrs GMT Friday 27th November (05:46:00hrs local time, Costa Rica) after sailing for 18d 22hrs 16mins 00 seconds at an 10.41 knots average for the theoretical course (4730 miles) since leaving Le Havre on Sunday 8th November, France’s Roland Jourdain and Jean Luc Nélias on Veolia Environnement took sixth place in the IMOCA Open 60 class in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre two handed Transatlantic race. Jourdain and Nélias sailed a distance of 5734miles at an average of 12.52kts.
Veolia Environnement finish 3 days 2 hours 53 minutes and 50 seconds behind the winner Safran.
Breaking the finish line at 14:50:12hrs GMT Friday 27th November (08:50:12hrs local time, Costa Rica) after sailing for 19d 1h 20m 12s seconds at an 10.34 knots average for the theoretical course (4730 miles) since leaving Le Havre on Sunday 8th November, France’s Arnaud Boissières and Vincent Riou on Akena Veranda took seventh place in the IMOCA Open 60 class in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre two handed Transatlantic race. Boissières and Riou sailed a distance of
5823miles at an average of 12.73kts.
Akéna Vérandas finished 3days 05hours 58min 02s seconds behind the winner Safran.
Breaking the finish line at 15:17:12hrs GMT Friday 27th November (09:17:12hrs local time, Costa Rica) after sailing for 19d 1h 46m 12s seconds at an 10.33 knots average for the theoretical course (4730 miles) since leaving Le Havre on Sunday 8th November, Great Britain’s Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson on Aviva took eighth place in the IMOCA Open 60 class in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre two handed Transatlantic race.
Caffari and Thompson sailed a distance of 5700 miles at 12,45 knots average .
Aviva finished 3d 06h 25min 02secs behind the winner Safran.
