Aquarelle.com, Class40 winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre
by Transat Jacques Vabre media 24 Nov 2011 09:19 GMT
24 November 2011
Aquarelle.com, Class40 winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre © Alexis Courcoux / Transat Jacques Vabre
Yannick Bestaven and Eric Drouglazet crossed the finish line of the Transat Jacques Vabre in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, this Thursday, November 24 at 07hrs59min 08 sec UTC/GMT. After leading the race continuously since the start in Le Havre on Wednesday 2nd November, the duo scored a convincing victory completing the course in an elapsed time of 21d 17h 59m 08s at an average speed over the theoretical course of 4730 miles of 9.06kts. They sailed an actual course measured at 5339miles at an average of 10.23kts.
Yannick Bestaven and Eric Drouglazet left their rivals in their wake since they powered off the start line in the lead of the fleet of 16 Class 40s over three weeks ago. They had already won one race before they had even started? a battle to be ready for the gun after damaging their rudder during the delivery passage to Le Havre. It would appear that this was their only set back as the duo composed a faultless victory.
During the first ten days leading the fleet they fought strong adverse winds and big seas but still lead. Sadly their nearest rivals, the young British duo Ned Collier Wakefield and Sam Goodchild on Concise 2, the race’s youngest duo, had to retire into the Azores with hull damage but they had been pushed hard, with the Brits as close as two miles behind just before they were forced out.
That gave free rein to the duo to sail their own race, keeping a loose cover on the chasing duo on ERDF Des Pieds and Des Mains who have mostly been more than 100 miles behind and who are expected to finish later today.
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