Transat: First boats cross the finish line, Team Malizia struggles
The first winners have reached the finish line of the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre. Frenchmen Armel Le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse won the Ultim class of the trimaran giants on Monday night with "Maxi Banque Populaire XI". They completed the course from Le Havre to Fort-de-France on Martinique in 14 days, 10 hours, 14 minutes and 50 seconds. The duo mastered the 9263 nautical miles at a fabulous average speed of 26.75 knots. Skipper Armel Le Cléac'h said: "It is a satisfaction to win the race with this boat." Just under five hours later, "SVR Lazartigue" was the second Ultim giant to arrive at the finish port in the Caribbean early on Monday morning.
30 years after the Transat premiere, the approximately 32-metre-long Ultim Giant of the Seas was the only one of the four Transat classes to start the race across the Atlantic on time on 29 October. The other three classes did not start until a good week later due to the stormy conditions.
In the Imoca class, Boris Herrmann and Will Harris with "Malizia - Seaexplorer" were in eleventh place in the field of Imocas at the end of their first week at sea between the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. The German-British duo were almost 300 nautical miles behind the leader "Teamwork.net" and were fighting to regain the lead after the fleet was split into two in the group positioned to the south. In the fleet of smaller Class 40 yachts, the young Hamburg professionals Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink on "Sign for Com" struggled to catch up with the leading group at the start of their second week at sea in 19th place.
Despite their struggle, Team Malizia is still participating in the Transat Jacques Vabre sailing race. The team, consisting of Boris Herrmann and Will Harris, is aiming to regain their position in the Imoca class.
Meanwhile, the Sailing Transat race continues, with multiple classes participating, including the Ultim class where the winners, Armel Le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse, have already crossed the finish line in the Transat Jacques Vabre.
Source: www.dpa.com
